Reviews tagging 'War'

Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens

32 reviews

clemrain's review

emotional mysterious reflective relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

This book is basically to kill a mockingbird? 

When setting foot in a novel that is sung to high praises, it’s rare to come out agreeing. Where the Crawdads Sing lives up to its praise. 

I always find myself back to mystery as a genre. Though I wouldn’t say I have a huge library of them digested, I have read a fair few. This novel is nothing I’ve read before and maybe that’s why it’s so brilliant.

The writing is a bit slow in the beginning. I think the author really tried to ramp up the suspense by giving us a past and a present simultaneously. Though I enjoyed the slowness of Kya’s life, it was a difficult read because it was just so sad.

I liked that this story follow Kya’s life. It felt like a story about Kya’s life and her loneliness. The way she resonated with nature and flourished in it. She’s a trooper. Trampled over and resilient for it. Like the ground she walked barefoot on. The murder trial is something that she experienced and then we followed her life after it too. Good, interesting approach to a murder mystery.

Spoiler

We read the shaping of Kya and it felt so satisfying to have an in on her reason to kill. The perfect crime in the nature by the girl of nature. Satisfying.

All the side characters were entertaining and added so much to the plot. None of them felt out of place, unnecessary or boring.

Great writing. I like the pacing. The intertwining of poetry. I don’t think the past and present of Kya and the murder melded super efficiently. I think the chapters could’ve transitioned  smoother. 

The court scenes were intense. I felt like a ping pong ball following each and every evidence and rebuttal. I didn’t know who to believe. The tension building kept me on edge. I couldn’t put the book down to sleep. 

Spoiler

I was convinced it was Tate. And I think the author knew readers would find themselves there after Tate gave Kya the hat. And to sneakily put in the police getting Tate was a good way to pull the readers leg. Though the scene of Tate’s father dying and it resulting in Tate and Kya getting back together was disappointing. It read like killing off a character to progress the story.

Amazing ending.

Spoiler

I really thought it was an accident by the end of it, but to discover the truth through a poem was excellent.

Edit: I was shocked to find out after finishing this book there are accusations of the author being racist. Which was shocking considering the contents of this book. What a world. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Abandonment, Child abuse, Grief, Hate crime, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Grief, Alcoholism, Classism, Racial slurs, Addiction, Death, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Injury/injury detail, Cancer, War, Infidelity, Infertility, and Bullying

its_erin's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

You won't want for descriptive imagery in this novel, as chapters are dedicated to the detailed depictions of "the marsh girl's" world. Meandering like a river, this book slowly weaves together the past and present from different perspectives to ultimately produce a story of love, loss, and the futility of going against the forces of nature.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Bullying, Alcoholism, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Minor: Death of parent, Infertility, War, and Infidelity

linskireads's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Abandonment, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Sexual assault and Racism

Minor: War and Self harm

ssummer_readss's review

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Beautifully written. The plot is amazing and I love how it is a mystery, coming-of-age, and a celebration for the wonders of nature all in one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment and Racial slurs

Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Rape, Sexual content, and Alcoholism

Minor: War and Bullying

christine7499's review

emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

To be honest I predicted a lot of what would happen by the end of the book, but it was still enjoyable nonetheless

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Child abuse, Murder, Rape, and Abandonment

Minor: War

karo_lin's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Domestic abuse, and Addiction

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Abandonment, and Violence

Minor: Gaslighting, Grief, Murder, War, Cancer, Bullying, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Racism

elindseyr190's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book was so good, an emotional rollercoaster. I honestly can’t think of anything to say, I stayed up until 2:30 in the morning reading this and I get up at 6:30.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Murder, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Grief, Sexual content, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, and Death

Minor: Toxic relationship, War, Stalking, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Injury/injury detail, Infidelity, and Racism

micaelamariem's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 

For the past couple of years, it seemed like everyone was raving about this book. Last year, I picked it up because it was on sale and I had heard of it, but not knowing what it was about I put it to the side to collect dust. But now the movie is out and people are talking about it again, and I thought it was about time I give it a try.

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (published by Corsair) is a book that’s hard to describe. It’s about the life of Kya Clark, the “Marsh Girl” as everyone in the town calls her. It’s about her struggles with abandonment, lonliness, prejudice, and living in the wild. It’s about love and loss and biology. And it’s also sort of a murder mystery.

This was, without a doubt, a good book. I don’t know if it would be accurate to say I “enjoyed” it as it is a sad book that had me tearing up every other chapter, but I like the book. I thought the writing style was beautiful and poetic in a way that connected Kya’s life to the wild marshlife, and to me it seemed like there were nods to Walden or to Rachel Carson here and there. I also enjoyed the nods to poetry. Plus, there were themes of overcoming prejudices, especially in the court scenes, that reminded me of To Kill a Mockingbird, in some ways. I also really loved Jumpin, and how he became a psuedo-father to Kya. He was easily the best character.

Some criticisms of the book claim that it was genre-confused, and I can see where they were coming from. It is marketed as a mystery, but I think it’s less that and moreso literary and historical fiction. Perhaps that’s why I liked, though, as someone who typically hates mysteries! I also would have liked maybe more hope in the book, though there are threads, and it’s not a completley sad ending. It’s definitley not a book for people who are looking for something lighthearted, that’s for sure.

I do think it is an important book, however. The historical setting can help readers understand past prejudices while also confronting their own. The nature of Kya and her biological interests can cause readers to look at nature with a new appreciation. We can also reflect on characters and what is right and wrong, as well as reflect on the differences between loneliness and solitude.

Overall, I’m rating this book four stars. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Murder, Bullying, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Racism, Sexism, Death, Injury/injury detail, and Racial slurs

Minor: Animal death, Pregnancy, War, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Mental illness, and Sexual content

jfield351's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This book was very well written and easy to read.
For me, it did not live up to the hype because I was able to guess the ending quite early on. 

Spoiler

The lack of her memories about that night was very suspicious. It was also suspicious that no one else was accused. The only time I thought that maybe it wasn’t her was when the sheriff took tate away. but that was just because his father had died

. There were some very interesting facts in here, the ‘sneaky fuckers’ theory and general animal behaviour is what i am currently studying in zoology and evolution. so that was really interesting. Having been written by a zoologist was very interesting!! I also really liked the line ‘giving away another piece of herself just to have someone else’ when she laughed for chase. really hit deep.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment and Child abuse

Moderate: Colonisation, Confinement, Gore, Grief, Injury/injury detail, Racial slurs, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Bullying, Classism, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and War

slutforhotwings's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Bullying, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Racial slurs, Sexual content, Injury/injury detail, Religious bigotry, Racism, Misogyny, and Sexism

Minor: War, Slavery, and Colonisation