Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens

256 reviews

foxes_need_to_be_tamed's review against another edition

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

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Death of parent, Murder, Violence, Sexual violence, Death, Physical abuse, Grief, Rape, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Car accident, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

loona0's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Racial slurs, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Violence

anna_d_l's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Racial slurs, Murder, and Sexual violence

clemrain's review against another edition

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

wolfie2243's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

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

5.0

This book had me crying, laughing, and in absolute shock. That's not something that most books I've ever read do, especially not all together. For sure 5 stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Death of parent, Murder, Self harm, Death, and Injury/injury detail

thelittlebookishnerd's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious 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

5.0

Where the Crawdads Sing is an historical fiction set in a small coastal town in North Carolina, but it's more than that. It's part mystery, part coming-of-age, part survival against odds, and part ode to the beauty of nature. It is a beautiful, heartbreaking novel about Kya finding strength after being abandoned by her entire family and shunned by the townsfolk when she was just 10 years old.

Honestly, I never felt a strong urge to read Where the Crawdads Sing and it wasn't for any particular or obvious reason. But a friend highly recommended it to me multiple times, so I gave in, and I am so happy that I did! This book was so easy to fall into and I loved seeing Kya learn, grow, and be resilient when it would be so easy to just give up. This book will stay with me for a long time.

If you're looking for a book with strong character development, I highly recommend Where the Crawdads Sing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Racial slurs, Rape, Child abuse, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Death, Death of parent, and Murder

saskiahill's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Bullying, Classism, Grief, Child abuse, Infidelity, Sexual harassment, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, and Murder

Minor: Cancer, Animal death, Mental illness, Self harm, Injury/injury detail, and Excrement

hbotney's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Murder, Racism, Stalking, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Grief, Misogyny, Rape, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Death, and Death of parent

bashsbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Cursing, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Classism, Child abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault, Bullying, Hate crime, Death of parent, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, Toxic relationship, and Racism

its_erin's review against another edition

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