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A review by belladonnashrike
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
- 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
3.0
I loved the story. the writing was not the best at times - I only thoroughly enjoyed it when owens was describing nature and the wildlife that surrounded kya. being a published wildlife scientist, it makes sense for those parts to be more vibrant than the rest. the pacing for the first half of the book was solid but in part 2, the pacing felt…off. it wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t good either. the time skips honestly were not well done. I feel like the second half was overly edited with important chapters and several details left out, especially when the first half didn’t deal with unnatural time skips at all. time in the first half felt very organic; part 2 felt sloppy and hastily strung together. I did enjoy the twist, I was thinking that someone else committed the crime for most of the book and was genuinely surprised to find out that I was wrong. (I still love kya my girl did nothing wrong.)
also: why on earth did owens only describe mabel with her size? any time the woman was mentioned - who had many great qualities that had nothing to do with, and were more important than, her outward appearance - her fatness was mentioned unnecessarily. the first time, of course mention it because that’s what she looks like. but repeatedly in *that* tone she had? it felt very weird to me. she was the only (somewhat prominent) black woman in the book and aside from her kindness, that was the only thing she had going for her? no other side character was described in that manner. of course she was kya’s mother figure, but there are ways to describe that role that doesn’t tap into a mammy stereotype. it was annoying and weird coming from a white author. jumpin’s character also felt like a caricature and their descriptions seemed to reveal blatant racial bias from the author. the story takes place in the sixties, but there are ways to showcase the characters’ attitudes and perceptions towards others without being racist yourself.
also: why on earth did owens only describe mabel with her size? any time the woman was mentioned - who had many great qualities that had nothing to do with, and were more important than, her outward appearance - her fatness was mentioned unnecessarily. the first time, of course mention it because that’s what she looks like. but repeatedly in *that* tone she had? it felt very weird to me. she was the only (somewhat prominent) black woman in the book and aside from her kindness, that was the only thing she had going for her? no other side character was described in that manner. of course she was kya’s mother figure, but there are ways to describe that role that doesn’t tap into a mammy stereotype. it was annoying and weird coming from a white author. jumpin’s character also felt like a caricature and their descriptions seemed to reveal blatant racial bias from the author. the story takes place in the sixties, but there are ways to showcase the characters’ attitudes and perceptions towards others without being racist yourself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Fatphobia