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4.21 AVERAGE
4.21 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
I fell in love with this achingly beautiful story. It was heartbreaking, breathtaking and very emotionally driven. It's my favourite non-fantasy book. I could stay in the swamp with Kya forever. I rooted for her, cheered for her when things went her way and was outraged when they didn't.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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:
Complicated
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I apologize in advance for the mistakes that may occur, english is not my first language.
Firstly I need to address the fact that I read the book in my native language, which is romaninan, and has 442 pages, as opposed to 384 in the english version. And so, some of the opinions that I have for it might be influenced by some subtle elements which have been altered through translation due to language and cultural barrier.
With that being said, I have a very complicated relationship with this book, and I’m still weighting how much I actually enjoyed it. Before I have read it, I kept hearing good things about it. Many have recommended it to me, thinking that I would enjoy it, and maybe I would relate to the main character, as I also am an avid nature enjoyer. And so, I had big expectations. And sadly, they have not been met.
There were things that I really enjoyed, such as scenery, places and food descriptions. I also liked the pace and the way that the author managed to convey such vivid images of that specific period in time and space. I found myself a little bit curious about the murder mystery (which is unusual for me). I also liked reading the trial scenes.
The rest is quite complicated. The main character, Kya is a girl that has been abandoned by her family and now she’s learning to find for herself. At first I liked where it was going. I thought that the final message will be that people are hard to trust and they are dangerous and selfish, and they will always perceive you as pray if they deem you inferior. And that only in the wilderness you can truly be free of the dangers and prejudices reinforced by society. Especially if you are a minority or a girl.
And at first that seemed to be the case, but then it kept coming around, denying the progress and the lessons learned by the main character. Especially at the end . But I’ll come back to this later.
One of the biggest issues I had with it was how uncomfortable it managed to make me more than one time.And it might be a lit of bit of a spoiler, but I feel like people should know about it, because it doesn’t come up often when people talk about this book. Personally, I really would have liked to know (and this becomes a real issue when you start to relate with the characters). Like how am I supposed to root for the main couple if you describe to me how the guy (18-19) is touching the main character’s vagina (14-15). She had no real human contact in years, no experience, no one to teach her properly, she is shy and doesn’t know what’s happening, AND SHE IS A CHILD! It also happened almost right after she started having periods, which where described as ,,Becoming a woman”. No. This is stupid and harmful. You don’t become an adult when you get your first period. The youngest mother ever recorded was 5. She obviously had period in order to give birth. Was she also an adult woman at 5? This is stupid and I am sick of this argument. Yes the love interest restrained himself (although so did the other one at first so, what’s the point here?), but it still grossed me out. I had to put down the book, have a break down and take a break. Only 2 days later I managed to pick it up again. The power dynamic was also kind of problematic if you ask me. He was older, more socially experienced and a mentor figure. I think they should have remained friends and that’s it.
There was also a really weird part close to the end. Kya was just released from jail (where she spent her last 2 months) – and lets not forget how traumatising must have been for her to be in a cage for so long, away from her home and her swamp, which she never left, and to have to be in a court and talk to strangers, while under the constant death sentence threat - , and she bearly had time to sleep again in her bed and feel a little bit of releaf. Meanwhile, Tate (the love interest) was having this thought : ,” ... se gândea că un sărut-două i-ar fi băgat Kiei mințile în cap.”, which translates to something like: " ... he was thinking that a kiss or two would knock some sense into Kya.". Knock some senses into her?after she was jailed for defending herself from her ex who was trying to rape her? And they say romance is dead...
He also acted in a way that conveyed more like she was his pet, not his girlfriend. He talked very condescending and I didn’t liked it. The fact that they got together at the end felt rushed and unnatural, and undermined everything that Kya has been through and all the lessons. You could argue that she was so socialy deprived and craving human contact, that it was inm character for her to make that decision, but I’m not so sure, and I think it’s a shit lesson and a weak conclusion to her strong and independent character. Yes she can interact with people, and make friends, I’m not saying that she should completely cut of the rest of the world. She is a successful author after all and has friend in the black community, and can still be friends with Tate. But a wild animal is a wild animal and she always feel free and unbothered alone with the seagulls and cranes, in the middle of the untamed marsh.
There was also a really weird part close to the end. Kya was just released from jail (where she spent her last 2 months) – and lets not forget how traumatising must have been for her to be in a cage for so long, away from her home and her swamp, which she never left, and to have to be in a court and talk to strangers, while under the constant death sentence threat - , and she bearly had time to sleep again in her bed and feel a little bit of releaf. Meanwhile, Tate (the love interest) was having this thought : ,” ... se gândea că un sărut-două i-ar fi băgat Kiei mințile în cap.”, which translates to something like: " ... he was thinking that a kiss or two would knock some sense into Kya.". Knock some senses into her?after she was jailed for defending herself from her ex who was trying to rape her? And they say romance is dead...
He also acted in a way that conveyed more like she was his pet, not his girlfriend. He talked very condescending and I didn’t liked it. The fact that they got together at the end felt rushed and unnatural, and undermined everything that Kya has been through and all the lessons. You could argue that she was so socialy deprived and craving human contact, that it was inm character for her to make that decision, but I’m not so sure, and I think it’s a shit lesson and a weak conclusion to her strong and independent character. Yes she can interact with people, and make friends, I’m not saying that she should completely cut of the rest of the world. She is a successful author after all and has friend in the black community, and can still be friends with Tate. But a wild animal is a wild animal and she always feel free and unbothered alone with the seagulls and cranes, in the middle of the untamed marsh.
I just feel that the author kept sending subtle messages throughout the story, that were hidden in the text (which I loved), but at the end, they where disregarded in favor of a more classic end, so that the love story could happen. And I find it cheap.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abandonment, Alcohol
Moderate: Addiction, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Magical and poetic! The final chapter gave me goosebumps, absolutely loved this book
4.5/5
“among themselves, dices fight as often as hawks”
“watching the last of that day side down the wall”
“suddenly the ocean’s face- gray, stern, and pulsing- frowned at her”
“someone knew her name. she was taken aback. felt anchored to something; released from something else.”
“she’d never had a friend, but she could feel the use of it, the pull.”
“kya searched her bare toes but found no words”
“time ensures children never know their parents young “
“eating cake the way it should be eaten, the way everybody wants to eat it”
“once you can read anything you can learn everything”
“why ships the united, the still bleeding, bear the onus of forgiveness?”
“where an enormous cumulus cloud with peach-colored cheeks puffed itself up”
“a moan struggled against the strength of her throat”
“among themselves, dices fight as often as hawks”
“watching the last of that day side down the wall”
“suddenly the ocean’s face- gray, stern, and pulsing- frowned at her”
“someone knew her name. she was taken aback. felt anchored to something; released from something else.”
“she’d never had a friend, but she could feel the use of it, the pull.”
“kya searched her bare toes but found no words”
“time ensures children never know their parents young “
“eating cake the way it should be eaten, the way everybody wants to eat it”
“once you can read anything you can learn everything”
“why ships the united, the still bleeding, bear the onus of forgiveness?”
“where an enormous cumulus cloud with peach-colored cheeks puffed itself up”
“a moan struggled against the strength of her throat”
The imagery is phenomenal in this book- the plot is not really believable, I dislike how a handful of characters lack depth. It was an enjoyable and fast read but I think some themes could’ve been expanded on and the believability could have been more thorough
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes