Scan barcode
mairyhammoth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Ableism, Death, Emotional abuse, and Racism
Minor: Car accident
theoriebubble's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Racism, and Rape
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Bullying
espaileen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Ableism, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, and Suicide
aprilnotmay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Sexual assault and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Racism, Suicide, Medical content, and Gaslighting
katrinarose's review
- 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
The author does an incredible job making fully developed characters. Reading her writing makes me feel justified for every complaint I’ve made for other books not having good character development, because THIS is what good character development looks like (and I’m not just picky, although maybe I am that too.) Kim definitely puts you on an emotional rollercoaster - you begin hating a character from another character’s viewpoint but then you get humbled once you get the other character’s perspective, backstory, emotions, and motivations. It truly is a study of “there’s two sides to every story”, and I think it gives the reader a lot to think about, not just in the book, but how we interact with the stories told every day by people we know and especially online.
The storyline itself was very engaging; it was very hard to put the book down. I really enjoyed all the POVs, for the reasons listed above but also for how it propelled the story along. I’m in awe of how she kept the mystery going even when we did get the the perspectives of the one(s) who committed the crime. I like a court procedural style. The back and forth was very satisfying to me, and reminded me a little of The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest. I think it was believable but I think that’s because I found the characters so believable, and I understand a few criticisms of the crime plot’s unbelievability. However I don’t think it was enough to ruin or even affect my reading experience.
I’m in love with Kim’s writing style too. She gives her characters such grace while not shying away from the dark things they do too. In my opinion she is a master of similes, never before have I seen them used so often with such strong effect.
I feel like I could talk about this book forever but I’ll leave it at that. I can’t think of anyone I wouldn’t recommend this book to, except maybe minors due to some tough subjects. It’s a new favorite.
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual assault, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content, Suicide, and Xenophobia
yaoipaddle's review against another edition
Graphic: Ableism, Death, Racial slurs, Rape, and Sexual assault
Minor: Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Xenophobia, and Vomit
ashleysbookthoughts's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Xenophobia, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Infertility, Misogyny, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Stalking, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cancer
alicelalicon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Child death, Death, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Excrement
annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
hot take, i'm not that big a fan of Shakespeare because so many of his plots (at least, his tragedies) are like, if any one thing in this series of unfortunate events had gone differently then we wouldn't be in these tragic circumstances, except the series of unfortunate events is ridiculous and arbitrary. best example: in Hamlet (spoilers), when Hamlet stabs and kills Polonius, who was eavesdropping behind a curtain, because Hamlet thought he heard a rat. that's just undeniably stupid for a major plot point. Miracle Creek has the same concept—if anything had gone differently we could have avoided tragedy—but pulls it off expertly. Shakespeare could never??
could this be considered southern gothic? it's set in Virginia, nearly everyone is a grotesque character, and there's some truly disturbing content, plus themes of racism, sexism, and poverty.
this review has been completely shaped by my English class experience
cover design review: ★★★★½. love the colors, the scenery, and the burn holes, but it starts to feel crowded with the addition of glitter and stars. not a big fan of the typeface, makes me think of Papyrus 😬
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Blood, Excrement, Car accident, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, and Stalking
emmareadseverything's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I have a thing for books where the characters share thoughts that society deems inappropriate. Similarly to The Push, this novel takes these incredibly raw characters and emotions and puts them in vulnerable, high pressure situations. What is created is so powerful.
If you want a breakdown of what I love about this novel, checkout my review of The Push, as I love this story for all the same reasons.
This is what Where the Crawdads Sing wishes it could be.
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Racism and Murder
Minor: Suicide