Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

151 reviews

moobubu's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

im sweating so bad rn i can never move on from this

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

elizabeth_juliet's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

I read this book during my study hall because I could not stay away from it. I lived the moody, southern gothic vibes, set in the 1960s in a small town surrounded by a mysteriously haunting marsh.

As someone who loves figurative language and imagery, this was a joy to read! From the first page, I was hooked! “Marsh is not swamp. Marsh is a space of light, where grass grows in water, and water flows into sky.” I’ve never been to the coast of North Carolina and I wasn’t alive in the sixties, but this novel transported me there. 

My heart ached for Kya so many times as I read this book, so was so young and innocent in a cruel world that she had done nothing to deserve. I love murder mysteries, and especially loved the way this book jumped around its timeframe. That’s all I’ll say because I’m afraid I’ll spoil it if I go on. If you love descriptions of nature, misunderstood heroines, and true love winning out, read Where the Crawdads Sing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Racism and Stalking

justmys's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

A good read. I felt the pacing sort of slump in the middle and then race through the trial a little but overall it was a decent book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Grief, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Blood, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

moonbasket's review against another edition

emotional reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

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

5.0

I did not know what to expect from this book when I started it. Honestly, it was beyond my expectations from the very beginning and it just kept going. I did not know how it was going to end.

I was pretty sure Kaya wouldn't go to jail, but I honestly did think that she had killed Tate. It made the most logical sense, but it just didn't seem like she had done it. It was definitely a surprise to have that twist at the end, but it all makes sense and it brings a sense of mildly juvenile wonder which I think really matches Kaya's personality because she was neglected for so long and stayed agoraphobic for her who life.

I laughed and cried reading this and it may be one of the best literary novels I have ever read. I am definitely interested in more books like this, with a focus on ecology and personhood. It is extremely good and I highly recommend this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Moderate: Cursing, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, Blood, and Death of parent

Minor: Cancer, Child death, Infertility, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Car accident, and War

Kaya, the main character of this book is subject to extreme childhood neglect from and absent mother and alcoholic father. The book focuses on her abandonment and loneliness as it follows her story.

As a teenager she has a relationship with an older boy who is technically an adult for the later part of their relationship. As a young adult, she has a relationship with an emotionally manipulative young man where he is cheating on her and lying to her regularly. After breaking it off with him, he later chases her down and attempts to rape her. She defends herself and is able to escape him.

There are also graphic flashbacks to her father beating her mother and siblings and discussion of how her town is segregated with black people living in "colored town" separate from the white people. There is mild discussion of the racism of the era, but mostly it is simply treated as matter of fact as it is viewed through the eyes of a child.

mack_urdaddy's review

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

The author’s imagery is rn captivating and unlike any other that I’ve read. It truly is like she is leading you through every brush stroke she uses to paint the scene of the marsh.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, and Death of parent

love_chloe_c's review

adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• 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 would've killed Chase too </3

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Racism, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Death, Self harm, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

sparklyodin's review

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

I feel like the ending is forced in order to have a "twist" and was not believable. If I could chop off the last 4 pages it would be the oerfect book.

They spend the whole book telling you not to assume the undereducated woman is a murderer, defending her character, and then in the last 10 seconds they say "just kidding she is totally the filthy character you all thought. Judge poor people forever, they nasty."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, and Classism

reemoony's review

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

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

4.5

before anything else, fuck delia owens. now, this was genuinely the best book ive read this year. it sucked me in on the first page and kept me there. following kya from her childhood all the way to adulthood become my favorite activity for a week. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Death of parent, and War

embreads98's review

adventurous lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

I generally enjoyed this book, but there were a few parts I took issue with. The main love interest begins when the main character is in her early teens and her pursuer is 18, and there are passages that imply he is attracted to her naive qualities. That gave me a bit of an ick feeling. The other thing is that there is a minor character (Jumpin’s wife, Mabel) who is repeatedly described as notably fat, and yet when her weight is mentioned it is “almost 200 pounds”. It’s a small detail but as a mid-sized person who is over 200 pounds, it made me feel like the author has never actually met a fat person. All of this said, I enjoyed this easy read and found the writing to be good but not great, not necessarily worth the hype that this book has received.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Abandonment

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Violence, and Alcohol

mellysay's review

dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cancer, Cursing, Eating disorder, Infertility, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, and Grief