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3.32 AVERAGE
3.32 AVERAGE
Overall this probably deserves 5 stars, but I can’t bring myself to give it. I caught little things the editor should have. I also don’t like the main character. She’s more unreliable than me but somehow knows where southwest is.
However, the story is amazing. I love that it was about the climate crisis. I love that there was a feeling of unease and questioning the whole time. Very interesting story and I highly recommend.
However, the story is amazing. I love that it was about the climate crisis. I love that there was a feeling of unease and questioning the whole time. Very interesting story and I highly recommend.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
4 stars for PNW culty intrigue, -1 for pacing and ambiguous ending. Great for someone who wants a misty, isolated island intrigue but hates jump scares.
I wanted this to be a building mystery, but it's more slow intrigue without much climax. Excellent world building, I could see and smell and feel everything in my mind. It feels like the real-life version of a thriller, where everything is much more mundane than it would be in the movies. In its own way, that's kind of neat. The whole story is really more about people just living their lives than it is about the intrigue. Could've done without the present-day chapters, but they prove this is more a story about the character and her development than it is about what happens on Marrow.
I wanted this to be a building mystery, but it's more slow intrigue without much climax. Excellent world building, I could see and smell and feel everything in my mind. It feels like the real-life version of a thriller, where everything is much more mundane than it would be in the movies. In its own way, that's kind of neat. The whole story is really more about people just living their lives than it is about the intrigue. Could've done without the present-day chapters, but they prove this is more a story about the character and her development than it is about what happens on Marrow.
With Marrow Island, Smith has written a truly great Pacific Northwest novel. She's given us a good dosage of mystery, ecological thriller, and speculative fiction, but defies our expectations of each. Marrow Island as a place is so firmly grounded in the mood and atmosphere of the Northwest that you feel like you've been there before; you could spy it through the fog on your next ferry ride or trip up the coast. Setting is not the only strong point of the book, however; the plot keeps your curiosity simmering right up through the end.
I had a hard time reviewing this book, which I enjoyed but couldn't settle on a star count for. I'm going with 4, but it could be a 3.5. The writing in this "eco-thriller" is wonderful, and I love the Pacific Northwest setting and the focus on environmental issues, but it also feels a little bit slow and uneven to me in spots. That said, it's eerie and it'll make you think, so if that's your bag, you might like this slow burn novel.
The main events take place on Marrow Island, a fictitious island in the San Juan Islands of the Puget Sound (Washington State) where, twenty years prior, the May Day Quake caused a terrible explosion at an oil refinery and rendered the landscape unsafe. Our main character, Lucie, lost her father in that explosion and left the islands after high school, taking up permanent residence in Seattle. But two things bring Lucie back as a grown woman: a letter from her childhood best friend, Katie, inviting her to visit The Colony on Marrow Island; and the formal inheritance of her childhood home, given to Lucie by her mother.
As soon as Lucie gets to her childhood home, she can tell that something is off and the mysteries of Marrow Island and the eccentric group of environmentalists living in The Colony begin to ramp up. Lucie spends time on the island with Katie, ostensibly because Katie has asked her to write a story about The Colony and their work, which involves rehabilitating the island using questionable tactics. What follows is part mystery, part romance, part environmental lesson, told through Lucie over three different time periods. You'll learn more about mushrooms than you ever thought possible, but you'll also feel creeped out and morally conflicted.
The main events take place on Marrow Island, a fictitious island in the San Juan Islands of the Puget Sound (Washington State) where, twenty years prior, the May Day Quake caused a terrible explosion at an oil refinery and rendered the landscape unsafe. Our main character, Lucie, lost her father in that explosion and left the islands after high school, taking up permanent residence in Seattle. But two things bring Lucie back as a grown woman: a letter from her childhood best friend, Katie, inviting her to visit The Colony on Marrow Island; and the formal inheritance of her childhood home, given to Lucie by her mother.
As soon as Lucie gets to her childhood home, she can tell that something is off and the mysteries of Marrow Island and the eccentric group of environmentalists living in The Colony begin to ramp up. Lucie spends time on the island with Katie, ostensibly because Katie has asked her to write a story about The Colony and their work, which involves rehabilitating the island using questionable tactics. What follows is part mystery, part romance, part environmental lesson, told through Lucie over three different time periods. You'll learn more about mushrooms than you ever thought possible, but you'll also feel creeped out and morally conflicted.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
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
Great story and setting. Description and characters (though none are as well developed as the narrator). I couldn't put this one down.
Alexis M. Smith's debut novel, Glaciers, was quirky and off-beat and it charmed me (and I am not easily charmed). Her new novel, [Marrow Island], is more structured and focused, but still had that odd charm I remembered from her first book.
Lucie was a child living on a small island off the coast of Portland, Oregon when the 1993 earthquake destroyed the oil refinery on the nearby Marrow island, killing her father. She survived the months after because of her close friend, Katie, but when Lucie and her mother move away, their paths diverge; Lucie working as a journalist and Katie joining a small, environmentally conscious commune that is working to restore Marrow Island's ecosystem. When Lucie loses her job and is given the title to her parents' house on the island, a letter from Katie brings her to Marrow Island, with the hope of writing an article about the commune, but events and Lucie's presence destabilize the commune and lay bare the flaws within.
Marrow Island is a lot of fun to read. It's full of a sense of place, whether it's the San Juan Islands or the Malheur refuge, the other setting of this slender novel. The structure and plot remind me of the old school suspense novels I devoured in high school, although Lucie prefers to rescue herself. The environmental theme is thoughtfully done, and never comes across in a heavy-handed way; it's clear that Smith is not using the novel to send a message, but allows the environmental theme to serve the plot. I just really enjoyed this book.
Lucie was a child living on a small island off the coast of Portland, Oregon when the 1993 earthquake destroyed the oil refinery on the nearby Marrow island, killing her father. She survived the months after because of her close friend, Katie, but when Lucie and her mother move away, their paths diverge; Lucie working as a journalist and Katie joining a small, environmentally conscious commune that is working to restore Marrow Island's ecosystem. When Lucie loses her job and is given the title to her parents' house on the island, a letter from Katie brings her to Marrow Island, with the hope of writing an article about the commune, but events and Lucie's presence destabilize the commune and lay bare the flaws within.
Marrow Island is a lot of fun to read. It's full of a sense of place, whether it's the San Juan Islands or the Malheur refuge, the other setting of this slender novel. The structure and plot remind me of the old school suspense novels I devoured in high school, although Lucie prefers to rescue herself. The environmental theme is thoughtfully done, and never comes across in a heavy-handed way; it's clear that Smith is not using the novel to send a message, but allows the environmental theme to serve the plot. I just really enjoyed this book.