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4.21 AVERAGE
4.21 AVERAGE
mysterious
reflective
not super satisfying as far as mysteries go & dragged a bit at points. but really well-developed characters, especially kya, and lovely ecological writing throughout
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
mysterious
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:
No
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Wow. This may be one of my new favorite books of all time. It gives To Kill a Mockingbird vibes (also one of my all time favs) with themes of coming of age, right from wrong, the Justice system in the mid 20th century, and what it meant to be stigmatized by your community at that time, for “being different”. This is all tied in with a murder mystery which keeps things interesting. As a bio/ evolution nerd myself, I loved the biodiversity discussed throughout the book. The way Kya models her own interactions based on what she sees in the biodiversity of the swamp is so interesting- and there’s big foreshadowing there which I LOVE (IYKYK). I adored this book.
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
If I’m going to be completely honest I had no interest in Where the Crawdads Sing for ages. I heard of it in 2019 and really didn’t bother looking it up since I found the name weird and thought it was a nature book (I was half right). It wasn’t till my mum wanted to see the movie that I finally picked this book and to find out if it lives up to its hype and yes, it definitely did.
Where the Crawdads Sings definitely didn’t want to pick a genre, it’s a crime story, a romance, a coming-of-age story, historical fiction. Because of this there are many different ways to read his book, some demanding more realism than others, and exposing holes which are irrelevant to other ways. I choose to read this book like a coming of age story with a hint of murder mystery.
I saw this book as a coming of age story,as you are guided through every significant step of Kya’s life as she develops remarkably, but remains essentially the same person. Her lonesomeness is conveyed perfectly and the reality of seeing nearly everyone she cares about leave her behind was so affecting.
Kya is an extraordinary character, unlike any I have come across before, she is vivid and original and at times, her survival in isolation comes close to superheroism. The more I read about Kya the more I felt such deep sympathy towards her. Yet even as you learn more about Kya throughout the novel, she still retains a degree of mystery at the end. All of the other characters were brilliantly written, too. I particularly liked Jumpin’, Mabel who are there to show the racial segregation during the 1950s-1970s, they are both extremely likeable and caring, the relationship between them and Kya is my favorite. While Kind hearted , working class Tate who befriends Kya and is first person to see her as more than the dumb “marsh girl”. And Chase was an accurate depiction of the attitudes of others towards Kya.
The writing was also a joy to behold. Told entirely in the third person, the writing is concise and not a word is wasted. There are dual timelines that ultimately converge and help to build curiosity. There is also some poetry interspersed across the narrative, which also adds to the plot towards the end.
I loved the way the natural world and biology played such an important role, and how it was used to personify some of the events within the book. As Kya adopts nature as her only true family she uses this as her only reference point for observing her surroundings. Her main challenge is working out the differences between what she observes in nature to what sees in human behaviour. She observes that mother animals and birds always return to their young leads her poignantly to believe that her childhood solitude will be temporary. As she gets older her dating rituals are drawn from observing the sex life of fireflies, bullfrogs, and damselfly. She also, crucially, observes the dangers of predation in the wild. I enjoyed how this impacts the main plot as well.
Overall, this was an original and unforgettable read that will stay with me for a long time to come. I still can't help but laugh when I read that when this book was published they only prainted 28 000 copies as they thought it wouldn’t be popular.
Where the Crawdads Sings definitely didn’t want to pick a genre, it’s a crime story, a romance, a coming-of-age story, historical fiction. Because of this there are many different ways to read his book, some demanding more realism than others, and exposing holes which are irrelevant to other ways. I choose to read this book like a coming of age story with a hint of murder mystery.
I saw this book as a coming of age story,as you are guided through every significant step of Kya’s life as she develops remarkably, but remains essentially the same person. Her lonesomeness is conveyed perfectly and the reality of seeing nearly everyone she cares about leave her behind was so affecting.
Kya is an extraordinary character, unlike any I have come across before, she is vivid and original and at times, her survival in isolation comes close to superheroism. The more I read about Kya the more I felt such deep sympathy towards her. Yet even as you learn more about Kya throughout the novel, she still retains a degree of mystery at the end. All of the other characters were brilliantly written, too. I particularly liked Jumpin’, Mabel who are there to show the racial segregation during the 1950s-1970s, they are both extremely likeable and caring, the relationship between them and Kya is my favorite. While Kind hearted , working class Tate who befriends Kya and is first person to see her as more than the dumb “marsh girl”. And Chase was an accurate depiction of the attitudes of others towards Kya.
The writing was also a joy to behold. Told entirely in the third person, the writing is concise and not a word is wasted. There are dual timelines that ultimately converge and help to build curiosity. There is also some poetry interspersed across the narrative, which also adds to the plot towards the end.
I loved the way the natural world and biology played such an important role, and how it was used to personify some of the events within the book. As Kya adopts nature as her only true family she uses this as her only reference point for observing her surroundings. Her main challenge is working out the differences between what she observes in nature to what sees in human behaviour. She observes that mother animals and birds always return to their young leads her poignantly to believe that her childhood solitude will be temporary. As she gets older her dating rituals are drawn from observing the sex life of fireflies, bullfrogs, and damselfly. She also, crucially, observes the dangers of predation in the wild. I enjoyed how this impacts the main plot as well.
Overall, this was an original and unforgettable read that will stay with me for a long time to come. I still can't help but laugh when I read that when this book was published they only prainted 28 000 copies as they thought it wouldn’t be popular.
challenging
dark
emotional
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
Great read
Couldn't put it down! Heartbreaking (and a little far fetched at times) this was a really captivating read. Hoping they make this into a movie!
Couldn't put it down! Heartbreaking (and a little far fetched at times) this was a really captivating read. Hoping they make this into a movie!
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
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:
Yes
schön geschrieben, Einsamkeit schön dargestellt