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4.21 AVERAGE
4.21 AVERAGE
I loved this book, I couldn't read it quick enough to find out what happened!!
I'd wanted to read this for such a long time and was worried it wouldn't live up to expectations, but it was even better than I thought it would be. Such a beautiful and immersive story. Shouldn't have finished it on public transport as it made me cry!
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
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
I’m mad. 2 stars.
Update 7/28/22:
After thinking about this book for a solid 10 days I reduced my rating to a 1 star. I deserve compensation for finishing this.
Update 7/28/22:
After thinking about this book for a solid 10 days I reduced my rating to a 1 star. I deserve compensation for finishing this.
adventurous
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:
Yes
Honestly the murder was the least interesting thing about this book which is saying something. I love Kya as a main character, incredible upbringing story, but I would say it veered off at the end. I would have actually preferred to never have known whether or not she killed him. I think most of the last chapter was a little self-indulgent. Still, I really enjoyed the read.
*audiobook* I liked it, I’m not 100% sure why everyone is losing their minds over it but it was good. It’s slow, not meant to be a super eventful or suspenseful but Kya is an interesting character with a unique story. I also really enjoyed Owen’s writing style, that’s one of the key parts. So I’m not really sure why there’s so much hype for the movie.
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
dark
mysterious
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:
Yes
[83/166]
"“We are married. Like the geese,” she said.
“Okay. I can live with that.”"
-the only lines I can really vibe with in this entire book
I believe fiction has a problem with feralness. The wild woman must have shaved legs, as it were-- Kya can not be an uneducated swamp rat, she must be gorgeous, she must have two suitors, she must have a natural penchant for art and science that exceeds "civilized folk". It is not that I do not like transcendant imagery of wild women doing their thing in the swamp. I live for that. Goblincore forever. It's that to be pallatable to an audience, feralness must eventually conform to societal norms. Kya is salvageable, loveable, worthy of adoration not because of inherent worthiness as a human being, but because she transcends the swamp through the way she is able to appeal to men (Tate and Chase). Her plot revolves around the human longing for company (and it is explicitly romantic company, the further you go into the book, as her brother Jodie's visit MUST ***END*** with him telling her to "go get" a man who was interested in her when she was A MINOR and he was NINETEEN...) and not her individual empowerment in the marsh, her identity as the poet who she quotes revealed only at the end at the story, as a slight twist to be revealed by her widowed husband. If she were not the poet, if she were not constantly described as being attractive, if she were the "swamp rat" they describe her as and nothing "extraordinary" past that... who would have come to save Kya? Must people become commodifiable to be accepted by a system?
(Yes. The answer is yes. Also she is white. Otherwise she would have A B S O L U T E L Y been convicted at the end.)
Okay.
The book in and of itself is by no means irredeemable, or even that bad, but it is a very traditional love story of the outsider "tamed" by human kindness, wrapped up in tropes and like a few gestures to address intersectional classism...? But not particularly meaningful ones...? Very southern lit poking very light, minimal jabs at a system using an individual instead of actually addressing systemic biases. If you just want to read a story about a mysterious outsider, this is totally fine. But does it say anything deeply meaningful about the society that PRODUCED the impoverishment that Kya faces? Or the bias the town holds against her? No.
"“We are married. Like the geese,” she said.
“Okay. I can live with that.”"
-the only lines I can really vibe with in this entire book
I believe fiction has a problem with feralness. The wild woman must have shaved legs, as it were-- Kya can not be an uneducated swamp rat, she must be gorgeous, she must have two suitors, she must have a natural penchant for art and science that exceeds "civilized folk". It is not that I do not like transcendant imagery of wild women doing their thing in the swamp. I live for that. Goblincore forever. It's that to be pallatable to an audience, feralness must eventually conform to societal norms. Kya is salvageable, loveable, worthy of adoration not because of inherent worthiness as a human being, but because she transcends the swamp through the way she is able to appeal to men (Tate and Chase). Her plot revolves around the human longing for company (and it is explicitly romantic company, the further you go into the book, as her brother Jodie's visit MUST ***END*** with him telling her to "go get" a man who was interested in her when she was A MINOR and he was NINETEEN...) and not her individual empowerment in the marsh, her identity as the poet who she quotes revealed only at the end at the story, as a slight twist to be revealed by her widowed husband. If she were not the poet, if she were not constantly described as being attractive, if she were the "swamp rat" they describe her as and nothing "extraordinary" past that... who would have come to save Kya? Must people become commodifiable to be accepted by a system?
(Yes. The answer is yes. Also she is white. Otherwise she would have A B S O L U T E L Y been convicted at the end.)
Okay.
The book in and of itself is by no means irredeemable, or even that bad, but it is a very traditional love story of the outsider "tamed" by human kindness, wrapped up in tropes and like a few gestures to address intersectional classism...? But not particularly meaningful ones...? Very southern lit poking very light, minimal jabs at a system using an individual instead of actually addressing systemic biases. If you just want to read a story about a mysterious outsider, this is totally fine. But does it say anything deeply meaningful about the society that PRODUCED the impoverishment that Kya faces? Or the bias the town holds against her? No.