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4.21 AVERAGE
4.21 AVERAGE
*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.
I had a feeling this book wouldn't live up to the hype. I was correct. It wasn't my cup of tea. Too much of a love story for my liking.
This review will contain spoilers!
My biggest issue with the conclusion of the book was that I felt that the entire novel was building us up to see Kya as a sympathetic protagonist because she was outcast and the town had a prejudice against her for being the Marsh Girl. They immediately suspected she would be capable of murder because they viewed her as wild and animalistic. I felt the the first 3/4 of the book were spent humanizing her character and leading us to see the innocent girl who was abandoned by everyone she ever loved, who was just trying her best to survive. By making her the killer in the end, it not only proved that the prejudice the townspeople had against her was justified/accurate, but it destroyed any hope of character development we could have gotten from her. Instead of humanizing her, it boiled down her motivations to that of an animal. That is how animals handle conflict/bullying is to kill or be killed.
Further, I found it quite unrealistic that she would have been so self-sufficient at such a young age. Her ability to keep herself alive in the marsh by the age of 6 (I know it was a few years later when Pa left, but he was gone for extended periods of time and she still had to figure out how to feed herself) was a bit far fetched. Especially with no running water or electricity. How did she find water clean enough to drink without getting sick? Isn’t marsh water pretty dirty (and salty)? I also found it unrealistic that she could have learned to read as a teenager in such a short period of time, and become so proficient that she could then read textbooks on her own (with no teacher to help her understand words she didn’t already know) and basically become a biologist. So those bits of the story kind of killed my suspension of disbelief a bit.
The ending felt like one tragedy after another just rammed in there for maximum dramatic effect (Tate’s dad and Jumpin’ dying, infertility). Kya is a trauma magnet, and despite getting married and finding a way to earn money and prestige, she still never overcame her fear of society or found a way to leave the marsh. She lived out her days in the marsh, never growing or overcoming her trauma. I liked Tate, and I am glad they reconciled in the end, but I wish that they had been able to have children together. I feel like her becoming a mother and being able to have a family of her own that loved her and never left her would have been a wonderful way to tie up the book and complete her character arc. But I guess that would have been too optimistic for our tragic hero.
My biggest issue with the conclusion of the book was that I felt that the entire novel was building us up to see Kya as a sympathetic protagonist because she was outcast and the town had a prejudice against her for being the Marsh Girl. They immediately suspected she would be capable of murder because they viewed her as wild and animalistic. I felt the the first 3/4 of the book were spent humanizing her character and leading us to see the innocent girl who was abandoned by everyone she ever loved, who was just trying her best to survive. By making her the killer in the end, it not only proved that the prejudice the townspeople had against her was justified/accurate, but it destroyed any hope of character development we could have gotten from her. Instead of humanizing her, it boiled down her motivations to that of an animal. That is how animals handle conflict/bullying is to kill or be killed.
Further, I found it quite unrealistic that she would have been so self-sufficient at such a young age. Her ability to keep herself alive in the marsh by the age of 6 (I know it was a few years later when Pa left, but he was gone for extended periods of time and she still had to figure out how to feed herself) was a bit far fetched. Especially with no running water or electricity. How did she find water clean enough to drink without getting sick? Isn’t marsh water pretty dirty (and salty)? I also found it unrealistic that she could have learned to read as a teenager in such a short period of time, and become so proficient that she could then read textbooks on her own (with no teacher to help her understand words she didn’t already know) and basically become a biologist. So those bits of the story kind of killed my suspension of disbelief a bit.
The ending felt like one tragedy after another just rammed in there for maximum dramatic effect (Tate’s dad and Jumpin’ dying, infertility). Kya is a trauma magnet, and despite getting married and finding a way to earn money and prestige, she still never overcame her fear of society or found a way to leave the marsh. She lived out her days in the marsh, never growing or overcoming her trauma. I liked Tate, and I am glad they reconciled in the end, but I wish that they had been able to have children together. I feel like her becoming a mother and being able to have a family of her own that loved her and never left her would have been a wonderful way to tie up the book and complete her character arc. But I guess that would have been too optimistic for our tragic hero.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
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:
Complicated
I'm rounding up a rating of 3.5 - I really did like this book right up until the end. While some of the nature descriptions got a little long for me, I thought it was beautifully written. The depth of comments were just lovely - like not knowing "words could hold so much" or the concept that "some parts of us will alway be what we were, what we had to be to survive." I was rooting for Kya and grieving with her as she moved through each loss. The back and forth snapshots between the trial and her upbringing kept me interested in the ultimate outcome. The honest look at racial tensions in that era was appreciated and also evoked strong emotions for me.
However.
I think the ending was awful. After spending so much time convincing us Kya could not possibly have been responsible for Chase Andrews' death, not to mention that would be contrary to all of her character development throughout the novel, the end felt like a bait and switch. While I was hoping the author would shed some light on what happened that night (was it an accident? did someone else kill him to protect Kya?), I would have rather that question remain unanswered. Usually I want loose ends tied up at the end of a novel, but in this case I would rather the mystery of Chase Andrews' death left unresolved than have to find out Kya was responsible. There was no time for the reader to process. She did not get to explain. I am left not knowing how I feel about her as a person or the story as a whole.
However.
I think the ending was awful. After spending so much time convincing us Kya could not possibly have been responsible for Chase Andrews' death, not to mention that would be contrary to all of her character development throughout the novel, the end felt like a bait and switch. While I was hoping the author would shed some light on what happened that night (was it an accident? did someone else kill him to protect Kya?), I would have rather that question remain unanswered. Usually I want loose ends tied up at the end of a novel, but in this case I would rather the mystery of Chase Andrews' death left unresolved than have to find out Kya was responsible. There was no time for the reader to process. She did not get to explain. I am left not knowing how I feel about her as a person or the story as a whole.
The story centred around the theme of loneliness and growing up in a society that shows prejudice towards the minority. Although I found the plot quite predictable, I enjoyed all the facts about birds, nature and the marsh ecosystem interspersed within the book.