Reviews with content warning for Murder - Migrations

beautiful novel, great writing. interesting dynamics between the main character and the side characters.

one thing kept bothering me however: the book is basically based around climate change and its impacts on animals yet how it handles climate change impacts on humans is limited to mentioning the scientists and activists who are outraged and laborers whose labor consists of fishing (and are thus trying to deal with losing their means of income, which i do think was handled well). however due to the fact that the message of 'humans only seem capable of destroying nature' is repeated over and over again in this book, i feel a bit uncomfortable that the very real (and currently happening) climate change impacts on humans who have not, or barely, contributed to this process, do not get mentioned even once. i find this a harmful narrative and so i was a bit disappointed that climate change was (or seemed to be) reduced to 'humans bad'.

taking this into account, i can recommend this book as i think its strength lies in the human relationships at its core. i particularly enjoyed the sections taking place aboard the Saghani where we get to know the crew.

Content Warnings

taylor_annotates's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad 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

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ashberk18's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark fast-paced

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

4.5

I loved this book. I sort of inhaled in less than two days. It's short and potent and though provoking. The twists felt like a relief to discover but not knowing key pieces of info didn't stop me from enjoying it. I reserve 5 stars for my favorite, favorite books but this one may eventually end up on that list after I think about it more. Do check out the 'content warnings' on this one - there are almost too many to account for :/

Content Warnings

bill_muganda's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

"I wandered. Through cobbled streets or into paddocks, where long grass whispered hish as I passed between. Neighbors would find me exploring the flowers in their gardens, or out in the far hills climbing one of the trees so bent by the wind that its brittle fingers now reached sideways along with the earth. They'd say, " Watch this one, she's got itchy feet, and that's a tragedy."

Charlotte McConaghy's debut follows an endearing protagonist (Franny) whose unsettling nature and wild Auror propels her to unfamiliar territories in the natural world and emotional bonds she forms along the way. At the beginning of the narrative, she's desperately looking for a ship to chart her around tracking the last migrations of the Arctic Terns (bird species). This treacherous journey will strip her down and slowly reveal hidden trauma and uncharted emotional territory. Interspaced with discussions of environmental conservation and grim displays of mass extinctions set in motion by human activities foreshadowing our current trajectory elevates the urgency of the narrative.

A perfect balance of character study and Ecofiction, the tug and pull of Franny and The Ocean toes the line between beauty and dread. This impulsive nature leads to some questionable life choices and dire consequences explored through her investigation of her lost parents, an elopement with a young professor, getting in a ship with random strangers, to name a few. Frustratingly you'll keep hoping she'll anchor herself and face the inevitable internal tidal wave but, you slowly realize that the natural world is how she copes with her grief.

"I have always been frightened of dead things, birds more so than anything else. There is nothing so disturbing as creatures born to flight being bound to dull lifelessness."

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bakerreads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Tragic, haunting, dark, and beautiful.
This story is set in the near future, where most every wild animal is extinct. We follow Franny Stone, an unreliable narrator with a dark past, as she tracks the last known flock of Arctic terns on their final migration.
This story is fairly depressing, but there’s a found family aspect that I just absolutely adored and loved how the characters interacted with one another (for the most part). McConaghy is amazing at writing complex, and realistically flawed characters. This is a story about love, and loss, and finding your place in the world, and I thought it was perfect.

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hannahsonia's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

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andrea2813's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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