Reviews tagging 'War'

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

46 reviews

kecasey's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Physical abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Racial slurs, Alcoholism, Racism, Child abuse, and Classism

Minor: War and Sexual assault

pia_altv's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring lighthearted 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment

Minor: Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Bullying, Gaslighting, Grief, Racial slurs, Racism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, War, Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Rape, and Slavery

hello_divine's review

emotional sad 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

4.0

In the beginning, it was hard, at least for me as a non-native speaker, to follow the story because of the specific vocabulary and the conversations in slang and dialect. But by the middle of the book I got better and still it is beautifully written, almost like a piece of art. It's so detailed and touching that I felt like I was right there with them! The raw and authentic portrait of the time added to that feeling. Kya's coming-of-age story is heartbreaking, but also full of heartwarming resilience. I really like Kya - she's such a lovable and fascinating character! Unfortunately, I found the ending quite weak: lots of events but very little emotion.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Death of parent, Stalking, Sexual assault, Death, Racism, Bullying, and Murder

Minor: War and Infertility

giveitagojo's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Racism, War, Violence, Abandonment, Child abuse, and Alcoholism

wogslandwriter's review against another edition

emotional reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

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

5.0

I did not know what to expect from this book when I started it. Honestly, it was beyond my expectations from the very beginning and it just kept going. I did not know how it was going to end.

I was pretty sure Kaya wouldn't go to jail, but I honestly did think that she had killed Tate. It made the most logical sense, but it just didn't seem like she had done it. It was definitely a surprise to have that twist at the end, but it all makes sense and it brings a sense of mildly juvenile wonder which I think really matches Kaya's personality because she was neglected for so long and stayed agoraphobic for her who life.

I laughed and cried reading this and it may be one of the best literary novels I have ever read. I am definitely interested in more books like this, with a focus on ecology and personhood. It is extremely good and I highly recommend this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Violence, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Domestic abuse, Racism, Murder, Death, Classism, Toxic relationship, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Cursing, Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Mental illness

Moderate: Infidelity, Blood, Death of parent, Sexual content, Cursing, and Misogyny

Minor: Car accident, War, Cancer, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Child death, Infertility, and Sexism

Kaya, the main character of this book is subject to extreme childhood neglect from and absent mother and alcoholic father. The book focuses on her abandonment and loneliness as it follows her story.

As a teenager she has a relationship with an older boy who is technically an adult for the later part of their relationship. As a young adult, she has a relationship with an emotionally manipulative young man where he is cheating on her and lying to her regularly. After breaking it off with him, he later chases her down and attempts to rape her. She defends herself and is able to escape him.

There are also graphic flashbacks to her father beating her mother and siblings and discussion of how her town is segregated with black people living in "colored town" separate from the white people. There is mild discussion of the racism of the era, but mostly it is simply treated as matter of fact as it is viewed through the eyes of a child.

aelin_morgenstern's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Classism, and Racism

Moderate: Grief, Bullying, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Racial slurs, Sexism, Violence, and Confinement

Minor: War, Domestic abuse, Infertility, and Sexual content

The book is set in the 1950s and 1960s. Therefore, the society is segregated and racial slurs are mentioned.

reemoony's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

before anything else, fuck delia owens. now, this was genuinely the best book ive read this year. it sucked me in on the first page and kept me there. following kya from her childhood all the way to adulthood become my favorite activity for a week. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Infertility, Racism, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Bullying, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Abandonment, Child abuse, Classism, Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Violence, Emotional abuse, War, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Death, and Cursing

zams's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Such an atmospheric and beautiful read, I absolutely loved the descriptions of the scenery and what they meant for Kya.
Kya's story definitly had me in my feelings and the murder had me guessing who did it in-between, but I felt like the main focus was on her life and how the surroundings played such a huge role in it.
All in all a great scenic story, an atmospheric read with the tension of a murder mystery woven in.
Allthough the ending wasn't really surprising to me, I still think it was fitting, however, definitly could have used a little more work, it was rather quick and didn't feel very thought through, but as I said the focus was more on the story than the murder-mystery in my opinion.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, and Racism

Moderate: Murder and Violence

Minor: Terminal illness, Sexual content, Infertility, Infidelity, and War

sofialeser's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Violence, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Racism, Racial slurs, Rape, and Bullying

Minor: Murder, Death, Infidelity, War, Infertility, and Death of parent

courtneyg1999's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

3.0

Very slow start feels like the books you were forced to read in high school then at the end it got better. Definitely a page Turner towards the end. By the third chapter I was jealous of Ma for leaving.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Rape, Racism, War, and Sexual harassment