Reviews with content warning for Animal death - Where the Crawdads Sing

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Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

32 reviews

redefiningrachel's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective slow-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? No

3.5

Content Warnings

micaelamariem's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

For the past couple of years, it seemed like everyone was raving about this book. Last year, I picked it up because it was on sale and I had heard of it, but not knowing what it was about I put it to the side to collect dust. But now the movie is out and people are talking about it again, and I thought it was about time I give it a try.

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (published by Corsair) is a book that’s hard to describe. It’s about the life of Kya Clark, the “Marsh Girl” as everyone in the town calls her. It’s about her struggles with abandonment, lonliness, prejudice, and living in the wild. It’s about love and loss and biology. And it’s also sort of a murder mystery.

This was, without a doubt, a good book. I don’t know if it would be accurate to say I “enjoyed” it as it is a sad book that had me tearing up every other chapter, but I like the book. I thought the writing style was beautiful and poetic in a way that connected Kya’s life to the wild marshlife, and to me it seemed like there were nods to Walden or to Rachel Carson here and there. I also enjoyed the nods to poetry. Plus, there were themes of overcoming prejudices, especially in the court scenes, that reminded me of To Kill a Mockingbird, in some ways. I also really loved Jumpin, and how he became a psuedo-father to Kya. He was easily the best character.

Some criticisms of the book claim that it was genre-confused, and I can see where they were coming from. It is marketed as a mystery, but I think it’s less that and moreso literary and historical fiction. Perhaps that’s why I liked, though, as someone who typically hates mysteries! I also would have liked maybe more hope in the book, though there are threads, and it’s not a completley sad ending. It’s definitley not a book for people who are looking for something lighthearted, that’s for sure.

I do think it is an important book, however. The historical setting can help readers understand past prejudices while also confronting their own. The nature of Kya and her biological interests can cause readers to look at nature with a new appreciation. We can also reflect on characters and what is right and wrong, as well as reflect on the differences between loneliness and solitude.

Overall, I’m rating this book four stars.

Content Warnings

namzuru's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective relaxing sad slow-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

4.25

Wow I’m writing this just after finishing this book and all I can think of is wow. I really enjoyed this book. At the beginning I was thinking this really isn’t my style but as I read more and more I was entranced with the life kya was living. I wanted to know what happened to her and pray things would turn for the better for her.

About kya and chase:

Very quickly into their relationship I knew this wasn’t gonna go well. not for a second did i think this relationship was gonna work. at times it did seem as if he actually cared for her and others clearly he did not. god it broke my heart for her when she would say how she wanted to meet his parents and friends and go to the town festivities with him and he completely shuts her down saying its boring, he's tired of it, she wouldn't like it. like god he can't acknowledge at all that she actually wants to go. this man had so many red flags. when he talked about building them a house and getting married and living right in the marsh i just couldn't fully believe it. OMG WHEN HE TOOK HER ON THE ROAD TRIP. HE DID IT JUST SO SHE WOULD BE FORCED INTO THE SITUATION WHERE SHE WOULD AGREE TO HAVE SEX WITH HIM. god i just really hated this man and was not surprised when she found in the paper he got engaged to another woman. but i was so sad for her, another heartbreak. and then a few years later and he almost rapes her on the beach?? its a little weird and creepy he still wears the shell necklace she made for him when they were dating. god the whole SA scene made me very uncomfy but i felt so good when she got the better of him and fucking kicked him in the balls, still sad for her, but so proud too.

About kya and tate:

Before he went off to college, i didn't like their relationship. it made me really uncomfortable that he was 18 while she was 14/15. throughout their relationship at that point he pointed out that she was just a child and that they were different. If you didn't focus on the age gap, i didn't really mind their relationship and how they interacted (except that part where he pushed her against a tree). I thought it was cute how they exchanged feathers and the sort and it slowly evolved into him teaching her how to read. it seemed like a great friendship that turned into a relationship. After he goes to college is when it gets better - i guess. First of all he is such a fucking dick for just leaving her and just not saying anything. Bro i was so mad that it happened as she was experiencing more heartbreak but i was also mad at myself for not seeing it coming. For a majority for the rest of the book i really just was not trusting him. After he comes back we see from his pov that he really regrets what he did and is sorry but i still didnt believe it. With everything with chase i was worried he was going to but in and say she should be with him and instead im glad he warned her about chase and the things he was doing. and after how they slowly became closer as friends and with him being there the whole court case. it wasnt until the court part was where i actually started to trust him that he wouldnt leave her again. When her brother visited and said that stuff about tate and how she should give him another chance, i really thought this was setting it up for it to be bad, but it didnt and im glad. in the end, they were together and even kept her dark secret

the author of this book was very much well versed in biology and you could tell. I absolutely loved how the author described the scenery and the environment and how she related her life events to the events of life in nature. Her writing about nature was my absolute favourite part of the book and is a big reason I enjoyed this book so much. It just made kya as a character so enjoyable as she would talk about the nature andi would learn about the local ecosystem.

two things i didnt quite like about this book is i could easily predict several plot point, not fully so maybe i didnt?

i knew tate would come back, i knew chase was gonna be scum,

just several things that just happened and were predictable but despite this i enjoyed it so much as the writing kept it cool and interesting. the other thing is the court room chapters, although necessary, really just killed my interest in this book, one of the reasons i was entranced by this book was the nature and that was completely gone. I think that was the point as it was from kyas pov and she missed the creak so much. but i just wasnt into the whole courtroom speaking with them saying evidence etc.

I absolutely love how she started a whole book career, i was so happy for her as she was finally not living paycheck to paycheck and actually had enough to renovate the shack. She was recognized by many official institutes for her accomplishments and all of this with only going to school one day in her life. She learned so much with just her pure will and curiosity

Absolutely love how jumpin and mable became her friends but also parental figures to her, they helped her out of the goodness of their hearts.

when he put her book in the window of his shop it warmed my heart so much.

They were so good and kind to each other and them interacting were some of my favourite parts of the book.

chapter 33 has to be my favourite chapter in this book its so heartwarming and yet heart breaking.

Jodie coming back was something i didn't expect, i just thought she would see none of her family again. and when he brought out the paintings i stared tearing up, she was seeing her moms work while also seeing her family again.

ending:

wow that fucking ending. i had suspected that she killed him but by the end it and completely gotten rid of that thought as their were less and less pages and assumed we would just never know the killer and that was the point. but it wasnt until halfway throught the poem did i realize, i quickly reread the poem now knowing and omg i just didnt see it coming. tbh some part in the book i though chase did it bc of the hat but like it wasnt making sense. but just that was a perfect reveal. i loved it. and omg the way he just burnt everything anf kept her fucking secret, he dedicated his time to helping her with the case because he thought ofcourse she was innocent and they were just pinning her bc they didnt like her. but omg she really did kill him wow. i also loved that she was the poet. didnt realize till then how similar the poems were to her life. when i stopped believing her to be the killer, i thought they were gonna pin her for a murder she never committed and would have to bear the consequences for it. i jsut assumed this book would not give me a happy/satisfying ending but i was wrong, i love it.

favourite quotes:

“please don’t talk to me about isolation. no one has to tell me how it changes a person. I have lived it. I am isolation.”

"Female fireflies draw in strange males with dishonest signals and eat them; mantis females devour their own mates. Female insects, Kya thought, know how to deal with their lovers."
"I wasn't aware that words could hold so much. I didn't know a sentence could be so full.”

taylor swift songs that embody this book:
- carolina (obviously 🙄)
- i bet you think about me

Content Warnings

bambii_on_ice's review against another edition

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challenging 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? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Content Warnings

m0czy's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

A beautifully descriptive journey into the marshlands of North Carolina.

The real stand out content of the novel is the way that nature and its inhabitants are described with such detail, and such reverence. Delia Owens truly captures the beauty of the environment, and creates a love letter to the southeastern coast.

The main character, Kya, is a protagonist you can root for, weep with, relate to, and cherish.

The mystery itself is one that will keep you guessing and puzzling until the very end.

I did feel that the novel had a bit of a slow start, but the exposition is useful later on in the overall storytelling and world building that occurs. Once I hit my stride, I could not put it down!!

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pershie13's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

If you like murder mysteries, coming of age stories, nature, romance, and page turners, this book is for you. In Where the Crawdads Sing, we follow the murder investigation of a coastal North Carolina town's former start quarterback while reading the story of the "Marsh Girl" as she grows up in a shack outside of town. Her mother leaves due to an abusive husband, and soon the Marsh Girl finds herself completely alone. We learn how she deals with rejection while also becoming resilient and one with nature, and her story eventually collides with the murder investigation in page-turning fashion. I already want to go back and read the book again just to tie in all the different thematic elements because this book is full of them. It is extremely well-written and had me feeling all sorts of emotions. There is a great reason that this book is a bestseller, and it has definitely reached my stack of favorites.

Content Warnings

kadengrace's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

Content Warnings

sauvageloup's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

a beautiful and thought-provoking book with a great plot and writing, the whole package

(spoilers throughout this review)
pros:
- the writing is just stunning, so visual it's like seeing a misty video in your mind, but with all the emotions attached. I'm not sure I even appreciated it all properly, only stopping to really linger on phrases a couple of times because I was so into the story
- the plot was great too, totally gripping and keeps you guessing till the last page and I was so hooked at the trial, literally couldn't put it down
- part of that was the characters, which were beautiful. I desperately wanted to meet kya in real life, to have someone love me like Tate does her. their relationship and characters were so starkly beautiful. even when they do wrong, you can't stop loving them
- I think Kya's upbringing was respected too. even when she was an adult, she still had that lingering, abandoned girl in her. she thrived despite or because of it, but it still was visibly part of her, not pushed to the side or grown out of. her trauma was still there in her wariness and defiance and silence
- I loved that Mabel and Jumpin were the ones to step up for Kya when she was little. your heart just aches for that little girl, all alone until she's not. the tiny kindnesses of people that should've been so much more
- i loved the ending. it felt almost inevitable, in a perfectly plotted way. it seemed like it couldn't have been her during he trial, but it feels like it must have been at the same time. she knows that Chase won't leave her alone, and she talks about the female insects. that she buried her secret for so long is not unsurprisingly, though I hope she knew Tate would've forgave her. maybe he already guessed.
- also it was just very well done all around. I can't quite say it felt wholly original in all its parts, but it came together in an original and impressive whole. I loved the descriptions of the South that bled through in the food, writing and nature. there was such love there despite the injustice.
- oh I did appreciate that Kya's period and her sexual desire wasn't tip-toed around, though I thought we might get a masturbation scene - Kya is so independent, the idea that she'd let Chase leave her wanting and not fix it or explore herself felt not right. I was glad however that Kya and Tate had a complete life even without children, that's often the heterosexual happy ending and I'm glad they still were happy without that. I wonder if Kya's early malnutrition might've damaged her fertility, since she never conceived with Chase and there was no mention of contraception
- OH and I just loved the nature info, and the poetry quotes. anything chance to learn, I enjoy, but particularly about nature and it was woven so well into the story. I love characters with strong interests.

cons:
- perhaps at the start, the time jumping confused me a bit, but not too bad
- I did find it a bit sad that her growing up was defined a lot by sex and her period. there's other defining features of adulthood than that, more subtle, but there's a lot of focus on those bits
- while I loved Jumpin's character hugely and I know the times in which it was set, if reality was bent enough for Kya to get a perfect love, I wish Jumpin and the other POCs on the story had gotten more justice, more of a plot line somehow. but I guess that would've made the book too big

overall, loved it, would read again. and somebody pls get Kya a cat!!

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lysareading's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.5

⚠️: Racism, bullied, murder, child neglect, mental issue

Ah, another book that I'd admired and surprisingly breath-taking. Why was such an outstanding book not created by a fine author?

No need for synopsis-explanation — Maybe you already know that it's about a Marsh girl named, Kya who is being suspected of a murder case. The main character connected with nature? I keep imagining Kya is like Pocahontas. It was impressive 👍🏼✨To the point that I'll voluntarily quit my chaotic life and live in Kya's shack eternally 🏡 Consider bringing out the nature of the marsh, it's SO POETIC & BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN✨

How about Kya? Oh, man. I can't portray her much until you read this book 🙌🏼 She's like a butterfly (born fragile but reborn stunning). Eventho, her coming-of-age's journey is so awful and depressing — her strong character builds from a whimpering puppy into a mighty wolf 🐺 I give credit to those ✨special person✨ that mold Kya solely — I am proud until the end!

However, the trial interrogation seems one-sided and shady. The lawyer's factual points shift the whole perspective of the murder case. But the plot twist here (phew) 😮‍💨🙌🏼👍🏼🤌🏼✨ I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING . Imagine just using the power of nature to twist everything? — 👏🏼

Now the things that are not to my liking, I saw many racism and discrimination happening which is 🚩The beginning is a bit slow and it has a dual timeline. It feels like 70% character-driven, 30% plot-driven.

Because it's affecting nature and wildlife, I learn lots of natural phenomena that happen around marsh/swamp. It was diverse. Reminder: I don't support the author. However, this book is such an eye-opener 😩 and I can’t wait for the movie to come out soon.

Content Warnings

holliesatchell's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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