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A review by avacronin
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
dark
mysterious
fast-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
Where the Crawdads Sing was undoubtedly a 5 star read in my personal opinion. I was encouraged to read this book by my wonderful English teacher, who stated I just had to read it before seeing the upcoming movie, and boy am I glad she gave me this book. I can't wait to see how they adapt this beautiful piece of work for the big screen.
I won't go too much into the nitty gritty details of the plot, as I just advise you to read it for yourself. This story follows Kya, the 'Marsh Girl' as she lives her life in the marginalised areas of the Marsh, and how she came to be prime suspect in the murder case of Chase Andrews.
I didn't expect myself to get so drawn into the story, through both the suspense of a murder mystery, and through the beautiful nature of the language. While I don't support Delia Owens, it would be unfair for me to completely disregard this piece of work based on my opinion of her as a person.
The Pros
- One thing I ended up loving was how unpredictable the story was. I had heard from others about how shocking the ending was, and while I thought multiple times through the story I had figured it out, I learned that I was completely mistaken. Besides from the ending, other aspects of the story happened quite shockingly, yet satisfyingly.
- This wonder of story is writing through the beautiful, captivating writing of aesthetics and descriptions. I could spend hours listing off of my favourite quotes, the ones that left the biggest marks, yet I'll limit myself to one.
“She knew the years of isolation had altered her behavior until she was different from others, but it wasn't her fault she'd been alone. Most of what she knew, she'd learned from the wild. Nature had nurtured, tutored, and protected her when no one else would.”
- Keeping with the previous point I mentioned on the language, the characters here are written in such a way that I felt true connections to many of them. And with the unfavourable characters, the author found a way to create a intentional anger and hurt inside of me in sympathy for Kya and her life.
The Cons
- The main reason that people have been turned away from reading this book is the problematic actions from Delia Owens, the author. This is seen in this book, as Owens, a white woman, uses a slur commonly used to degrade people of colour (which she has no rights to reclaim).
- The only other slight issue I found with this book was that I have to agree with others in saying that the first one or two chapters of the book came off more slow, and filled with sometimes complicated, detailed descriptions. And while I did actually enjoy these vivid descriptions, I even found myself having to read over certain passages more than once to understand what was being said.
- I also want to mention here that although I didn't find it to be a major problem, all of the character dialogue is written in a southern dialect, making some of the words an adjustment to understand, yet creates a more vivid atmosphere of the area.
Overall, I would definitely recommend to anybody who can to read this book, and to stick through the first couple chapters until you get drawn into the steady flow of the Marsh.
I won't go too much into the nitty gritty details of the plot, as I just advise you to read it for yourself. This story follows Kya, the 'Marsh Girl' as she lives her life in the marginalised areas of the Marsh, and how she came to be prime suspect in the murder case of Chase Andrews.
I didn't expect myself to get so drawn into the story, through both the suspense of a murder mystery, and through the beautiful nature of the language. While I don't support Delia Owens, it would be unfair for me to completely disregard this piece of work based on my opinion of her as a person.
The Pros
- One thing I ended up loving was how unpredictable the story was. I had heard from others about how shocking the ending was, and while I thought multiple times through the story I had figured it out, I learned that I was completely mistaken. Besides from the ending, other aspects of the story happened quite shockingly, yet satisfyingly.
- This wonder of story is writing through the beautiful, captivating writing of aesthetics and descriptions. I could spend hours listing off of my favourite quotes, the ones that left the biggest marks, yet I'll limit myself to one.
“She knew the years of isolation had altered her behavior until she was different from others, but it wasn't her fault she'd been alone. Most of what she knew, she'd learned from the wild. Nature had nurtured, tutored, and protected her when no one else would.”
- Keeping with the previous point I mentioned on the language, the characters here are written in such a way that I felt true connections to many of them. And with the unfavourable characters, the author found a way to create a intentional anger and hurt inside of me in sympathy for Kya and her life.
The Cons
- The main reason that people have been turned away from reading this book is the problematic actions from Delia Owens, the author. This is seen in this book, as Owens, a white woman, uses a slur commonly used to degrade people of colour (which she has no rights to reclaim).
- The only other slight issue I found with this book was that I have to agree with others in saying that the first one or two chapters of the book came off more slow, and filled with sometimes complicated, detailed descriptions. And while I did actually enjoy these vivid descriptions, I even found myself having to read over certain passages more than once to understand what was being said.
- I also want to mention here that although I didn't find it to be a major problem, all of the character dialogue is written in a southern dialect, making some of the words an adjustment to understand, yet creates a more vivid atmosphere of the area.
Overall, I would definitely recommend to anybody who can to read this book, and to stick through the first couple chapters until you get drawn into the steady flow of the Marsh.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Abandonment, Bullying, Child abuse, and Death