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confessionsofabibliophile's reviews
14 reviews
Here There Are Monsters by Amelinda Bérubé
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I give this book a 3 to 3.5. When I first picked this up and read the synopsis it looked very promising. Like it was going to be a very thrilling and exciting read. It started slow. Bouncing back and fourth between past and present. Slowly the story delved into mental health codependency issues. Between the main character and her little sister. Her sister obviously had mental health issues or so it seemed. Dierdre, the younger one, of the two, has an amazing imagination, and she ends up vanishing. The book revolves around Skye, the eldest trying to find her, to get her back. Here There Are Monsters, hints at supernatural elements; though I feel perhaps it is more Psychological based with glimpses of supernatural. The book touches loss and regret. The plot is vague and convoluted, without a true answer as to what is going on, or what happened. It leads to many questions, and upon ending some are not answered. Leaves you thinking what the point of some actions or choices made by characters were all about. Lastly, the ending...... The ending when finding out the truth, it left me thinking what the heck did I just read. It was a twist that wasn't excepted and on the darker side. It made me slightly mad at one of the characters, for selfishness and then I just kind of sat stumped. Although I liked it as it was a decent read for what it was, the wavering plotline and that end definitely killed it. Had such potential yet it just fell flat.
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
3 🌟 out of 5
This book.... okay, I had high hopes. So many good things were said about this book, and don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it, I found myself very connected to Kya. I felt toward the end kind of protective of her like she was an actual person. Her heartaches were my heartaches, her anger, my anger, and so on. I found myself wanting to care for Kya and punch many people in the throat. I loved how Owen's was able to capture me in and connect me with her beautiful written words.
I found the character of Kya sad, fascinating, and intelligent beyond her years. Hated most of the male characters except two, really. Tate, a shrimpers son who saw Kya and not the Marsh girl. Jumpin' and his wife oh my God bless them. They made me cry, and I found myself wanting to fight those boys during the scene on the way to Jumpin's house. There were highs and lows, and let me tell you, Kya's life was filled with many lows. Yet she kept on showing us as the reader that she was worth more than being labelled the Marsh Girl. It has a message of not judging anyone by no matter the circumstances that they can be equal and deserve such.
This, however, was lost to me in the last portion of the book. I was so mad and felt like I was rickrolled by Owen's, and honestly, I still am. I like the book, but I HATED THE ENDING. Everything the book was about symbolically was LOST in the last few pages. Is it a good read? Yes, UNTIL THE END. Though you can be the judge.
This book.... okay, I had high hopes. So many good things were said about this book, and don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it, I found myself very connected to Kya. I felt toward the end kind of protective of her like she was an actual person. Her heartaches were my heartaches, her anger, my anger, and so on. I found myself wanting to care for Kya and punch many people in the throat. I loved how Owen's was able to capture me in and connect me with her beautiful written words.
I found the character of Kya sad, fascinating, and intelligent beyond her years. Hated most of the male characters except two, really. Tate, a shrimpers son who saw Kya and not the Marsh girl. Jumpin' and his wife oh my God bless them. They made me cry, and I found myself wanting to fight those boys during the scene on the way to Jumpin's house. There were highs and lows, and let me tell you, Kya's life was filled with many lows. Yet she kept on showing us as the reader that she was worth more than being labelled the Marsh Girl. It has a message of not judging anyone by no matter the circumstances that they can be equal and deserve such.
This, however, was lost to me in the last portion of the book. I was so mad and felt like I was rickrolled by Owen's, and honestly, I still am. I like the book, but I HATED THE ENDING. Everything the book was about symbolically was LOST in the last few pages. Is it a good read? Yes, UNTIL THE END. Though you can be the judge.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Racial slurs, Racism, Bullying, and Abandonment
Moderate: Murder
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