QHS Book Review - Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Where the Crawdads Sing is a thriller, a beautiful coming of age story, and so much more.
By: Benjamin Robinson, Book Reviewer
Where the Crawdads Sing is a thriller, a beautiful coming of age story, and so much more.
By: Benjamin Robinson, Book Reviewer
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens is a thriller, a mystery, a coming of age, a tribute to nature, and so much more set in the marsh of coastal North Carolina. The plot follows ‘The Marsh Girl,’ an outsider of a small town on the coast of North Carolina. Her name is Kya Clark. She's considered swamp trash by the people in the village, but her story is heartbreaking. She's portrayed as a strong and independent young girl who is, ironically, extremely lonely in the marsh. This novel is written with a split timeline, it goes back and forth between 1969, where a local has died and Kya is suspected of murdering him, and the years of when Kya was growing up in the Marsh. Owens also writes about Kyas relationship with another local boy named Tate throughout the novel. This book has so much to offer, I think anyone could pick it up and enjoy some part of the story if not every part of it. The way Owens writes about Kya makes you really feel connected to her, which makes the story that much better to read. It will definitely keep you on your toes.
This was Owens debut fiction novel; she is renowned in the world of biology and has many acclaimed achievements in the world of biological writing and research. So it is to be expected that the focus on nature in this novel would be clear, and it is, however, it is not in a boring or over the top kind of way that makes it uninteresting. Owens incorporated it in a perfect way that is eye catching and mesmerizing. Owens also writes about relationships, not just romantic but parental, plutonic, and more, in a beautiful way. However, the ending was very sudden and abrupt. It felt like one of those shows that follows someone for a short amount of time and then at the end says, ‘so and so is now married and has 3 kids’ kind of thing. Which was not a bad way to end the book, it was just a little abrupt and not the ending I was wanting. I will say that this book is very emotionally charged. There are parts that will really affect you because of the way Owens writes about her characters and gets you to develop a deep connection to them. All in all this novel was an experience, and one I really enjoyed. This debut novel is definitely a winner, I’m eager to see what is in the future of Delia Ownes writing career.
My Rating System**:
5 stars - an excellent or great book that has a big impact on me or I simply cannot stop thinking about, it simply hits different.
4 stars - excellently written, genuisly plotted, great books. These books just don’t have the same kind of impact on me as 5 star books.
3 stars - these are just good books, nothing super special but definitely not bad.
2 stars - these are just books, they are not good books nor are they terrible books, they simply exist and I do not care about them.
1 star - these books are bad, I hate these books and think they should be burned off of everyone's bookshelf.
**Disclaimer: Book ratings are extremely subjective and sometimes I just rate a book with what feels right for that book. Or with how that book made me feel about it throughout my time reading it. Sometimes a book could receive 5 stars but I may only give it 4 stars for a variety of reasons, which will be explained in the review.**
This was Owens debut fiction novel; she is renowned in the world of biology and has many acclaimed achievements in the world of biological writing and research. So it is to be expected that the focus on nature in this novel would be clear, and it is, however, it is not in a boring or over the top kind of way that makes it uninteresting. Owens incorporated it in a perfect way that is eye catching and mesmerizing. Owens also writes about relationships, not just romantic but parental, plutonic, and more, in a beautiful way. However, the ending was very sudden and abrupt. It felt like one of those shows that follows someone for a short amount of time and then at the end says, ‘so and so is now married and has 3 kids’ kind of thing. Which was not a bad way to end the book, it was just a little abrupt and not the ending I was wanting. I will say that this book is very emotionally charged. There are parts that will really affect you because of the way Owens writes about her characters and gets you to develop a deep connection to them. All in all this novel was an experience, and one I really enjoyed. This debut novel is definitely a winner, I’m eager to see what is in the future of Delia Ownes writing career.
My Rating System**:
5 stars - an excellent or great book that has a big impact on me or I simply cannot stop thinking about, it simply hits different.
4 stars - excellently written, genuisly plotted, great books. These books just don’t have the same kind of impact on me as 5 star books.
3 stars - these are just good books, nothing super special but definitely not bad.
2 stars - these are just books, they are not good books nor are they terrible books, they simply exist and I do not care about them.
1 star - these books are bad, I hate these books and think they should be burned off of everyone's bookshelf.
**Disclaimer: Book ratings are extremely subjective and sometimes I just rate a book with what feels right for that book. Or with how that book made me feel about it throughout my time reading it. Sometimes a book could receive 5 stars but I may only give it 4 stars for a variety of reasons, which will be explained in the review.**