Where the Crawdads Sing - Delia Owens

 

Title: Where the Crawdads Sing

Author: Delia Owens

Publisher: Putnam (Penguin), 2018 (Hardcover)

Length: 368 pages

Genre: Adult; Realistic Fiction

Started: April 12, 2022

Finished: April 14, 2022

Summary:

From the inside cover:

For years, rumours of the "Marsh Girl" have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. 

But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life - until the unthinkable happens. 

Where the Crawdads Sing is at once an exquisite ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder. Owens reminds us that we are forever shaped by the children we once were, and that we all are subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps. 

Review:

Since this book was so hyped on TikTok this past year, it's been on my TBR list for the past few months. With the movie adaptation coming out in July, my friends at work and I vowed to finally read this so we could compare the versions. I honestly wasn't expecting much from something so lauded and popular (I find anything overly popular can be a mixed bag with my personal tastes), but I was pleasantly surprised by the end. 

Catherine Danielle Clark, otherwise known as Kya, has lived (mostly) alone in her family's shack at the edge of the North Carolina marshland since her mother and older siblings left her with her alcoholic, abusive father at the age of six. When he abandons her at the age of ten, she is left to fend for herself completely. With no formal schooling and the memories of her mother's teachings of how to live off the land to feed herself, Kya manages to survive to adulthood with the help of a childhood friend and the Black community that live in a segregated area away from the town. In 1969 when Kya is in her early 20s, a local man is found dead, and although Chase Andrews was a well-known player who slept with many women and angered many a husband, Kya is the prime suspect. 

The novel is told in alternating time jumps, starting with the early 1950s when Kya is a child and switching every other chapter or so to 1969 at the time of the murder. Kya's backstory is gripping and intriguing from the start, and adding in Chase's murder keeps the reader going, wondering how Kya could possibly be connected enough to Chase for the police to suspect her of murder. 

I personally liked the themes of resiliency and community that run throughout the book. Granted, sometimes Kya's resiliency is a bit too unrealistic to believe completely, especially in the chapters before she turns ten. 

The main detriment of this book, in my opinion, is the amount of dialect in it. Granted there has to be dialect to reflect the authenticity of the premise of the story, but I have the same issue with any book set in the American south; the dialect makes my brain have to work so much harder to understand what's going on. 

Recommendation:

If you like stories that are character-driven with a bit of mystery thrown in, you'll enjoy this. It was an engaging read and I can see why it's so popular, so give it a read before the movie version releases in the summer. 

Thoughts on the cover:

The shot used on the cover is very pretty and fits well with the descriptions in the book. 

So This Is Ever After - F. T. Lukens

 

Title: So This Is Ever After

Author: F.T. Lukens 

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books (Simon & Schuster), 2022 (Hardcover)

Length: 341 pages

Genre: Young Adult; Fantasy

Started: April 16, 2022

Finished: April 18, 2022

Summary: 

From the inside cover:

Arek hadn't thought much about what would happen after he completed the prophecy that said he was destined to save the Kingdom of Ere from its evil ruler. So now that he's finally managed to (somewhat clumsily) behead the evil king (turns out that magical swords yanked from bogs don't come pre-sharpened), he and his ragtag group of quest companions are at a bit of a loss for what to do next. As a temporary safeguard, Arek's best friend and mage, Matt, convinces him to assume the throne until the true heir can be rescued from her tower. Except she's dead. Now Arek is stuck as king, a role that comes with a magical catch: choose a soul mate by your eighteenth birthday, or wither away into nothing. 

With his eighteenth birthday only three months away, and only Matt in on the secret, Arek embarks on a desperate bid to find a spouse to save his life - starting with his quest companions. But his attempts at wooing his friends go painfully and hilariously wrong...until he discovers that love might have been in front of him all along. 

Review:

This book is the queer fantasy romcom I never knew I needed. It's a hilarious romp that's easy to get into and is also adorably fluffy to boot. 

Beginning at the end of your usual fantasy story, the novel opens with Arek and his band of companions fulfilling a prophecy by slaying the evil king of Ere. In the chaos that follows, Arek assumes the throne until they can find and crown the rightful heir, but even though the princess is indeed in another tower, she is long dead. Discovering that the magic of Ere requires the ruler to be soul-bound to another person or else he will fade into nothing, Arek goes about trying to secure a spouse before his eighteenth birthday. Arek is aided by the journal of the deceased princess which outlines her budding relationship with one of her ladies, using some of the situations described in order to grow closer with his friends to see if any of them could grow to love him and make a suitable co-ruler. Of course, Arek just wants to be with his childhood friend Matt and can't picture marrying anyone else, but Matt doesn't want him...right?

The plot of this novel is engaging right off the bat, and the romcom pacing and dialogue is excellent. The author does a good job of delving into all the characters and giving them nicely fleshed out backstories, though I felt Rion and Lila got a bit less compared to Arek, Matt, Sionna, and Bethany. All the characters are endearing, likeable, and hilarious; with distinct personalities that are nicely maintained throughout. I'm a sucker for roguish Lila (that scene with her "pet", Crow, is priceless) and cautious Matt, but I genuinely liked the whole bunch, which I can't always say about fantasy stories with multiple characters. I also liked how the author didn't shy away from addressing the less comedic aspects of inheriting a kingdom after a bloody ambush, like Arek and company dealing with the aftermath of trauma and figuring out how to go about establishing a governmental structure. 

Recommendation:

If you're a fantasy fan and ever wondered what would happen after the prophecy ends, this read is for you. If you'd like your story to also be hilariously funny with great queer representation, then definitely pick this up. 

The author also wrote another book last year called In Deeper Waters (this one with more of a pirate feel) that I'll have to pick up now:

Thoughts on the cover:

The cover art for both of these novels is stunning, these are definitely books some readers have picked up just for the covers alone.