Reviews

This could have been a 4 or 5 star book for me. I have a thing for kids growing up in unusual circumstances, and I'm a fan of gator and croc shows. The premise was so interesting. However, as the 12 year old narrator tells us to begin with, the story is about how they "fell." Knowing that didn't put me off at all, and up until about 75% through the book, I was invested in watching the family diaspora. At that point, Russell completely trashed her story with a gross and ill-serving event. She fools us into buying into the mysticism of the story then yanks the carpet out by having the 12 year old protagonist get raped. The scene is quite graphic, and the consequences of the event are never fully addressed. It was so needless, and it almost makes me hate the book. I'm willing to give it 2 stars for an interesting premise though the final quarter of the book is completely pissed away. It wasn't worth the read, I'm sad to say, and I've rarely felt this crappy after finishing a story.

tashaseegmiller's review

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5.0

So fun, a bit heartbreaking. It was quirky and a bit mythological, has a dash of magic, and a lot of interesting insights into people trying to survive. I loved it more thank thought I would.

bibliobrandie's review against another edition

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1.0

I really wanted to like this book. It took a lot of work to get into it and when I finally did, I wasn't rewarded for sticking with it. On page 261 something really terrible happens...something very unexpected and unnecessary. It made me angry. So angry that I almost didn't finish the book, but I figured I only had 50ish pages left and I had come this far. It wasn't worth it. This is what I trudged onward for? Everything is tied up hurriedly and incompletely and the horrible part is barely dealt with, except maybe when the character that this very horrible thing happened to says something like she probably wanted it. Well that I can't abide. No thanks.

frostap's review against another edition

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1.0

Loved the first 100 pages. I put it down with about 50 to go, though, because what happened was horrifying and unnecessary.

jess_mango's review against another edition

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4.0

3.5 out of 5. This was a quirky novel and I tend to like quirky. Swamplandia! was well-written but didn't pull me in the way quirky books usually do. The tale was quite dark and the characters sad & misguided... but I didn't quite buy some of the events in the book despite the purported magical-realism factor.

diotcoke's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

3.75

Great book, check the content warnings. Rating would have been higher if the sudden SA hadn't occurred.

xtie's review

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3.0

I finished this all at once after weeks of dragging. That is essentially how the book felt and the adrenaline in my body also felt rushed, like it came on all at once and too much at once. Also, trigger warning? An awful awful violent scene so near the end of the book that I felt like did not need to be there.

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