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hillmeister's review against another edition
5.0
This book is an ode to poetry, the workings of nature, and the restorative powers of them both for someone experiencing social isolation. Through the juxtaposition of the complex social networks and social orders present in the North Carolina town of Barkley Cove, with those of the creatures and wildlife that inhabit the swamp and the marsh – Owens weaves a coming-of-age narrative that is both poignant and reassuring.
smittinkittin's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-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
4.75
herrrdthat's review against another edition
5.0
Very good book. Slow at first but you truly feel for the characters as the plot thickens.
alanak8's review against another edition
5.0
Ok I read this book and fell in love! It’s definitely for a more mature audience but very well written. It tells a tale of a girl who’s dad is abusive and her family slowly leaves. Eventually, she’s the only one besides her mostly drunk, abusive father. She learns to be self-sufficient, using his boat to go into town. Catching fish to sell at the market for basic needs and gas. As she becomes a regular, the whole town pitches in to help her.
Once she’s older, the worst happens. (Or almost…) a boy tries to take advantage of her sexually. She fights him off, but a couple of old men fishing witness it. (This made me mad bcs they did nothing to help?!)
When that boy ends up dead a few weeks later, everyone is suspicious of her, “The Marsh Girl” as she has been dubbed. The trial ends in her being innocent and she marries the man of her dreams and lives a happy life!
(I skipped some details because I didn’t feel like typing them but a good read!)
Once she’s older, the worst happens. (Or almost…) a boy tries to take advantage of her sexually. She fights him off, but a couple of old men fishing witness it. (This made me mad bcs they did nothing to help?!)
When that boy ends up dead a few weeks later, everyone is suspicious of her, “The Marsh Girl” as she has been dubbed. The trial ends in her being innocent and she marries the man of her dreams and lives a happy life!
(I skipped some details because I didn’t feel like typing them but a good read!)
bhnmt61's review against another edition
3.0
I loved the first half of this book with its (somewhat improbable) story of a young girl left to fend for herself in the marshland of the outer banks of North Carolina. The descriptions were terrific, and--happily, since I am not a big fan of nature writing-- never overdone. But Owens is not particularly good at dialog, so once Kya starts interacting with other people, the story gets a little clunky. Add to that a long, long courtroom scene toward the end (a personal peeve of mine), and I have to say the second half didn't live up to the promise of the first. Also I felt like she abruptly changed the personality of the murder victim, presumably so that the reader would feel like he deserved to die. And that’s just so morally problematic all the way around. All in all, this felt like an Issue of the Month book, a book written to capitalize on an issue that currently has a lot of buzz and emotion around it. Same reason I quit reading Jodi Picoult. It's not that they're bad books, it just feels manipulative and a little opportunistic to me. My unpopular opinion.
jl27's review against another edition
3.0
This was my book club's choice for January. I liked this book overall, and read it very quickly.
I appreciated the story of survival Owen delivers. I also liked some of the descriptive writing, but parts of the dialogue and descriptions felt forced, superficial, or overdone, as if Owen was just trying too hard to balance too many things at once. The dialect and the descriptions of food or the other things with the intention of capturing the region/setting were too cutesy, at times. I'm from the south, and I am *completely* over the whole "Suth'n" bit. Also, there are some details about the whole murder plot line in this book that seem to be completely missing from the story, and though some of that exclusion was likely on purpose, parts of it seemed poorly pieced together, or perhaps poorly edited.
All of my criticism aside, I still think this read deserves 3.5 stars for achieving what it set out to do: giving us a glimpse into what life may have been like in that beautiful marsh for someone who was just so alone. Some of the imagery Owen creates is truly beautiful, and the information on native creatures and the ways of the marsh and all the life within it is all really interesting.
In a weird way, I look forward to seeing this story as a movie, when I don't have to think of all of the technical nuances that irritated me as I read this book.
I appreciated the story of survival Owen delivers. I also liked some of the descriptive writing, but parts of the dialogue and descriptions felt forced, superficial, or overdone, as if Owen was just trying too hard to balance too many things at once. The dialect and the descriptions of food or the other things with the intention of capturing the region/setting were too cutesy, at times. I'm from the south, and I am *completely* over the whole "Suth'n" bit. Also, there are some details about the whole murder plot line in this book that seem to be completely missing from the story, and though some of that exclusion was likely on purpose, parts of it seemed poorly pieced together, or perhaps poorly edited.
All of my criticism aside, I still think this read deserves 3.5 stars for achieving what it set out to do: giving us a glimpse into what life may have been like in that beautiful marsh for someone who was just so alone. Some of the imagery Owen creates is truly beautiful, and the information on native creatures and the ways of the marsh and all the life within it is all really interesting.
In a weird way, I look forward to seeing this story as a movie, when I don't have to think of all of the technical nuances that irritated me as I read this book.
mpruett's review against another edition
4.0
It was ok but the writing style was jarring, the variety of different font styles on each page was a bit much, and overall I think other books explain much of these topics better.
h3ll3's review against another edition
inspiring
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Dies ist definitiv eine Geschichte, die erst noch ein wenig nachklingen muss. Super atmosphärisch, wunderschön geschrieben und auch die Landschaft ist einem bildhaft vor den Augen. Kya ist so eine einzigartige Figur, dass man richtig mit ihr mitleidet und mitwächst. Ich finde, dass das Ende, gerade die letzten 15 Seiten super krass beschleunigt wurden und der plottwist am Ende, dass sie an dem Mord schuldig war kam wirklich auf der allerletzten Seite, was ich auch ungewöhnlich fand. Ich muss echt noch in mich reinfühlen, wie sehr diese Geschichte noch nachhallen wird. Fakt ist aber, dass ich auf jeden fall etwas spüre und sich irgendwas in mir verändert hat, seit ich diese Geschichte zuende gelesen habe. Wirklich ein sehr einzigartiges, atmosphärisches Buch mit liebe zur natur und ihren Geschenken, was mich genau im richtigen Moment gefunden hat.