Brandy’s review of Where the Crawdads Sing > Likes and Comments
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I loved reading all of these regional details. I'm so glad you took the time to go into the weeds.
Well then, sounds like this is one that I'll definitely skip.
And I'm scratching my head at the flowery description of marsh versus swamp, because decomposition happens in both? Swamps have trees whereas marshes tend to be grassy... so yeah: overwrought. And having accents indicate stupidity or bad-guy status is just wrong and shows no appreciation for how rich and varied the flavors of English are.
My reader sense kept tingling when I looked at this book and telling me it sounded terrible, so this was quite satisfying to read.
This sounds like it will be GREAT book club meeting ;-).
Yes everything yes with your review!! I literally just wrote all of this in mine, just not as eloquently. I just couldnt get past all the wrong NC details. And the accents! Oh the accents!!
@Jacob I just have a lot of experience with many parts of North Carolina. It's frustrating because it makes me wonder how wrong many of the books I love that take place in unfamiliar locations actually are. It diminishes my trust in authors, editors, and publishers everywhere.
@Jamie I'm clearly in the minority about this book, but seeing your reviews of other books here, that's probably a good idea.
@Francesca Oh good point! I'm don't really know that much about swamps vs marshes because I've never really cared or needed to know. I am however unsurprised that more words that sounded meaningful were really just letters taking up space. It happened a lot in this book.
@Rachael Haha. I'm glad I could confirm your book senses were accurate.
@Janet I'm wondering if I'm going to be the only one who hated it...
@Jennifer I have a strong sense the author went to the Outer Banks exactly once and was "inspired". Because who of a literary mind hasn't been there and thought about the wealth of good stories that could come from that history and geography combined? The problem is, the actual real culture there is fascinating enough. Actually spend some time and get to understand it. I was fortunate to experience the Outer Banks for the first time not as a tourist but as a student there to learn about the various cultures and communities across eastern NC. As a result, I talked to and heard the stories of a lot of locals whose families had been there forever. I'm outraged on their behalf.
I love this review! It would only be better if I could hear it in person. I also love NC, my home for many years 😁
@Julia Since proclaiming my annoyance, I've had so many people who know NC for various reasons come to me to voice their frustrations.
@Betsy I wish you could hear it in person! 😭
I enjoyed the book, but as I have read books (including our current One Book One Nebraska selection) that have inaccuracies in them due to the author not knowing where he was writing about, I wondered about that in the back of my mind. Thank you for helping me with facts to write my monthly book review for the paper.
I just started this book after rave review from two friends whose opinions I normally trust. I may have to rethink that because this book is just....no. I agree 100% with everything in your review. From the beginning I felt something was off, and you nailed it exactly. Thank you for taking the time, and saving me from wasting mine.
Coming from someone who enjoyed this book, I really appreciate your review. Thank you for taking the time to outline some geography and regional history. I also really appreciate your discussion of language. Your review makes me wonder about the target audience for this book. Perhaps it was Northeastern city folk like myself because it certainly wasn't anyone from NC. Honestly in this day and age there is no excuse for such a lack of research.
I had never heard of this book until I recently read about the author's history. https://slate.com/culture/2019/07/del... Just reading about the book's main character and how she supposedly was able to learn and lose her accent while being completely isolated made me raise my eyebrows.
There were other things in the article that put me off wanting to read the book (not to mention the parallels with her past), so I'm really glad to have read your detailed review of the things she got wrong. I really hate reading books that aren't properly researched.
I love seeing your perspective of actually knowing the place where this book was set! Awesome review.
Also, (view spoiler) Totally agreed. I still feel lied to with the whole twist of Kya (view spoiler)
Ugh, I am still steaming over how much I disliked this book even 2 months after finishing it.
Zahara Cerise ~ The turtle was outmoded after twenty years, but did it get across the highway? wrote: "I had never heard of this book until I recently read about the author's history. https://slate.com/culture/2019/07/del... Just reading about the book's main charact..."
Fascinating. And makes me hate this book even more.
I'm still mad too. And that article definitely rekindled a lot of my nearly smothered anger.
Great review. I think it's impossible to enjoy a book when you know more about something than the author and the author gets it wrong. The part of me that enjoys going along with a story shuts down, and I start furiously taking notes on everything that the author mangles. Someone just recommended this book to me. I dodged a bullet!
I'm only a few pages in and I'm like, this is going to be fun in a bad way. I'm marking anachronisms on every page and getting irritated at the jerkiness of the purple prose. Also I'm irritated about the poor attempts at dialect, which are truly awful, and the geographical dissonance is unbelievable. Thanks for a good review from a fellow Southerner (who loves to read, but not this).
Margaret wrote: "I'm only a few pages in and I'm like, this is going to be fun in a bad way. I'm marking anachronisms on every page and getting irritated at the jerkiness of the purple prose. Also I'm irritated abo..."
The only way I was able to finish it was by thinking of it as fun in a bad way. Or as I told my book club "I hate finished this".
I finished the damn thing and stayed mad for about two days at how a book this bad could get on the the NYT best seller list. I'm still fuming. The author obviously needs to stick to science and stay away from fiction. There were just so many details that were trotted out over and over (turnip greens, bird feathers, long black hair), and other details needed to create a sense of place that were totally left out. So many unanswered questions! Such an implausible plot line! Was it sad at the end? Not for me.
Are you thinking of “sing” as a musical term? Think of it from another perspective. “Sing” is American slang for snitching or acting as an informer. Crustaceans can’t keep secrets because they have thin shells. They break under pressure. Be sure to read the nature descriptions of the hard seashells, the best secret keepers of all.
Mary wrote: "Are you thinking of “sing” as a musical term? Think of it from another perspective. “Sing” is American slang for snitching or acting as an informer. Crustaceans can’t keep secrets because they have..."
Okay that makes sense. I concede that one point as long as I never have to read another nature description written by this author.
I just finished the book and I enjoyed reading it, but I did appreciate your insight. I loved reading about all the rich details but I don’t know enough about the region to have been able to spot the mistakes like you did. Your perspective was eye opening.
I haven't read this book yet, because a super-hype makes me a little skeptical. And reading the negative reviews with all of the errors, reading it would completely take me out of the story. A writer with the author's credentials is held to a higher standard. Geography, science, culture, anachronisms etc. - plus stuff like the 'kiss of the Spiderwoman - spiders killing their mates' is an old trope that I don't think today is backed up entirely by modern science. A scientist has an obligation to the truth, not fiction and tales.
While you don't have to be a scientist to love the marsh and swamplands to write about them, and fiction is okay, but I don't think this is supposed to be a fantasy novel? It's been promoted as anything from a near field guide all the way to fantasy!
It's too simple and thin of a story from the sounds of it, with football heroes and the like. What little I have read of the dialogue and dialects is maybe a little too heavy-handed too, to me. I appreciate these reviews.
As I said, I haven't read the book, but have followed the discussions. When all is said and done, it sounds like the laws of Nature did deliver up the secret about the murder, right from page one - swamp, crustaceans, mollusks, feathers. Just not the laws of man.
Maybe someday I'll read it from the library, but I'll approach with caution.
Nature, marsh and swampland are very close to my heart. I'm projecting here, but it feels to me like Kya carried the burden of what she did around with her and was only released from it at the ending. (I'm gonna start crying!)
You know what? I think I just convinced myself to read it. Better get on that waiting list! ;)
Thoughtful and honest review, Brandy. I like your comments about the SAT words, that kind of writing bugs me too. I get it you can write but, you don't have to beat me over the head with your vernacular (sorry, that might be considered one of those words). 🤐
BRILLIANT, thoughtful review....thank you.
Like you, I wonder if I’m at fault for not enjoying what seems to be universally adored - so your critique was itself enjoyed! One basic flaw I found was Kye was supposedly conceived on a moonlight cruise in NC, when at the time her pa was supposed to be getting shot-up in a French foxhole!
Now that does it. Some of this would insult the intelligence. :(
Another thing is that I don't want some of the images in my mind - like 'the sea awash in its own saliva'? Saliva? I was born, raised and live today near a seacoast (and a salt marsh), another place close to my heart, and I love it. I found I was cringing even thinking about that imagery, and I do not want it in my mind. And when have seagulls ever looked like 'feathered stones'? Stones are inanimate.
Between these things and finding tiny hummingbird feathers, especially throat feathers, it is just too implausible.
I don't want to read about someone killing someone either - it isn't necessary.
People all may revert to the more base instincts when their back is up against a wall, but she was not totally raised by the survival of the fittest she sees around her, she was exposed to the better aspects of human morality and behavior too, it seems. It's just a little too simplistic. Chase sounds like a good time Charlie, and those types usually move on to the next woman if the current one is not interested.
I think I'll give this one a pass.
Al wrote: "Like you, I wonder if I’m at fault for not enjoying what seems to be universally adored - so your critique was itself enjoyed! One basic flaw I found was Kye was supposedly conceived on a moonlight..."
That's a VERY GOOD question! I also wondered how Pa could have been too young to remember much of the Great Depression if Kya's older Sibs, Mandy, Missy, Murph, and Jodie were all born in the 1930's. All evidence that the Marsh Girl's entire existence was only folklore? Or was it illogical writing and bad editing? Thought provoking, for sure!
Wish I’d read your review before embarking on this awful book. It was a book club choice so I felt obligated to finish it - what a waste of reading time. I’m a fan of good SF so I can stretch my mind to unbelievable things in a good cause. This was just awful from the start.
I loved your review! I actually gave it 4 stars but I truly appreciate the nuances you critique. I'm not a NC expert but I grew up going to the OBX for vacations so I've been there dozens of times. For me, I was trying to picture where the heck this locale was. I'm guessing not on the OBX proper but on the Pamlico Sound mainland side like Manteo maybe? There are parts around Duck that are kind of swampy near the Sound there but that's the Albemarle. Anyway, I love linguistics so I really do appreciate your comments on the accents. I know one lady with a Wilmington accent & it's very beautiful and genteel but I'm not sure what a "hick" OBX accent should sound like. The way she wrote it made me think more Huck Finn, really....
Excellent review. As a native North Carolinian, the dialects and geographical inconsistencies were a constant annoyance. My ability to suspend disbelief usually gets me through many flaws if the plot is tight enough, but these were research errors. The editors should have caught them even if the author was lazy. I appreciate your accurate analysis.
I am about 1/3 of the way thru it and dont feel any love for the book. I completely agree with the flowery prose and trying to use as many SAT words as possible. I will not finish it. Life is too short to waste in a book you dont like, especially in the time of COVID
You’re spot on about the descriptive prose. Some writers can do it effortlessly, and others force it - there’s just no heart and a “paint by numbers” style of language devices.
THANK YOU for addressing the Asheville issue. I thought I was alone.
Amen! The lack of awareness with NC geography alone drove me insane.
Wonderful, wonderful review. You are a vengeful goddess, and I take my hat off to you, m'am ...
You read my mind about this book. Great review!
I wish I’d stopped reading when the beans in the pot were “singing” instead of boiling.
Spot on! It took me over a month to get to page 50. I should’ve gone with my instinct to quit the book, but everyone I know who read it LOVED it.
Great review! I grew up in western NC and was confused by all the long trips to Asheville.😐
I still have not read it; and from reading the reviews - one thing that would bug me no end would be why on earth she would remodel her shack in a wetlands of all places, and bring electricity, sewer and plumbing in!!! The 70s is when environmental laws began to go into effect, to protect water supplies and wetlands especially. Hardly an untouched paradise in the 50s and 60s, I would imagine lots of damage had been done in spraying for mosquitoes to prevent malaria, and even DDT usage, and draining marshes and swamps.
If the character loves it so much, it should be left alone and as pristine as it could be kept. There may have been restrictions to development.
It would seem to be the antithesis of everything she stood for. Why not just have left it as an historic home managed by the Park Service or something, and buy a home with everything including the kitchen sink elsewhere????
And how in the heck was she able to write a book about the marine life of the entire Eastern Seaboard, I think I had heard? That kind of stuff would take me out of the story.
Loved your review. This book is probably the worst I’ve read in my adult life.
I enjoyed reading this review a lot more than I enjoyed reading the actual book. Thank you.
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Jacob
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Jun 14, 2019 03:11PM
I loved reading all of these regional details. I'm so glad you took the time to go into the weeds.
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Well then, sounds like this is one that I'll definitely skip.
And I'm scratching my head at the flowery description of marsh versus swamp, because decomposition happens in both? Swamps have trees whereas marshes tend to be grassy... so yeah: overwrought. And having accents indicate stupidity or bad-guy status is just wrong and shows no appreciation for how rich and varied the flavors of English are.
My reader sense kept tingling when I looked at this book and telling me it sounded terrible, so this was quite satisfying to read.
This sounds like it will be GREAT book club meeting ;-).
Yes everything yes with your review!! I literally just wrote all of this in mine, just not as eloquently. I just couldnt get past all the wrong NC details. And the accents! Oh the accents!!
@Jacob I just have a lot of experience with many parts of North Carolina. It's frustrating because it makes me wonder how wrong many of the books I love that take place in unfamiliar locations actually are. It diminishes my trust in authors, editors, and publishers everywhere.@Jamie I'm clearly in the minority about this book, but seeing your reviews of other books here, that's probably a good idea.
@Francesca Oh good point! I'm don't really know that much about swamps vs marshes because I've never really cared or needed to know. I am however unsurprised that more words that sounded meaningful were really just letters taking up space. It happened a lot in this book.
@Rachael Haha. I'm glad I could confirm your book senses were accurate.
@Janet I'm wondering if I'm going to be the only one who hated it...
@Jennifer I have a strong sense the author went to the Outer Banks exactly once and was "inspired". Because who of a literary mind hasn't been there and thought about the wealth of good stories that could come from that history and geography combined? The problem is, the actual real culture there is fascinating enough. Actually spend some time and get to understand it. I was fortunate to experience the Outer Banks for the first time not as a tourist but as a student there to learn about the various cultures and communities across eastern NC. As a result, I talked to and heard the stories of a lot of locals whose families had been there forever. I'm outraged on their behalf.
I love this review! It would only be better if I could hear it in person. I also love NC, my home for many years 😁
@Julia Since proclaiming my annoyance, I've had so many people who know NC for various reasons come to me to voice their frustrations.@Betsy I wish you could hear it in person! 😭
I enjoyed the book, but as I have read books (including our current One Book One Nebraska selection) that have inaccuracies in them due to the author not knowing where he was writing about, I wondered about that in the back of my mind. Thank you for helping me with facts to write my monthly book review for the paper.
I just started this book after rave review from two friends whose opinions I normally trust. I may have to rethink that because this book is just....no. I agree 100% with everything in your review. From the beginning I felt something was off, and you nailed it exactly. Thank you for taking the time, and saving me from wasting mine.
Coming from someone who enjoyed this book, I really appreciate your review. Thank you for taking the time to outline some geography and regional history. I also really appreciate your discussion of language. Your review makes me wonder about the target audience for this book. Perhaps it was Northeastern city folk like myself because it certainly wasn't anyone from NC. Honestly in this day and age there is no excuse for such a lack of research.
I had never heard of this book until I recently read about the author's history. https://slate.com/culture/2019/07/del... Just reading about the book's main character and how she supposedly was able to learn and lose her accent while being completely isolated made me raise my eyebrows. There were other things in the article that put me off wanting to read the book (not to mention the parallels with her past), so I'm really glad to have read your detailed review of the things she got wrong. I really hate reading books that aren't properly researched.
I love seeing your perspective of actually knowing the place where this book was set! Awesome review. Also, (view spoiler) Totally agreed. I still feel lied to with the whole twist of Kya (view spoiler)
Ugh, I am still steaming over how much I disliked this book even 2 months after finishing it.
Zahara Cerise ~ The turtle was outmoded after twenty years, but did it get across the highway? wrote: "I had never heard of this book until I recently read about the author's history. https://slate.com/culture/2019/07/del... Just reading about the book's main charact..."Fascinating. And makes me hate this book even more.
I'm still mad too. And that article definitely rekindled a lot of my nearly smothered anger.
Great review. I think it's impossible to enjoy a book when you know more about something than the author and the author gets it wrong. The part of me that enjoys going along with a story shuts down, and I start furiously taking notes on everything that the author mangles. Someone just recommended this book to me. I dodged a bullet!
I'm only a few pages in and I'm like, this is going to be fun in a bad way. I'm marking anachronisms on every page and getting irritated at the jerkiness of the purple prose. Also I'm irritated about the poor attempts at dialect, which are truly awful, and the geographical dissonance is unbelievable. Thanks for a good review from a fellow Southerner (who loves to read, but not this).
Margaret wrote: "I'm only a few pages in and I'm like, this is going to be fun in a bad way. I'm marking anachronisms on every page and getting irritated at the jerkiness of the purple prose. Also I'm irritated abo..."The only way I was able to finish it was by thinking of it as fun in a bad way. Or as I told my book club "I hate finished this".
I finished the damn thing and stayed mad for about two days at how a book this bad could get on the the NYT best seller list. I'm still fuming. The author obviously needs to stick to science and stay away from fiction. There were just so many details that were trotted out over and over (turnip greens, bird feathers, long black hair), and other details needed to create a sense of place that were totally left out. So many unanswered questions! Such an implausible plot line! Was it sad at the end? Not for me.
Are you thinking of “sing” as a musical term? Think of it from another perspective. “Sing” is American slang for snitching or acting as an informer. Crustaceans can’t keep secrets because they have thin shells. They break under pressure. Be sure to read the nature descriptions of the hard seashells, the best secret keepers of all.
Mary wrote: "Are you thinking of “sing” as a musical term? Think of it from another perspective. “Sing” is American slang for snitching or acting as an informer. Crustaceans can’t keep secrets because they have..."Okay that makes sense. I concede that one point as long as I never have to read another nature description written by this author.
I just finished the book and I enjoyed reading it, but I did appreciate your insight. I loved reading about all the rich details but I don’t know enough about the region to have been able to spot the mistakes like you did. Your perspective was eye opening.
I haven't read this book yet, because a super-hype makes me a little skeptical. And reading the negative reviews with all of the errors, reading it would completely take me out of the story. A writer with the author's credentials is held to a higher standard. Geography, science, culture, anachronisms etc. - plus stuff like the 'kiss of the Spiderwoman - spiders killing their mates' is an old trope that I don't think today is backed up entirely by modern science. A scientist has an obligation to the truth, not fiction and tales.While you don't have to be a scientist to love the marsh and swamplands to write about them, and fiction is okay, but I don't think this is supposed to be a fantasy novel? It's been promoted as anything from a near field guide all the way to fantasy!
It's too simple and thin of a story from the sounds of it, with football heroes and the like. What little I have read of the dialogue and dialects is maybe a little too heavy-handed too, to me. I appreciate these reviews.
As I said, I haven't read the book, but have followed the discussions. When all is said and done, it sounds like the laws of Nature did deliver up the secret about the murder, right from page one - swamp, crustaceans, mollusks, feathers. Just not the laws of man.
Maybe someday I'll read it from the library, but I'll approach with caution.
Nature, marsh and swampland are very close to my heart. I'm projecting here, but it feels to me like Kya carried the burden of what she did around with her and was only released from it at the ending. (I'm gonna start crying!)
You know what? I think I just convinced myself to read it. Better get on that waiting list! ;)
Thoughtful and honest review, Brandy. I like your comments about the SAT words, that kind of writing bugs me too. I get it you can write but, you don't have to beat me over the head with your vernacular (sorry, that might be considered one of those words). 🤐
Regarding the title, I was curious as to what it meant — it’s certainly very convoluted and wants to be clever. Which leads me to believe that it is entirely possible that the author’s play on words is with another meaning of the verb sing. Not as an informer, as suggested above by Mary, but rather, relating to poetry. Here is the definition of “sing” taken from The Oxford Dictionary of English, ‘(4) [with object] recount or celebrate in poetry or other literature: “poetry should sing the variety of the human race” | [no object]: “these poets sing of the American experience” | • [no object - archaic] compose poetry: “he knew Himself to sing, and build the lofty rhyme”.’
You mentioned poetry, and I haven’t read the book but poetry seems to be a big thing. And given how pompous this author seems to be, I suppose it wouldn’t be beyond her ability to show off to use that “clever” pun (clever in her view, of course..)
I don’t know, that’s just a thought!
In any case, I think your review is spot on! So thank you for sharing your views and saving this reader some time and money!
You mentioned poetry, and I haven’t read the book but poetry seems to be a big thing. And given how pompous this author seems to be, I suppose it wouldn’t be beyond her ability to show off to use that “clever” pun (clever in her view, of course..)
I don’t know, that’s just a thought!
In any case, I think your review is spot on! So thank you for sharing your views and saving this reader some time and money!
BRILLIANT, thoughtful review....thank you.
Like you, I wonder if I’m at fault for not enjoying what seems to be universally adored - so your critique was itself enjoyed! One basic flaw I found was Kye was supposedly conceived on a moonlight cruise in NC, when at the time her pa was supposed to be getting shot-up in a French foxhole!
Now that does it. Some of this would insult the intelligence. :(Another thing is that I don't want some of the images in my mind - like 'the sea awash in its own saliva'? Saliva? I was born, raised and live today near a seacoast (and a salt marsh), another place close to my heart, and I love it. I found I was cringing even thinking about that imagery, and I do not want it in my mind. And when have seagulls ever looked like 'feathered stones'? Stones are inanimate.
Between these things and finding tiny hummingbird feathers, especially throat feathers, it is just too implausible.
I don't want to read about someone killing someone either - it isn't necessary.
People all may revert to the more base instincts when their back is up against a wall, but she was not totally raised by the survival of the fittest she sees around her, she was exposed to the better aspects of human morality and behavior too, it seems. It's just a little too simplistic. Chase sounds like a good time Charlie, and those types usually move on to the next woman if the current one is not interested.
I think I'll give this one a pass.
Al wrote: "Like you, I wonder if I’m at fault for not enjoying what seems to be universally adored - so your critique was itself enjoyed! One basic flaw I found was Kye was supposedly conceived on a moonlight..."That's a VERY GOOD question! I also wondered how Pa could have been too young to remember much of the Great Depression if Kya's older Sibs, Mandy, Missy, Murph, and Jodie were all born in the 1930's. All evidence that the Marsh Girl's entire existence was only folklore? Or was it illogical writing and bad editing? Thought provoking, for sure!
Wish I’d read your review before embarking on this awful book. It was a book club choice so I felt obligated to finish it - what a waste of reading time. I’m a fan of good SF so I can stretch my mind to unbelievable things in a good cause. This was just awful from the start.
I loved your review! I actually gave it 4 stars but I truly appreciate the nuances you critique. I'm not a NC expert but I grew up going to the OBX for vacations so I've been there dozens of times. For me, I was trying to picture where the heck this locale was. I'm guessing not on the OBX proper but on the Pamlico Sound mainland side like Manteo maybe? There are parts around Duck that are kind of swampy near the Sound there but that's the Albemarle. Anyway, I love linguistics so I really do appreciate your comments on the accents. I know one lady with a Wilmington accent & it's very beautiful and genteel but I'm not sure what a "hick" OBX accent should sound like. The way she wrote it made me think more Huck Finn, really....
Excellent review. As a native North Carolinian, the dialects and geographical inconsistencies were a constant annoyance. My ability to suspend disbelief usually gets me through many flaws if the plot is tight enough, but these were research errors. The editors should have caught them even if the author was lazy. I appreciate your accurate analysis.
I am about 1/3 of the way thru it and dont feel any love for the book. I completely agree with the flowery prose and trying to use as many SAT words as possible. I will not finish it. Life is too short to waste in a book you dont like, especially in the time of COVID
You’re spot on about the descriptive prose. Some writers can do it effortlessly, and others force it - there’s just no heart and a “paint by numbers” style of language devices.
THANK YOU for addressing the Asheville issue. I thought I was alone.
Amen! The lack of awareness with NC geography alone drove me insane.
Wonderful, wonderful review. You are a vengeful goddess, and I take my hat off to you, m'am ...
You read my mind about this book. Great review!
I wish I’d stopped reading when the beans in the pot were “singing” instead of boiling.
Spot on! It took me over a month to get to page 50. I should’ve gone with my instinct to quit the book, but everyone I know who read it LOVED it.
Great review! I grew up in western NC and was confused by all the long trips to Asheville.😐
I still have not read it; and from reading the reviews - one thing that would bug me no end would be why on earth she would remodel her shack in a wetlands of all places, and bring electricity, sewer and plumbing in!!! The 70s is when environmental laws began to go into effect, to protect water supplies and wetlands especially. Hardly an untouched paradise in the 50s and 60s, I would imagine lots of damage had been done in spraying for mosquitoes to prevent malaria, and even DDT usage, and draining marshes and swamps. If the character loves it so much, it should be left alone and as pristine as it could be kept. There may have been restrictions to development.
It would seem to be the antithesis of everything she stood for. Why not just have left it as an historic home managed by the Park Service or something, and buy a home with everything including the kitchen sink elsewhere????
And how in the heck was she able to write a book about the marine life of the entire Eastern Seaboard, I think I had heard? That kind of stuff would take me out of the story.
Loved your review. This book is probably the worst I’ve read in my adult life.
I enjoyed reading this review a lot more than I enjoyed reading the actual book. Thank you.
