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JanB's Reviews > Where the Crawdads Sing
Where the Crawdads Sing
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You know that person? The one who doesn't like what everyone else seems to love? There has to be someone in the outlier club and this time it is me. I was highly anticipating this book after reading all the praise from readers whose tastes usually align with my own. Unfortunately, I should have DNF'd this one when very early in the book, my eyes glazed over and I began skimming pages and pages of descriptive writing. The author is a nature writer and those sections were undoubtably well-written. But I don’t care for overly descriptive writing. And then there's poetry. I skipped over those as well.
Everything other reviewers say they enjoyed were things I intensely disliked. I struggled with believability. I won't list them all, but the implausibility of every single plot point was something I couldn’t get past.
To make things worse, romance is not a genre I enjoy and the romance in this book had a very YA feel to it.
Finally, I found the use of dialect distracting to read and often in the same paragraph a character would switch from local dialect to proper English.
Sometimes my love of the story or the strength of the writing is enough for me to ignore implausibility and move past a few things I don't like. This wasn't one of those times.
Recommended for readers who enjoy long, descriptive nature writing, and those who have no trouble suspending disbelief. If I had known these things before starting this book I would have skipped it, so perhaps my review will help other readers like me.
* Thanks to Edelweiss for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
Everything other reviewers say they enjoyed were things I intensely disliked. I struggled with believability. I won't list them all, but the implausibility of every single plot point was something I couldn’t get past.
To make things worse, romance is not a genre I enjoy and the romance in this book had a very YA feel to it.
Finally, I found the use of dialect distracting to read and often in the same paragraph a character would switch from local dialect to proper English.
Sometimes my love of the story or the strength of the writing is enough for me to ignore implausibility and move past a few things I don't like. This wasn't one of those times.
Recommended for readers who enjoy long, descriptive nature writing, and those who have no trouble suspending disbelief. If I had known these things before starting this book I would have skipped it, so perhaps my review will help other readers like me.
* Thanks to Edelweiss for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
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Reading Progress
July 31, 2018
– Shelved
July 31, 2018
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to-read
October 7, 2018
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Started Reading
October 8, 2018
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Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-50 of 955 (955 new)
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Dorie - Cats&Books :)
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Oct 10, 2018 10:52AM
Wow, so sorry this didn't work for you :) Good honest review
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Well, I had hopes for this one but I probably won't like it much either based on your description.
Dorie - Traveling Sister :) wrote: "Wow, so sorry this didn't work for you :) Good honest review"Thanks Dorie! No book is for every reader, right? I'm glad you loved it.
Jenna wrote: "Well, I had hopes for this one but I probably won't like it much either based on your description."Jenna, do try it. Borrow it from the library and you will know pretty quickly if you will love it or not. Good luck!
So sorry to hear this, Jan! That really stinks. I think it takes courage to 'buck the trend' so to speak - so I really appreciate your take and review. If it didn't work for you - it didn't work for you! There is always the next one :)
Sorry to hear this Jan, but we all know the feeling! ;) I’ve seen sooo many great reviews for this one but it hasn’t really appealed to me and I think I’ll pass after reading your review :)
Jan, you’re so right- not every book works for everyone. Hope you love your next one .
Oh NO Jan!!! Every item you listed screamed out to me! I have this to read and now I'm saying no way jose! I guess I'll find out. that said, I so appreciate your fair honest review! Great job my friend!
It is sometimes the best thing to be...an outlier that is! Sorry of course that this book wasn't a better one for you, but more than understand your well stated reservations about it. Onto the next five star read, Jan!
JanB wrote: "Dorie - Traveling Sister :) wrote: "Wow, so sorry this didn't work for you :) Good honest review"Thanks Dorie! No book is for every reader, right? I'm glad you loved it."
there have been many times when I was the only one with a lower rating on a book. We can only write how we honestly feel and I thank you for that :)
Excellent review ! I hate when I am that person, but we all get to be that person on occasion ! 😊
Such an honest review, Jan. It helps me personally on selecting books when reviewers give all sides to the story and its impact. Everyone likes chocolate but not always with nuts or coconut. Haha! 📚😉
Michelle wrote: "So sorry to hear this, Jan! That really stinks. I think it takes courage to 'buck the trend' so to speak - so I really appreciate your take and review. If it didn't work for you - it didn't work fo..."Thanks so much for your graciousness Michelle. I appreciate an honest review and although they are not fun, I try to do the same, even if it is against popular opinion. And yes, there are books for every reader so we never have worries about running out of reading material, right? :)
Brandice wrote: "Sorry to hear this Jan, but we all know the feeling! ;) I’ve seen sooo many great reviews for this one but it hasn’t really appealed to me and I think I’ll pass after reading your review :)"Brandice, thank you! It's never a fun place to be is it? I was certainly taken aback and I went in with a positive mindset expecting to love it.
Angela M wrote: "Jan, you’re so right- not every book works for everyone. Hope you love your next one ."Thank you so much Angela, I think chances are high I will. So many books, right? 😊
Susanne wrote: "Oh NO Jan!!! Every item you listed screamed out to me! I have this to read and now I'm saying no way jose! I guess I'll find out. that said, I so appreciate your fair honest review! Great job my fr..."Susanne, haha...well, I am the outlier so I think chances are high you will love it. It was me, not the book. I will be watching for your review and hope you love it! Thank you for understanding! 😘
Marialyce wrote: "It is sometimes the best thing to be...an outlier that is! Sorry of course that this book wasn't a better one for you, but more than understand your well stated reservations about it. Onto the next..."Marialyce, too funny that of the two book reviews I posted today we were polar opposites on both of them. Normally our tastes do align but then we have the occasional outlier books. Which is ok 😊 There are so many other books we can agree on!
Dorie - Traveling Sister :) wrote: "JanB wrote: "Dorie - Traveling Sister :) wrote: "Wow, so sorry this didn't work for you :) Good honest review"Thanks Dorie! No book is for every reader, right? I'm glad you loved it."
there have..."
Thanks Dorie, it's never fun but it is nice to get understanding, not criticism from our GR friends. I thank you for that!
Jayme wrote: "Excellent review ! I hate when I am that person, but we all get to be that person on occasion ! 😊"Jayme, thank you, and you make an excellent point. Its hard because when you love a book you want your friends to love it too....and sometimes it just doesn't happen.
Linda wrote: "Such an honest review, Jan. It helps me personally on selecting books when reviewers give all sides to the story and its impact. Everyone likes chocolate but not always with nuts or coconut. Haha! 📚😉"Linda, I love that!! haha! Thank you for your supportive comment! 😘
Well stated Jan. I felt the exact same as you. We sit at the outlier table together. Hope your next book is a fantastic 5 star!!!! 🌟
I’m sorry you didn’t like this one...I liked it very much. Different strokes 😘
Lindsay - Traveling Sister wrote: "Well stated Jan. I felt the exact same as you. We sit at the outlier table together. Hope your next book is a fantastic 5 star!!!! 🌟"Thanks so much Lindsay, I am honored to have such good company in the outlier club 😉😊 I hope both of us have a 5 star review in our future!
Alecia wrote: "I’m sorry you didn’t like this one...I liked it very much. Different strokes 😘"Alecia, isn't that the truth?! We are lucky we have so many to choose from so there's something for everyone, right? 😊
I understand. I didn't like The Goldfinch and people were shocked. To each his own.
Carol wrote: "I understand. I didn't like The Goldfinch and people were shocked. To each his own."Carol, thank you! Exactly, we readers need to respect each other's preferences. What a boring world it would be if we all liked the same things.
Great review Jan! Sorry it didn’t work for you! Lol! I know how it feels to always be the outlier!
I will be interested to see how you like The Witch Elm since it is all about descriptive sentences, pages and pages of them. Also the plot moves slowly, I'll be watching for your viewpoint, always good to read your reviews :)
Kaceey - Traveling Sister wrote: "Great review Jan! Sorry it didn’t work for you! Lol! I know how it feels to always be the outlier!"Thanks Kaceey, it isn't much fun is it? Let's hope it doesn't happen often :-)
Dorie - Traveling Sister :) wrote: "I will be interested to see how you like The Witch Elm since it is all about descriptive sentences, pages and pages of them. Also the plot moves slowly, I'll be watching for your viewpoint, always ..."Dorie, oh now I'm really intrigued! Tana French is one of my favorite authors but this is her first stand-alone.
I'm sorry this wasn't for you but great review, Jan! It looks interesting but I'm not quite sure about it.
Sarah wrote: "I'm sorry this wasn't for you but great review, Jan! It looks interesting but I'm not quite sure about it."Thanks Sarah. Most people love it so you may too! If you give it a try I'll be interested in your thoughts :)
Wonderful review, Jan! Sorry that this one wasn’t a better read for you but we did have a wonderful discussion though!
Norma * Traveling Sister wrote: "Wonderful review, Jan! Sorry that this one wasn’t a better read for you but we did have a wonderful discussion though!"Thanks Norma! It is always fun to discuss a book with the group, but I wish I had been with the majority in the love for the book 😊
Wonderful review, Jan! I was so sure this would be a great read for me, but after reading Wyndy's review and yours, I think I have been saved some time and energy. The things that you found detracted from the book would most likely not sit well with me, either, so I have taken it off my current reading list - and my TBR thanks you right along with me! 😊🌺
Jaline wrote: "Wonderful review, Jan! I was so sure this would be a great read for me, but after reading Wyndy's review and yours, I think I have been saved some time and energy. The things that you found detract..."Thanks Jaline, I'm always happy to help whittle down a tbr 😊 But in all seriousness, I was sure it would be a great read for me too, but sadly it was not. But your reaction may be entirely different!
I wonder how I'll do with this one?? I don't have any problem with suspending belief to a degree, but over descriptive drives me bananas. Hope your next is more stars.
Thanks for this review - it may have saved me some time!
I love your honest review, Jan! 💜And this --> You know that person who doesn't like what everyone else loves? . . . is typically ME! 🤣 I've been extremely skeptical of this one, given all the hype, but I caved a few weeks ago and bought a copy. Now I'm sort of leery because I am also that reader who can't suspend disbelief . . . eek!! Thanks for knocking my expectations down a notch . . . maybe it'll surprise me.
Holly wrote: "I wonder how I'll do with this one?? I don't have any problem with suspending belief to a degree, but over descriptive drives me bananas. Hope your next is more stars."Holly, thanks, me too! 😊 I'm also curious to see if you like it. Sometimes if most things in a novel work for me I can get past one thing I don't care for. But in this case there were too many strikes.
Lisa wrote: "Thanks for this review - it may have saved me some time!"Lisa, you're welcome, but remember I am part of a tiny minority!
Melissa wrote: "I love your honest review, Jan! 💜And this --> You know that person who doesn't like what everyone else loves? . . . is typically ME! 🤣 I've been extremely skeptical of this one, given all the hype..."
Melissa, aka "Picky Chick" (lol), I know we are both in the outlier club 😉 Maybe lessened expectations will actually help you just go with it. I'm interested in your thoughts and will be watching for your review. I certainly seem to be a tiny minority.
Great honest review, Jan! So sorry this book didnt work well for you. I hope your next one is a five star.
This is currently coming my way through inter-library loan, due to all the rave reviews I read (maybe some of the same you did). From your description, I may just notify the library to send it back. Thanks for the warning.
Sorry this one wasn't better for you Jan. I have it but keep putting it off in favor of other reads. I appreciate your honest take on your experience.
Mary Beth *Traveling Sister* wrote: "Great honest review, Jan! So sorry this book didnt work well for you. I hope your next one is a five star."Thanks so much Mary Beth, I'm glad you loved it! 😊
Debbie wrote: "This is currently coming my way through inter-library loan, due to all the rave reviews I read (maybe some of the same you did). From your description, I may just notify the library to send it back..."Debbie, it's a library book so nothing is lost if you give it a try. Most people love it and I think you will know very quickly if you like the writing. Good luck!
(Bern) Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas wrote: "Sorry this one wasn't better for you Jan. I have it but keep putting it off in favor of other reads. I appreciate your honest take on your experience."Bern, thanks! I know all too well the juggling of the tbr list! If it makes it to the top I hope you love it :)
Sorry this didn't work for you! I'm usually terrible at suspending disbelief or romance (ugh!), and it stretched it a bit at some points, but to my surprise (because I disliked The Great Alone intensely) I am really really enjoying this book. Hope your next read is better for you!
Heidi wrote: "Sorry this didn't work for you! I'm usually terrible at suspending disbelief or romance (ugh!), and it stretched it a bit at some points, but to my surprise (because I disliked The Great Alone inte..."Heidi, I know! It either didn't bother some readers or they liked the story enough to ignore those parts. Sometimes I can and sometimes I can't. In this case I couldn't get past it. I am glad you are enjoying it!
