‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ by Delia Owens
If I had to choose one popular BookTok recommendation I was most disappointed with, “Where the Crawdads Sing” would win. Although the heroine’s childhood and criminal trial have the potential to be a moving story, the faults of the story’s writing and plot mark Delia Owens’ novel as one of BookTok’s worst.
“Where the Crawdads Sing” takes place in the marshes of North Carolina, where the main character Kya Clark, nicknamed the “marsh girl,” is abandoned by her mother, father and all four of her older siblings and left to a childhood of neglect.
The story is incredibly reductive in its view of the South, to the point where the language feels like a caricature of a small Southern town in 1952. Clark’s story, including her struggles with her education, landowning rights and prejudice from the justice system, mirrors the struggles of the cultural and racial oppression of the Gullah Geechee people of North Carolina’s Lowcountry. Clark, a white character portraying the racial and economic oppression of the Gullah Geechee, a culture of black people, is incredibly tone-deaf. Some critiques have gone as far as to classify it as offensive.
The mechanics of the novel’s writing also leave a lot to be desired. Sentences in all caps and blatant unprofessional use of exclamation marks do little to make the story feel less ridiculous. In addition, the “twists” Owens incorporates are incredibly predictable.
When I first read the novel, Owens’ writing gave me the impression that “Where the Crawdads Sing” was her first attempt at writing fiction. The writing is poor, and the plot is ridiculous to a level where “Where the Crawdads Sing” comes across as a first draft.
‘Normal People’ by Sally Rooney
Not only do I consider “Normal People” one of the best novels to become a bestseller thanks to BookTok, but I’d also rank it among the best novels of the 2010s. The novel begins with two Irish teenagers, Marianne and Connell, who are secretly dating in high school. Eventually, the story takes readers through their time at Trinity College Dublin, with their on-again, off-again relationship a backdrop to Marianne and Connell’s other romantic partners and friendships, their mental health struggles and their developing philosophies about their world.
“Normal People” is one of the most honest, brilliant stories about young love I have read. Marianne and Connell’s story is heartbreaking yet beautiful. I would give a lot to be able to experience reading “Normal People” for the first time again, and I promise that Rooney’s bestselling novel will not disappoint.
‘Happy Place’ by Emily Henry
Immediately upon diving into Emily Henry’s “Happy Place,” I knew it would be a more emotional, slightly darker read than any of her previous novels. “Happy Place” follows recently broken-up Harriet and Wyn, who pretend to still be together so that a vacation with their shared friend group can go smoothly. In a coastal Maine cottage, Wyn and Harriet, while lying about their relationship, have to revisit their painful past, reliving the failure of their relationship while remembering the details that once made them inseparable.
“Happy Place” took on a different tone than Henry’s other novels but is superb nonetheless, providing an emotional, honest take on a second chance romance. Although I did not fly through “Happy Place” as quickly as I did “Beach Read” or “Book Lovers,” “Happy Place” is a wonderfully written novel with an emotional honesty that will have readers examining all the sacrifices, pains and joy that go into a relationship.
