Years before I was born, there was some sort of a “marsh people” in my town. There was a little island where the poorest of the poor had moved to. They would fish for themselves, live and mingle amongst themselves, and were completely disconnected from the town people. A bridge was installed in the 60s with the purpose of addressing the disconnect, and addressed it did. Some quick Google search before this post showed me advertisements saying whether I would like to stay in “the paradise”. Regardless, when I was in elementary school some thirty something years ago, it was still the expectation that the “island people” are horrible students who are just here to drop before sixth grade. I remember my grandmother, herself illiterate, making a comment once that she will not attend a wedding since “people from the other side of the water” may be attending.
I was able to connect with the book from that point of view, and thought about all the “marsh people” I knew who had studied animal behavior extremely well with a minimal amount of education. I thoroughly enjoyed the prose, the storyline and all it’s details, and the twist at the end. Dr. Owens puts her PhD in animal behavior to work. Detailed descriptions of various animals, from seagulls to fireflies are rampant throughout the story, and the storytelling is masterful. Whether it is about discrimination against Kya, loneliness of a seven year old in the marsh, or the kindness or Jumpin’ and others toward her, the author has done a phenomenal job. I take photos of Great Blue Heron often, and her attention to the Great Blue Heron’s tiara feather truly awed me as the focal point of a love story.
There are parts of the story that are hard to believe but could happen. Kya learning how to read and write is a prime example of such storyline. There are, however, other parts of the story that are truly impossible to happen, and that is my main criticism of the story. Kya did not go to school for one day in her life and did not ever meet other human beings to the extent that her menstruation completely surprised her. However, she appears to have a perfect understanding of social constructs of dating and marriage, and innately understand that it is wrong to have casual sex, even though she has learned all of these concepts directly from nature. There is a part in the book when Kya asks Chase Andrews whether she is now “his girlfriend” due to the intimate nature of the relationship, which made me close the book and say “Oh come on, Delia!” with a sigh.
All in all, the book is a phenomenal read if you can get past the parts that makes it a sci-fi story. I would still give the book a five out of five for it’s character development and solid storyline. Alas, if anything could be simply perfect in the world of literature. I hope the movie does the beautiful story of the book justice. It is being released on July 15, 2022.
