EDIT: bro one star. the more i thought about this book the more angry i got. i wanted to like it SO BAD because so many people loved it; but it was NOT good.

the plot line is so incredibly implausible. how on earth did every member of this family abandon a 6-7 year old child in the marsh? and there's NO WAY that social services would just give up because she was good at hiding. there's no way that this girl learned how to read complex scientific texts just from some kid a couple of years older than her teaching her how to read. also, if she was reading biology texts all of the time; then how the hell did she not know what her period was when she got it???? and she's a sensational self taught author? a scientifically impactful one?? come on now.

the nature descriptions were well written, but there's simply way too fucking much of it. the actual plot itself sucks and the character development is as complex as a mediocre wattpad story. also, the SIMILES were so DRAINING. everything was like something else. literally me trying to write poetry in 9th grade.

also, i literally have no idea as to what genre this book is supposed to fit into. it's supposed to be "part romance part murder mystery" and an overall celebration of the marsh/nature. i guess that part made it, but this book was not romantic and the murder was not a mystery. the romance was creepy because of the age/maturity/socialization gap between her first love and herself, and mans #2 was just an asshole the whole time. AND HER FIRST JUST LEAVES AND NEVER COMES BACK! UNTIL YEARS AND YEARS LATER! the romance is soooooooooo dry. and the murderer is who everyone thought it was in the first place, but whoop there.

OG review: ok so, i give it a 3 because i liked the storyline but the writing style was not my cup of tea. hella similes and metaphors - like every page