2.75 Stars

3 maybe (Still debating. Will rate later.)

**Unpopular Opinion**

Don’t read this review if you love the book.

This review is hard to write. One, because my friends were sure I’d love the book. Two, because I still feel mixed up almost 18 hours after finishing the book.

I can’t claim I loved the book when I didn’t. I can’t think I can exactly explain what’s annoying me the most.

Let’s plod through somehow. If you get bored midway through, I’ll understand.

The book started well enough with beautiful prose and vivid imagery. Soon enough, I realized there had to be a suspension of belief. I was okay with it to an extent.

Then, it felt like I was being taken for granted. I mean, even if I understand how a six-year-old learns to take care of the house (it is possible to a great extent), I can’t comprehend how a girl with almost zero education learns so fast and speaks like a textbook.

Sure, Kya could have super IQ and photographic memory, but imagine becoming a scientific expert, a bestselling author, and a

Spoiler

fairly popular poet (under a pseudonym) with below-average poetry-writing skills.

But hey, make it a little believable. Somehow, Kya never struggles with her reading and writing skills, not to mention, she’s also an expert painter!

While I understand the intention to show that one doesn’t need a formal education to be successful when one can learn from nature, we do live in a materialistic world.

The character development or the lack of it was another aspect I figure out halfway into the book. Kya is pretty much the same at six, fourteen, or twenty-two. Jumping and Mabel give her so much love and deserved better treatment from her. For someone who wanted to be loved and was willing to give the boys a chance, it’s strange that she didn’t start reciprocating Mabel’s love until almost the end. The rest of the characters are pretty much one-dimensional and do what they should. Nothing more.

Now, the mystery. Ahem… it’s a sort of mystery with a courtroom scene thrown in. And no, the descriptive prose until then and the courtroom scenes don’t blend. What saved me was my fast reading. I picked up a good pace that filtered the filler stuff and allowed me to enjoy the court scenes a little.

Of course, it’s still surprising that the case was so weak and hinged on ‘basic evidence and theories where were never tested’. And yeah, I did figure out the twist. How? There were only two possibilities, and I went with the 'less likely' option. Bingo! But what irked me was loose ends. There’s no explanation of how the crime was committed. It felt too coincidental and convenient. I also have a doubt about something, so I’ll wait for the book discussions in our group to talk about it.

Spoiler

I don’t particularly like the protag dying at the end either. I can see how it would’ve tugged the heartstrings and prepared readers for the final twist. It didn’t work for me.

What I did like about the book was the information about the marsh, the birds, insects, etc. These bits were my favorite. A round of tightening might have helped (this comes from someone who loves lyrical prose).