absolutely beautiful and immersive prose. i felt like i was really in the marsh in north carolina at times. kya was a very captivating main character but i wish we had had more of her life and coming of age as the starkness of the murder trial didn’t seem in keeping with the rest of the novel and ruined the atmosphere the prose created for me. also, why was an 18-year-old tate making sexual advances towards a 14/15 year old kya? it made me really uncomfortable. it also perpetuated some racist stereotypes so don’t recommend buying first hand. i was reminded of piranesi by susanna clarke  in terms of the nature description and the atmosphere at times so i recommend that too.