Cordova Creative Writing

Warning: Spoilers

Let me be clear: I loved this book. I thought it was going to be one of my top ten favorite books of all time. In fact, I loved it so much I started to slow down, reading only a few pages at a time because I wanted to savor it.

First of all, the setting is breathtaking. The details McConaghy uses for this remote Antarctic island of Shearwater are better than anything I’ve read in a travel magazine. From the weather to the descriptions of the ocean, and the rocks, and the grass…it feels like you are really there with the characters. And the animals that inhabit this world aren’t just written in as cute props for a scene. Even the animals are written with care and personality far beyond what many human side characters receive in most books.

Second, the characters are all fully developed. They have their own complicated past and goals and preferences. Each of them, from Rowan to Dom to Orly, continue to show new surprising parts of themselves from start to finish. They not only feel real because of their complex backstories and personalities, but their individual voices are written so well that you can tell who you are reading even if you open the book to a random page without context.

That’s another wonderful thing about this book: each character section feels like a confessional. The characters reveal their motives and beliefs throughout the entire book, and their comments are so deeply personal it almost feels like you are reading someone’s diary pages.

And third, the conflicts are realistic and layered. None of the conflicts or twists in the story were predictable. McConaghy does a wonderful job teasing information without revealing too much too soon. It kept me speculating on the edge of my seat from page one.

However…

The ending of the book ruined the entire story for me.

Rowan’s death takes all of the character development and all of the hope out of the book. Honestly, it made the entire book feel pointless to me. Rowan had already healed from her injuries, learned to love the children, developed a relationship with Dom, faced her negativity about the world and her fear of water, and then…she dies.

It takes all of the work and the connection that is fostered throughout the story, and just throws it in the trash.

Personally, as both a reader and a writer myself, I felt completely betrayed by the book. I didn’t feel good at the end of the book, not because something tragic happened (tragedy is part of what makes this book beautiful) but because of who it happens to. Killing Rowan off was a mistake and I don’t recommend this book because I don’t think anyone should go through such a beautiful story only to feel empty at the end.