RaveVirginia Living... more than just a tale to tell children about an avaricious eater who is transformed by a woman. It is an allegory that suggests that a woman’s responsibility is to heal violent men. In her debut, readers find three generations of women who are subjected to the cruelty and anger of men and who find ways to endure, restore, and hold their families together despite this antagonism ... As slow-moving as the waters of the Black Bayou the story is set in, these women endure and explore the repetitive nature of abuse and utilize myths as an escape from violence. Though the past leaves its marks and spider webs in the mind and on the body, the women of The Crocodile Bride attempt to break away, fleeing however they can. It is a tale too often chocked down to domestic difficulties. Here, Pedersen brings it to life—so that it’s not merely a tale told to children who may not entirely grasp its warning. The croc may lie in swamps, but it also lives in the very houses nestled nearby, waiting for a woman in a white dress to take the plunge into its stomach.
Morgan Thomas
RaveVirginia LivingGlittering ... Manywhere is filled with more characters who dive deep into their own struggles, through the histories built by others and themselves, to find their places in a complex world ... Rich storytelling ... The beautiful ending symbolizes the journey of all Thomas’s characters, turbulent but meaningful.
