#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING PHENOMENONMore than 6 million copies soldA Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club PickA Business Insider Defining Book of the Decade “I can’t even express how much I love this book! I didn’t want this story to end!”–Reese Witherspoon“Painfully beautiful.”–The New York Times Book ReviewFor years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet … years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life–until the unthinkable happens.
Where the Crawdads Sing is at once an exquisite ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder. Owens reminds us that we are forever shaped by the children we once were, and that we are all subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps.
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While the characters are very well written, there are many parts of this book that are very unbelievable.
I loved this book. The characters were real and raw. I didn’t want the story to end.
Overrated.
Where the Crawdads Sing is one of those books that received SO MUCH hype and lots of great reviews when it released. I just knew when I picked it up that it was going to be an automatic 5-Stars. Sadly, I was mistaken.
I spent an entire work day listening to Where the Crawdads Sing while sitting in my office working on client requests, but I never could get into it. Seven hours of listening to Kya’s story and I was still waiting on the hook. On the part where the story would suck me in and I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next.
That moment never came and I eventually decided to mark this one as a DNF and accept the fact that I’m in the minority with my opinion on Where the Crawdads Sing.
Extremely disappointing after all the stellar reviews. Unrealistic to the extreme, full of characters that are mere stereotypes, naive and idyllic story. I kind of liked the very end, but that is extremely unrealistic as well…
Wow, what an incredible book. The descriptions are so vivid, the story so moving. I have to also say that the audiobook narrator did an amazing job. Highly recommend!
A wonderful book with vivid imagery and a truly heart rending main character. The story is all at once sad and triumphant. A must read!
One of my all-time favorite novels ever! (And I have read a lot of fiction!)
It would have been more believable if the protagonist, Kya Clark, was older. It was hard to believe that a small child in the marsh could totally fend for herself. That she could become independent and have the ability to live in harsh conditions with a great love for the natural world would have been better served had she been ten or eleven at the beginning.
Wow! Kya’s story was so intriguing and heartbreaking to read. I Loved all of the details of the here and now and the back then brings you to asking questions and at the end you just want the happy ever after for this character.
I’m completely satisfied with how this story plays out and now my question is. What is Delia Owens working on now? I will be waiting patiently!
A wonderful book
One the best books I read last year. I loved the main character and did not see the surprise ending .
A good story, but I could tell the writer didn’t know much about the area where the story is set.
A good read. Holds your attention. I couldn’t put it down.
Where the Crawdads Sing presents nature through finely crafted prose with a murder mystery attached. It is not surprising that nature takes center stage since the author, Delia Owens, wrote several nature books prior to producing Crawdads as her debut work of fiction.
Here is an example of the prose:
“Months passed, winter easing gently into place, as southern winters do. The sun, warm as a blanket, wrapped Kya’s shoulders, coaxing her deeper into the marsh.”
Beautiful.
The murder mystery does not stand on its own. I would not recommend the book on the merits of that story divorced from the other material. The characters of the small southern coastal town are well developed, but none would appear to be a suspect. With that said, the murder perpetrator is revealed toward the end and the author does a good job in diverting suspicion of the identify.
Bottom line: Excellent, easy reading, transporting the reader to swamps and backwaters with a reasonable mystery attached.
Sometimes there comes along a book that you want to hold like a treasure. You dont want that book to end. This was one of those books, for me . A murder mystery, true romance at the very core of it , and what a unique setting . where the crawdads sing will definitely go down, in the years to come. as a classic read.
I loved the originality of this book and the author’s voice. It was very authentic and I couldn’t wait to turn the page.
This book was slightly disappointing, like a blockbuster movie that just doesn’t live up to the hype. But having said that, it was an easy, if not predictable, story to read, without any surprising twists that might unsettle beach time.
I read this book from my local library and enjoyed it immensely. New to this author and liked the way it was told.
The writing was beautiful.