#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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Loved this book!
One of best books I’ve read in a long time. I highly recommend it.
This novel that remains on the bestseller list is the most over rated book I have yet read. It borrows heavily on the themes of a great novel, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, right to the defense attorney’s closing remark. Who cannot recall Atticus Finch’s plea to the jury, “…do your duty”? Apparently, Ms. Owens forgot, attributing near identical words to her borrowed character.
This is one of the best books I’ve read in the last year. The setting was superb and beautifully described. I could picture it so clearly and almost smell the trees and marsh. The story was also evocative, compelling with a terrific mystery.
the story was unique! Great character building world setting. I couldn’t put it down. Ilove a book when it grabs ad won’t let go, even in my dreams.
I loved it!
One of my favorite books.
I enjoyed this audio book a lot. I thought it was well written and took two separate timelines and wove them together seamlessly. I enjoyed getting to know the characters, their thoughts, their insecurities along with their hopes. None of the main characters felt undeveloped or one dimensional to me. Even supporting characters were developed enough to feel real and have a strong opinion about.
**Update, I still really enjoyed this book. The audio was great. I loved catching a few more things than I did the last time I listened.
This book gave me the feels of How to Kill a Mockingbird. If you enjoy that book, I believe you will enjoy this one.
Great love story!
Evocative descriptions of the marshlands in this powerful coming-of-age tale of the Marsh Girl, her hurts and fears, her intelligence and ability to survive, and even a possible murder in the mix.
I absolutely loved this book!!! You can’t help but fall in love with the main character. Her struggles and her perseverance keeps it flowing. The detail the author gives is amazing. You can really picture the story vibrantly in your head. Do read!!!
Last year, I read a book called An American Marriage by Tayari Jones that I should’ve hated. It has everything that I generally hate in fiction — dialogue written in dialect, extremely humble but noble protagonists, magical realism, extreme hype. Surprise — I loved it! This novel, highly acclaimed and roundly adored, has many of the same elements, except the magical realism part. Guess what? I loved it too. It’s the story of a little girl, living in the swamps of North Carolina and abandoned, first by her mother, then her favorite brother and finally her father. That’s enough about the plot, which isn’t at all the point of the book anyway — what made the novel extraordinary was the depth and humanity of the characters, both positive and negative … even the greatest villain is still fully drawn and even sympathetic in some ways. The author, nearly 70 when she published this, her first novel, is a wildlife scientist and author of three non fiction books about her experiences in the field, and she writes brilliantly about the natural world, which is in itself practically a character in the novel. And while the characters are presented a little simplistically, there is an underlying honesty to each as they remain true to their essential natures, even when different choices would’ve been more pleasing to readers hoping for salvation — in other words, the author had the courage of her own convictions, which was itself a bold decision. This book was a top bestseller of the year, got a lot of push from Reese Witherspoon, and the author has a controversial past, but none of that changes the fact that, to me, this is an amazing, extraordinary book, especially for a first-time novelist who is 70 years old … but really, for anyone.
One of my favorite books in a long while and the front-runner for my favorite read of the year. “Where the Crawdads Sing” is a book I won’t soon forget.
The main character still haunts me, nearly a year after reading this book!
Beautifully written story (although some things may seem unrealistic in this day and age). Great character development and such informative detail to specifics of nature … learned a lot as well as enjoyed a very moving story of judgement, cruelty, love, confusion, disappointment, mystery, secrets, loneliness, sadness, talent, survival, joy and more. Would highly recommend.
Finally read this and it reminded me of favorite childhood novels, maybe because it’s got that ambitious omniscient lifelong saga thing going on — kind of rare today — while remaining a pageturner. It’s impossible not to root for Kya. A very good read.
I don’t know why I postponed reading this book for so long. I read the synopsis and decided it wasn’t for me. Then, I kept hearing about it on social media and decided to try it. Wow! This book had me crying, smiling and rooting on young Kya as she is left to survive on her own. It had me yelling at Chase and berating Tate for their fickle hearts. And all along, Kya learned to survive, in the marsh and all alone. She wasn’t educated in a school house but by the wildlife all around her. She didn’t know anything about prejudice against others since the only ones who helped her with the African Americans who ran a small store. I loved this book and regret that it took me so long to read it. The lessons that I learned from reading this novel are priceless ones of accepting others and not judging others and keeping promises. So many lessons learned and so much drama in this little book. I highly recommend it to lovers of fiction because it is a book to fall into. But be careful because you may have difficulty climbing out of it. I know that I will never forget the “Marsh Girl.”
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I checked out a copy of this book from the local library using the Overdrive App. I was not required to write a positive review.
Kept me wanting to keep reading
I loved this book. Great characters and powerful ending.
Great book. I have never loved and hated a book at the same time. Outstanding!