#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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This was a powerful story about an abandoned child in North Carolina that hits on every emotion as it unfolds. I loved all the characters, but especially Kya who endures loneliness and ridicule but also finds a family in the marsh animals. There is a murder mystery and so much more. Beautifully told. I highly recommend it.
This was wonderfully written with great characters. I could hardly put it down and did not want it to end. Very surprising ending.
Wonderful characters, and great descriptions of the wetlands on our east coast.
The characters acted and reacted in plausible ways. I felt like I knew them.
I must admit, I ONLY chose this book because it was a Reese Witherspoon book club pick, however, this book is definitely in my top 5! I cannot say enough about this book, except read it! You will not be disappointed. Cannot wait for the movie adaptation.
My new favorite book! I couldn’t stop reading until I finished the book and then I wanted more!!
Great book, beautifully written. The storyline is original, and makes a great book club book. However, some details–once dissected in book club–don’t hold up. At least, they seem a little far-fetched.
This book was entertaining and easy to become involved in. Enjoyable reading.
Draws you in and I could not put down. Great read
So many children grow up without a voice. Owens describes—in beautiful language that is all her own—the extreme of what can come of not being heard, from not feeling loved or worthy. Yet she also shows the sheer strength that often evolves from having to go it alone. An incredible story that I didn’t want to end. Thank you for tucking me into bed each night, at least, for a little while.
Gloria Squitiro, author of May Cause Drowsiness and Blurred Vision: The Side Effects of Bravery
I found the ending a little shocking, but this book was great overall
What a satisfying blessing to read a #1 bestseller, and all the way through it’s crystal clear why this author has earned such accolades. “Where the Crawdads Sing” is poetic in a way that stabs right through to your heart. In addition, the pathos of Kya’s life journey as she struggles to survive all alone as the Marsh Girl is both fascinating and inspirational.
The story does have just a couple brief false notes, where the dialogue is abruptly out of sync, like a paragraph cut from a college catalog and dropped into a screenplay. But those are rare misses, and overall, this book is a true gem. And I’ll say this too: what a delicious plot twist at the end. You won’t see it coming.
I loved this book. Was recommended and I was so glad I read it.
Exceptional in every way !! One of my best reads of the last decade.
A mesmerizing, unpredictable, fresh, quizzical,
scenic, fascinating read. Do NOT miss this one!!!!
I really enjoyed this book. My wife thought it was superb and that I had to read it. I was reluctant, but have to say it was an amazing read. I was fully engaged by the author in the characters and the her telling of the story. Strongly recommend this book.
I have never before started a post with a direct order, but I’m doing so now:
BUY THIS BOOK.
My reaction to Where the Crawdads Sing was so intensely personal, it made me wonder (again): Why do some books consume me, so that when I look up from reading I have to consciously refocus to regain any sense of where I really am? What kept me reading right through an entire weekend, neglecting other more pressing duties? I don’t have all the answers, but here are some of the elements that make this such an incredibly satisfying read.
Location
“Marsh is not swamp,” the very first sentence states, somehow managing to imply the exact opposite for this ocean-salt-air-lover. Don’t take the cover image too literally; a skiff with an ancient outboard is the main character’s primary source of transportation. Kya Clark, known to townsfolk as The Marsh Girl, could live nowhere else; around her home, “miles of blade-grass so tough” are “interrupted only by trees so bent they wore the shape of the wind.” On every level, this story could’ve only taken place exactly where it’s set.
Structure
After a single opening paragraph set in 1969 that unceremoniously reveals a dead body, we are taken back to 1952 to meet Kya as a little girl—on the “August-hot” morning her Ma walks away for good. A short zoom-out shows the bigger picture—this marsh is guarded by the salty open waters of the Graveyard of the Atlantic—before fading back to a little girl sitting on a front porch stoop, waiting for her mother to return. Her shack’s exact location in the world doesn’t matter to Kya, so author Delia Owens focuses on lyrical descriptions of birds and frogs, marsh grasses and palmettos; the only world our heroine knows.
Then, just as we’re settling in, we are abruptly pulled out of a six-year-old’s head and flashed forward again to 1969 and the identification of that body. It’s a local football hero just past his prime, we learn—and the sheriff smells foul play. The story oscillates back and forth between these two very different realities, with no explanation of how they might be connected. And yet we know—KNOW—they must be.
Trust
That uncertain certainty made me strain to hear what was left unsaid by the characters, and to make connections between what was revealed in each segment. Owens trusts her readers, and so we trust her; even as she focused my attention on scenes so effortless and yet at the same time so stunning, it was as if she was also sitting on my shoulder, promising: “just keep reading; all will be revealed.” A straight-line from start to finish would not have captured my attention nearly so well.
Character
I like to think Kya is based on a real person; that will be one of the many research projects this book sparks, once I’m finished trying to convince you to BUY THIS BOOK. I wish I’d met her, though the odds of that would’ve been slim to none; she rarely left the marsh and kept away from people. Her wisdom is born from reading—coupled with plenty of curiosity, observation, and poetry. And, like her few friends and many enemies, there’s much more going on inside her than we realize.
Deep Twists
Many of the books I read are predictable yet pleasant. This one was mostly neither—and yet my only teensy nitpick is not with the writing, but with the cover image (Kya belongs in a crusty skiff, throttle in hand, not paddling a shiny canoe). Yes, there’s an undying love, but there’s also desertion, abuse, and far more townsfolk who think our main character is an ignorant Marsh Girl than friends who believe in her the way we do. The story continued to surprise—right up until the very last scene.
Just Read It
I’d recommend this book to anyone who wants to live and breathe a world now lost to marsh-draining and air conditioning. There’s as much going on below the surface as there is in plain sight: prejudice, development, education, love and loss—but it’s all tucked away beneath a damn good story, woven around descriptions as rich as Kya’s first night on her own was lonely:
At first, every few minutes, she sat up and peered through the screen. Listening for footsteps in the woods. She knew the shapes of all the trees; still some seemed to dart here and there, moving with the moon. For a while she was so stiff she couldn’t swallow, but on cue, the familiar songs of tree frogs and katydids filled the night. More comforting than three blind mice with a carving knife. The darkness held an odor of sweetness, the earthy breath of frogs and salamanders who’d made it through one more stinky-hot day. The marsh snuggled in closer with a low fog, and she slept.
More Media
I listened to the audiobook version, but I plan to buy a text copy as well—partly to compare the two forms of “reading,” and partly for the joy of re-immersing myself in the Crawdads world. (Note to self: Do not start reading unless there are no chores looming with a tight deadline.)
The movie rights have already been secured, and I’m sure the film will be quite memorable too—though I do wonder where the producers will ever find enough marshy wilderness for filming. But before someone else imparts the “look” of this world onto the big screen, I strongly suggest you view it on the screen between your ears. So I end as this began, with a single instruction: BUY THIS BOOK.
Absolutely incredible…hands down one of the best books I’ve ever read. The southern setting gives it this old timey-summer-nature vibe that makes it a perfect summer read. The characters are beautifully developed and there was never a dull moment.
The author uses vibrant language to describe all aspects of her settings, especially of the fauna and flora of the tidelands. Her characters are complex human beings, not cut outs.
The plot is, I think, original and moves back and forth between past and present. Its ending is somewhat surprising.
could not put it down!!!!
Best book of the year. Surprising finish. A must read for sure.