#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.
more
one of the best books I’ve read!
I find myself among the minority of those who have reviewed this book. It is not among my favorites, which is a shame, as I had hoped for so much more. There were some beautifully written, almost poetic, scenes involving nature. But the story line, did not impress. I found it unlayered, and many times highly unbelievable. Others have mentioned the implausibility of a six-year old child raising herself without any need of medical or dental care–ever. Further, we are given nothing to explain how this can be. She’s taught to read by another child, and goes from an odd broken dialect to speaking like she has a PhD. As a teenager, she tells her 17-18 year old male friend (the one who earlier taught her to read), she has a stomach-ache and he immediately understands she’s getting ready to become a woman. Wouldn’t most boys of this age simply offer to get her a stomach remedy? He explains this to her, while thinking to himself, how fortunate it was he brought her a pamphlet on this only the week before. (I’m sorry, but this made me laugh-it would have made sense if Kya had expressed her curiosity, giving him a reason to bring the pamphlet. ) The girl grows up to be such a ravishing beauty, the most eligible men in town fall for her. Meanwhile she fears and eludes everyone else-except the most eligible men in town. Many of these issues could have been easily resolved by foreshadowing or giving the reader a reason to believe why characters did what they did.
As a result, I give this book 3 stars for the nature writing, but a million stars for how successfully it’s been marketed.
Beautifully written, exceptional language, well-developed characters and a great story. A truly wonderful book.
Kya’s family is poor. They live out in the marsh which the townspeople look down upon. In the marsh isn’t easy, you need to save money where you can, grow your own food, hunt, and fish, and shop in the bargain bins. But when you have as many children as the Clark family, money gets spread thin. It’s not a life that appeals to many and for some, they want to find a way out.
One by one Kya watches her family up and leave the hard living in the marsh and she is forced to fend for herself. With little education and the inability to read, learning is slow going. But she does learn how to feed herself from the abundance of the marsh and with the help of people around her. But living alone in a shack is indeed a lonely life. There are a few friends around that care for Kya, but more often than not, her life is a solitary existence.
We follow Kya as she does learn to navigate life and love, the heartache that comes with it and the changes she goes through with each lesson in life. My heart broke for Kya at the reaction of the townspeople, the way they treated her from the children to the adults. And I think that the prejudice she experienced is typical of life today, and it’s not a way a person should have to go through life.
The writing was so well done, it was incredibly descriptive, an imaginative and detailed world for Kya, and Owens put you right in the marsh with her. I think that even though it isn’t labeled as such, this book starts out with a YA tone, because of the way it follows Kya through her young age. But as we watch her change into an adult, that tone gets dropped. There’s also a hint of a mystery aspect later on in the book, which I won’t go into detail about to avoid spoilers. But Where the Crawdads Sing has a variety of genre elements that I think appeals to a lot of readers. A very good read.
This was a fascinating book, I can’t tell you why I loved it, but it kept me gripped right the way through.
I was happily surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. When it was recommended for my book club, I wasn’t interested at all – but all it took was a few pages and I was hooked. I fell in love with the marsh and the characters, as well as the writing style. Best book I’ve read in months, if not years.
Great story about a strong lonely little girl. I felt like I could see her swampy home.
This was a darn good book! Loved her writing style. Will definitely read more of her books!
This is a beautiful story, one that will transport you to the marshes with Kaya, keep you on the edge of your seat and leave you thinking for many days after.
I absolutely loved this story and highly reccomend it. If you enjoy audiobooks, the narrator of this audiobook is very pleasant to listen to!
I loved this book, the characters, the plot, and especially the setting. I’ve never traveled in Kya’s world, and Owens did a superb job of taking me there. She shared her close-up view of nature, her kinship with the animals, plants and insects, especially the birds. Seeing it through Kya’s eyes was inspirational. It made me want to run away from home and live in a marsh. And the characters are superb. I cried and cheered for Kya. My only disappointment, as someone who has been in tons of courtrooms, I found those scenes rather unrealistic. But that’s a minor criticism. Someday, I’ll read this book again. It’s earned a spot on my keeper shelf! Highly recommended.
I had a hard time getting into this book even though I adore the author’s writing style. However, after a while, I found myself lost between the pages and the unforgettable characters, mystery, and coming-of-age of Kya.
I did find a few areas that pulled me out of the story…head-hopping for one, and the stilted dialogue in places, but overall a wonderful novel of a young girl driven to survival against the odds.
I found the end to be predictable and a little unbelievable…but the words this woman puts down on a page will sweep you away as if you’re standing in the marsh yourself.
The best part is Ms. Owens is 70 years old and this is her debut. Never give up on a dream, people.
I’ve never read a book like this that actually made me see my surroundings so clearly and feel all the emotions the main character feels.
Absolutely loved this book and hopes everyone reads it before the movie comes out.
One of my all time new favorite books.
A great read!
Loved the book…but it just fell off the porch! I didn’t care for the ending.
I listened to the audio version of this book, and let me tell you, the narrator of this book did such a wonderful job that I don’t know if I could have liked the book any better by reading it myself. I think this might be the best book I have ever read, which really surprised me, because I figured that with reading all the five-star reviews, I might be disappointed when I started listening to this book. Um….NO! There was absolutely no disappointment here!
This book caught my heart from the first words and kept me hanging on until the very end of the book, which had a bit of a surprise in store for me too. It’s going to be a very long time before I find a book that I like as much as I liked this one.
I could just keep going on and on, but I’ll leave things here and just tell you, get the book and read it or listen to the audio version. You will not be disappointed by this.
I just finished Where the Crawdads Sing and loved it, which was maybe my favorite book for the past ten years or so. I love murder mysteries, romance, and nature. I lived an played in a swamp for eight years, so I am familiar with the wild life, and swamp shacks, we called them “camps.” We had a canoe and an airboat and spent all our free time in the swamp—which was an education.
Still, I do think there should have been a mention or two about Jumpin’ and Mabel helping the main character with hygiene or maintenance on her house and boat and motor in the novel. Or maybe caring for her when she was sick or something. There is a lot of moisture and decay around a swamp.
I loved this book, but in the back of my mind I couldn’t help thinking about all the things in my life that are constantly falling apart and need to be maintained even though I don’t live in a swamp.
But lovely lovely book. I cried at the end, and I was sad when I finished it. I am sure I will read it again.
I highly recommend it to anyone who loves romance, mystery and a haunting story that you won’t soon forget.
Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, a debut novel.
“Kya laid her hand upon the breathing, wet earth, and the marsh became her mother”.
A stunning depiction of nature, nurture and the upheaval of abandonment.
This story is written as sensitive and intelligent, full of emotion and a deep, painfully beautiful narrative, to include mystery and twists. It will captivate you in taking you to a place of magic and stark-ness, the North Carolina Coastal Marshland.
Our protagonist, Kya, thrown into the ebb and flow of circumstance and isolation beyond her control, her heart-wrenching journey in accepting what is, as she becomes one with her surroundings, will have you completely absorbed in what becomes the life she never saw coming, the life she learns to embrace…. her life as The Marsh Girl.
Shunned by many, but loved by the very people that matter, Kya’s character will have you feeling what she feels, through and through with Delia Owens’ ability to bring the reader into the intimately landscaped, yet savage world of a girl that needs to, and wants to, survive within.
The characters are written as strong, believable – the story, a masterful weave of lyrical prose and picturesque narration. A captivating, meaningful story, one in which I highly recommend.
#WhereTheCrawdadsSing
#DeliaOwens
#Putnam
5 Stars
Wild Sage Book Blog (FB)
Novels & Latte Book Club (FB)
I did not see the ending coming! So good!
This is a wonderful read. The characters draw you in and you feel you know them. It is very well written and you are able to picture the beach, birds, shells and cabin. It also has a mystery going on and you will not want to put it down.