#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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“The problem with a good book is that you want to finish the book but you don’t want to finish the book.”
This is how I felt reading Where the Crawdads Sing. I was gifted this book and it’s one of the best book gifts I have ever been given. I was drawn into the story and couldn’t/didn’t want to come out of it. The author wrote a story that had my heart aching for the life Kya found herself abandoned to. Living in a shack, in a marshland, relying on herself to survive. Ms. Owens writing is so wonderfully descriptive that I could envision every little detail and felt like I was actually in the marshes, watching nature and boating in the bay, trying to survive with Kya. The strength she had to fight and survive, the resourcefulness she had to figure out and to protect herself, and the loneliness she had to fill with the critters in her world held me captivated. It was a book that took me on this journey that was so astoundingly beautiful but yet painfully tragic in so many ways.
I highlighted so many passages that were touching, descriptive and really visually painted this touching story….
Kya: “That’s what nobody understands about me.” She raised her voice, “I never hated people. They hated me. They laughed at me. They left me. They harassed me. They attacked me. Well, it’s true; I learned to live without them.”
“Standing in the most fragile place of her life, she turned to the only net she knew—herself.”
“Let’s face it, a lot of times love doesn’t work out. Yet even when it fails, it connects you to others and, in the end, that is all you have, the connections.”
“What d’ya mean, where the crawdads sing? Ma used to say that.” Kya remembered Ma always encouraging her to explore the marsh: “Go as far as you can-way out yonder where the crawdads sing.”
I have been touched to my core reading this book. It is absolutely one of the best books I have ever read. The way it’s written, I could see the story in my mind perfectly. I love this book. It was written with a timeline that blended from the past, 1930’s to the book’s present time, late 1960’s. It worked perfectly for me.
This is Ms. Owen’s first novel and I’m blown away. I can’t wait to read what she writes next!
I am in an end of the book haze just savoring what I read.
This is a book I would give way more than five stars if I could.
Kya’s life is almost unbelievable-she’s such a resourceful little girl. This book is haunting in it’s prose and you won’t soon forget it. I loved it!
Haunting and superbly written, this is a book that will stay with me for a long time.
This book was a great read. It took me on such an adventure. Delia Owens painted such a literal picture, I felt I was in the marsh land with the Kya
I really liked this book. How many children raise themselves? The girl in this book
was left behind.
One of the best book so have read in a very very long time! Really makes you think and so well written. You must read it!
Slow starter.
A wonderful read. This book is a gentel thriller. Nothing jumps out at you but you know its coming. It is haunting and tragic but uplifting and inspirational. I found the descriptions of things to be spot on but not overly wordy. The characters were believable, likeable or unlikeable, depending on your point of view. A very original storyline and beautiful setting make Where the Crawdads Sing a very good cuddle up on the couch read.
I really enjoyed it. It was very different.
One of the best books I have read in a while. Tragic in a breathtaking way
A beautifully written novel. Haunting and so terribly sad and yet full of hope. Portrays a great and deep love for nature.
This book had a slow start for me but reached a huge crescendo that kept me read through the night. The alliteration and descriptions of life in the marsh were like viewing beautiful paintings. The story of Kya’s life was heartbreaking, vivid and left me full of many different emotions. The love story with Tate affected me the same way.
A fabulous book right up to the very last page.
Read it!
Amazing story. This book is so well written. I just loved it, couldn’t wait to find out what happened but at the same time, did not want it to end!
Every cliche in the world is in this book. It’s an easy read but so much of the story is absurd
Good story
If you’re a lover of reading, it’s relatively easy to find books to enjoy. But, once in a while, when you stumble across something exceptional — you’re reminded what an all-consuming and emotional experience reading can truly be. This is one of those books. Five stars on Goodreads simply doesn’t say enough. Simply Stunning!
So let me include this quote from THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW:
“A painfully beautiful first novel that is at once a murder mystery, a coming-of-age narrative and a celebration of nature…. Owens here surveys the desolate marshlands of the North Carolina coast through the eyes of an abandoned child. And in her isolation that child makes us open our own eyes to the secret wonders — and dangers — of her private world.”
WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING will transport you to another world, with powerfully poetic language describing a natural world you’ll want to part of. Descriptions are almost tactile in their richness. Then, on top, add a GREAT story. A real page-turner that has it all – drama, surprises, human truths, pathos, suspense, diverse and believable characters, a surprising plot and finally, even true love.
The central character is Kya, a child known to the locals as the “marsh girl”. She is growing up in a remote marsh area along the North Carolina coast near the quiet fishing village of Barkley Cove. Kya’s family is desperately poor, her father a bitter drunkard, her mother profoundly disappointed in life, and her much older brothers and sisters preoccupied.
So Kya looks for comfort and company in nature and begins building a world apart from other humans. Her friends are the gulls and she becomes absorbed in watching the behavior of insects, observing different types of shells and swamp grasses, and learning to read the changing tides.
When the book begins, Kya is just six years old. And most of the book follows her as she grows into a woman in her mid-twenties. Along the way, she manages to avoid school, reckons with her changing body, and wrestles with a growing desire for human connection that flies in the face of her deep distrust of others.
I don’t want to risk spoilers so I will steer clear of details. But as great hardships unfold in her life, Kya harnesses astonishing inner resources to cope with the kind of horrors most of us don’t even like to imagine. And she thrives in her life of isolation, in large part because of her strong personal connection to the natural world.
That is, until Kya, despite her chosen life of isolation, is unable to keep other people at bay when a suspicious death occurs. Then, the town’s entire population must begin to weigh deeply-ingrained prejudices and assumptions against facts and evidence. And author Delia Owens explores some of our most instinctive drives: our inclination to shun the “other”, the complexities involved in trusting one another, and our primal need for human connection and love.
Though my description may make the book sound dry, it is anything but. As I approached the final pages of the book, I found I kept taking breaks, so I could put off finishing.
I promise you will cry multiple times. And that you will finish this novel loving Kya’s natural intelligence, spunk and resiliency. She is a character you will remember for a lifetime. Don’t miss this one!
NOTE: This is Delia Owen’s debut novel, though she has written other NON-fiction books about the natural world.
Wow! I loved this book! Read it!
This is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. There’s not one thing about it I didn’t like. It had wonderful characters, realistic, suspenseful, unpredictable ending, and kept you wanting more. A must read.