#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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I truly enjoyed this book. From first page to the last Page. I read it in one day/night. I learned so much and felt like I was there with Kya, ” The Marsh Girl”.She lived among the marsh and with the gulls,
I truly loved the experience of her learning to read and the true friendship woth TateAnd the relationships with Jumpin’ and his wife, and how the helped her and took care of her; Have Mercy, I loved this book.
I adored this book. The author seamlessly moves from one year to the next. The writing is so haunting you feel like smell, hear and touch the marsh. The author realistically portrayed the era. Beautiful book
I think this book deserves more than 5 stars! This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. It is beautifully written with well-developed characters. Kya is a young girl whose family, including her mother and father, all leave the shack they live in and it is up to Kya to find ways to survive in the marshes of North Carolina. This book has some really sad moments but it also has some happy moments too. I loved this book and I highly recommend it.
Loved it! Stayed up late to finish it!
Amazing book! Probably one of the most beautifully written books I have ever read
Wow! What a beautiful story! I had the pleasure of listening to the audible book and loved it! The narration was exceptional and the storyline engrossing! This was so engaging. It’s a beautiful story about a young girl named Kya Clark, who lives in the low country on North Carolina coast. Her family is poor and not well educated, in this story you follow Kya’s story as she grows up and becomes a beautiful young woman. This novel has much more than adventure and suspense, there’s a mystery to unravel. Just when you think you know the answer, you’re probably going to be wrong! This is a tale of a young girl coming of age, but you get to really see inside the world of the girl called Marsh Girl. I couldn’t stop listening to the audible book! Cassandra Campbell did a fabulous job, she is definitely one of my favorites! I loved this book and recommend it to anyone who loves some adventure and a beautiful Lowcountry story! 5+ stars from this girl!
Where The Crawdads Sing carries the rhythm of an old time ballad. It is clear Owens knows this land intimately, from the black mud sucking at footsteps to the taste of saltwater and the cry of seagulls.
With prose luminous as a low-country moon, Owens weaves a compelling tale of a forgotten girl in the unforgiving coastal marshes of North Carolina. It is a murder mystery/love story/courtroom drama that readers will love, but the novel delves so much deeper into the bone and sinew of our very nature, asking often unanswerable questions, old and intractable as the marsh itself. A stunning debut!
Oh how beautifully mesmerizing this book is. I’ve moved this book to the #1 spot in my list of favorite books of 2018. Thanks to my Goodreads friends Angela and Diane for brining this book to my attention 🙂
This 5* book is masterfully written, with outstanding character development. That alone would be a great book but there is much more. There is a love story and mystery woven through the story, and add art and poetry to that and you have this incredible book.
Well as to the plot I will give you a little information on that, although you’ve all probably read the book blurb.
At the beginning of the story we are introduced to Kya, a 6 year old little girl who has already been traumatized for life. Her mother leaves her father and the five children and never returns. Then slowly throughout some years her older siblings leave and then finally her brother whom she was very close to and her drunken father. They leave her completely alone in their falling down shack, no provisions and barely any clothing. She was only 14, she was completely alone and had no idea how to survive, but somehow she does. She has an incredible will and she loves the marsh, it’s the only home she’s known.
She learns to fish, cook and clean just by remembering how it used to be. Barkley Cover, where she goes for groceries and gas has a store that is run by an extremely kind and generous couple who have lived on the marsh their entire life. She exchanges oysters and then smoked fish for gas for her motor and a few groceries.
Kya has two real love relationships in the book. Tate she has known all of her life but now that she is older she views him differently, she begins to feel real love. He teaches her how to read which opens up the world to her. He is in her life for quite a few years and she seems happy, her life is good. She loves the marsh and all that inhabit it. She collects many things and categorizes them. From the books Tate brings her she learns biology, math, how things grow and change and she is fascinated by the marsh. The author describes the marshland so well I felt myself transported there, felt the humid air, the squashing feel when I walked and encountering all of the creatures described in this book.
It’s incredible to think that this could happen but I really think there are those people who live in the marsh. Quoting from the book “this infamous marsh became a net, scooping up a mishmash of mutinous sailors, castaways, debtors, and fugitives dodging wars, taxes or laws that they didn’t take to. The ones malaria didn’t kill or the swamp didn’t swallow bred into a woodsmen tribe of several races and multiple cultures. .. . . . .two hundred years later, they were joined by runaway slaves, who escaped into the marsh and were called maroons, and freed slaves, penniless and beleaguered, who dispersed into the water-land because of scant options.
After being disappointed in her relationship with Tate she finally decides that perhaps she could be more trusting. She shares things with Chase, a boy from town who tells her he loves her, talks about a future. But everyone always leaves Kya.
Then one especially happy day for Kya, she had met with the publishers of her books, two at this time, but gets an awful message from Jumpin’, Chase is dead. The sheriff is looking for Kya and there are rumors in town that perhaps Chase’s death was not an accident.
Oh my gosh this review is too long and there is so much more to say. I don’t want to spoil any portion of this gorgeous read. There is beautiful poetry and paintings that I felt I could see. Read this book, you will be wonderfully surprised, entranced and feel great about a book again. Read Kya’s story, she will stay with you a very long time.
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley and Edelweiss.
I cannot understand the appeal of this book. I made myself read it after hearing so many people say how much they enjoyed it. But I would not recommend it to anybody
Thought-provoking is the first word that comes to mind after finishing this book. Engrossing is the second. I listened to the Audible version and the narration is fantastic. The world building and characters captivated from page one. I couldn’t put it down.
What a great book ….the best I have read this year
I felt like I was standing there seeing everything that Kya was watching
The setting descriptions were breathtaking
The bird descriptions were informative
The characters were realistic
I was not expecting the twist at the end of the story
I cannot give it enough stars or accolades
Loved the chemistry between marsh girl and the feather boy.. Unexpected ending..
This is a hauntingly beautiful book. I was immersed in Kia’s loneliness and felt a kinship with her as she was soothed by the sea. I saw my love for the beach reflected in her eyes, in her wants, and soaked in her comforts from the creatures surrounding the marshy areas she called home. I wanted a little more at the end of the story, showing how she finally found a slice of happiness, but I suppose that would have taken away from the moodiness of the book. I hated to see it end. Now I know what all the fuss was about with this book.
I really loved this book, very inspiring.
Even in the depths of the main character feeling abandoned, the writer conveyed a sense of hope
I loved the cadence of the author’s words. It made the characters come to life and swept you into the story.
Like many great stories, the storyline is very unlikely in real life. But the underlying elements of social opprobrium and marginalization (and their consequences) are very real.
Captivating from beginning to end.
Very good read from beginning to end!