Where the Crawdads Sing (novel)
By Delia Owens
A young girl grows up alone in the coastal marshlands of North Carolina, having been abandoned by her family. She can neither read nor write so the sea gulls, shore birds, and swamp creatures become her friends. In order to survive, she learns how to fish and to hunt on the shoreline for mussels, which she sells to the local bait and tackle store. In her desperate loneliness she meets and befriends two boys, Tate, the son of a local shrimper, and Chase, the popular and handsome townie. Then, someone is killed and the local sheriff launches an investigation.
This first novel by Delia Owens is both a soulful romance and intriguing murder mystery. Owens creates a wonderful character in Kya, the swamp girl. Though I love a good romance, I found myself more fascinated by Owen’s convincing description of Kya’s survival, once her drunken and abusive father finally left, in the Carolinian swamps at the age of seven. Ever since reading The Boxcar Children and The Secret Garden (when I wasn’t much older than seven) I’ve enjoyed stories of children discovering and building places for themselves in wilderness areas. Owens obviously knows the North Carolina coastline and the animals that live there. Her prose is rich and descriptive.
This is definitely a book club pick, a novel with both merit and high entertainment value.
Recently finished two books, both of which I would recommend. Uneducated was the first. The second was “The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox.” Neither are romances, but I think you would enjoy them.
I’ve read “Educated” but not the Vanishing Act one. I’ll have to check it out though. Thanks for the recommendations!
I just started listening to the Audible version of this novel a few days ago. I am loving all of the descriptions of the natural world.