Where The Crawdads Sing || Delia Owens

For 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.

Perfect for fans of Barbara Kingsolver and Karen Russell, 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.

My friend picked this book for us to buddy read alongside each other, and days later it turned up at my door and firstly, i was in awe of the beautiful cover and i had seen it doing the rounds on book twitter with everyone singing its praises yet before that, i hadn't even heard of this book.

Kya - who is nicknamed the marsh girl. Living and fending herself on the marsh alone. We follow the narrative as Kya is only a small girl and discovering the land, her only friends the gulls after over time her family leave. My heart hurt for poor little Kya who is living against judgement and scared of having to ever leave or been taken away from her home.

Kya grows to become a clever and wonderful young woman but comes a time when she wants more from life and love is one of those things, she starts to discover the joys it can offer as she grows an understanding. Then one day the unthinkable happens, a local man is found dead and everyone suspects Kya. After years of been judged and mistreated, can Kya get the life and treatment she deserves.

“I wasn't aware that words could hold so much. I didn't know a sentence could be so full.”"

This is a stunning book. The words are just so vivid and wonderful. The marsh is so vivid and you can imagine been amongst the nature there, Delia has a way of writing that just evokes the senses. I was in the waves, amongst the gulls, hiding watching the marsh. Delia has written a character in Kya that makes you heart break for her, makes you want to mother her and support her. She was so lonely and that sense of loneliness came off the page and into your heart.

When this book was first suggested, i didnt expect to fall in love with it. Its part coming of age story, part mystery. With the crime at the centre of the book where Chase is found dead but over time we follow Kyas life. We discover everything that lead up to and after Chase been found dead. The way it reads keeps the reader interested with the chopping and changing in part one.

I just - i can't even put into words how wonderful this book is. Its one of those books that will stick with you forever more. The words are just wonderful, the story draws you in and the characters come to life in your mind. I honestly thing this was so worth the hype.

If you want to read this, you can get a copy here

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Delia Owens is the co-author of three internationally bestselling nonfiction books about her life as a wildlife scientist in Africa—Cry of the Kalahari, The Eye of the Elephant, and Secrets of the Savanna. She has won the John Burroughs Award for Nature Writing and has been published in Nature, The African Journal of Ecology, and International Wildlife, among many others. She currently lives in Idaho, where she continues her support for the people and wildlife of Zambia. Where the Crawdads Sing is her first novel.