I recently finished Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. I found myself drawn to the story and felt deeply committed to our main protagonist towards the end of the novel. It was an extremelly sad, yet sweet story about The Marsh Girl, and I would definitely recommend it if you’re looking for your next read.
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
We’re taken to Barkley Cove, a small town along the coast of North Carolina in the 1960’s, where we meet Kya Clark — a young girl left completely abandoned by her family, living in solitude in the shack she calls home. Kya learns to fend for herself, finding any means to survive, mainly by way of the marsh, her safe haven. Hence the nickname the townspeople gave her, The Marsh Girl.
Delia Owens paints two storylines for us. The first being Kya’s coming of age story, starting when she was a small girl, freshly abandoned by her family. We follow Kya through her lonely childhood where she is ridiculed out of school, illiterate until she’s a teenager. We watch Kya blossom in her adolescence, falling in love with both men and nature. But mostly her love with nature, the beauty she finds within the marsh.
And then Kya’s story intertwines with the murder of Chase Andrews, a well loved young man whose body is found dead at the bottom of a water tower. Chase and Kya dated for a brief period of time several years back, so naturally the murder investigation points in her direction. Of course it would. She’s the town outcast, and it makes the most sense, right? The two leading detectives arrest Kya for Chase’s murder. But do they have it all wrong?
The story was beautifully written, vivid with color and nature and sadness. It was definitely an enjoyable listen during frigid winter walks with my baby bundled in her stroller. Would recommend!