Week 32 Review: Where the Crawdads Sing

From Goodreads:

For years, rumors of the "Marsh Girl" haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet fishing village. Kya Clark is barefoot and wild; unfit for polite society. So in late 1969, when the popular Chase Andrews is found dead, locals immediately suspect her.

But Kya is not what they say. A born naturalist with just one day of school, she takes life's lessons from the land, learning the real ways of the world from the dishonest signals of fireflies. But while she has the skills to live in solitude forever, the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. Drawn to two young men from town, who are each intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new and startling world—until the unthinkable happens.

In Where the Crawdads Sing, Owens juxtaposes an exquisite ode to the natural world against a profound coming of age story and haunting mystery. Thought-provoking, wise, and deeply moving, Owens's debut novel reminds us that we are forever shaped by the child within us, while also subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps.

The story asks how isolation influences the behavior of a young woman, who like all of us, has the genetic propensity to belong to a group. The clues to the mystery are brushed into the lush habitat and natural histories of its wild creatures.

My Review:
Oh man, this book! I enjoyed it, it sounded really great, but I was a bit worried, because it did have controversy, and it sounded a little high brow for me. And it was a little bit much at times, but it was a really great story!

Kya's had it rough. Her mom left, and slowly her older siblings left until it was just her and her dad. And then he was gone, and she was left alone to survive, and she's so young, too. So she learned to live in the marsh, and is doing pretty well for herself.

Watching the trial go down, well, people will be people, and they've judged her from the very beginning, not even trying to help her. That they think she's killed the golden boy, that's pretty on brand for them. 

That ending, with that reveal? That was a fantastic twist! I'm glad that it worked out that way, with that reveal when it did. And it's just very much a vibe of ironic from  Alanis Morissette's song that worked out for Kya. So I loved that! 

I had a great time reading this book, and now I really need to watch the movie! 

Author: Delia Owens 
Read: August 12th, 2022
Source: Bought 
Reason Why: Sounded really good, and it's a SAC 2022 Book! 
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Published: August 14th 2018

5/5 Hearts

4/5 Books

4/5 Stars