BOOKS: Where The Crawdads Sing

Hello, Readers! Welcome back to another BOOKS post. I just got done reading one of my new favorite books—Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, and I’m basically speechless. So, I decided because I can’t possibly express my feelings vocally, I mind as well try giving writing a shot.

Where The Crawdads Sing was published by Delia Owens in 2018, going under the genres mystery and romance. If you like these genres together, you'll want to read this book.

When this book first started getting popular, I immediately wanted to buy it for the cover and title. I heard it was about the south, and that’s pretty much what got me hooked. But, as stupid as it may sound, I actually put the book back on the shelf and bought another book instead. I know, it’s absolutely crazy. But to be fair, I thought it was going to be this heavy, adult-ish read—and frankly, when I was looking to buy it I had finished reading a bunch of Stephen King books and needed something a little bit more cheery(this is when I bought Lord of The Flies instead, which is not at all cheery). And then over time, I sort of forgot about it. About a year later, I was shopping in a bookstore in Florida, when, I saw the book again. Once again, caught by the beautiful cover, I picked it up and turned to page one.

That’s when I knew how foolish I was for not buying it the first time I saw it.

This book—

It's perfect.

The prologue was literally beautiful. There’s no other word I can think of to describe it. I was so shocked by just how perfect the writing and imagery were in the opening of the book that it kinda overwhelmed me at first.

“The swamp knows all about death, and doesn’t necessarily define it as a tragedy, certainly not a sin.” This is one of the lines in the prologue that I personally love so much.

The book is written in third person and takes place in the 1950s-1970s in the swamps of North Carolina. I love, love, love the 60s, so I enjoyed being able to immerse myself in this time era. And not to mention the environment the story is set in is completely breathtaking by itself. How Delia Owens described the marsh and wildlife was so vivid and real, there were times when I could hear the cicadas and smell the salty waters.

Where The Crawdads Sing was 50% story and 50% scenery. The natural environment in the marsh was just as important as the story—which can I just say was great *chef’s kiss*.

Kya, also known as the Marsh Girl, is the main character of the book. She’s a wild, free-spirited young woman who was abandoned at only eight years old to fend for herself. She lives in her family’s old house tucked away deep in the marsh by herself. She was quite the character, to say the least. Because she grew up in the marsh, that’s all she knows. She runs around barefoot, ventures the waters in a Jon boat, journals about the many species in nature, and eats a ton of grits every day. The grits part is probably not important to her character, but she eats quite a lot throughout the book so I figured I should add that. To make money, she digs up mussels and sells them to a man named Jumpin’, who owns a gas station on the wharf. Jumpin’ was probably my favorite character. I love Kya so much—and don’t even get me started on the character Tate—but Jumpin’ was the first person who was kind to Kya, truly kind. Everyone in town turned their backs on Kya when she was a child and shunned her for not fitting into society. They created rumors of the Marsh Girl, making her sound as if she was a lunatic living like an animal in the woods. They didn’t like her from the start and outcasted her as a freak. But Jumpin’ looked out for Kya her whole life. He saw her for what she was—a child. He and his wife, Mabel, donated clothes to her and bought her fish and mussels from her so that she’d be able to buy what she needed. Jumpin’ was her father figure and accepted her for who she was.

At age twelve, she still didn’t know how to read or write. She went to school one day in her entire childhood—but didn’t ever go back because she was immediately laughed at for not knowing as much as the other kids knew. So, she avoided school, never learning the basics of reading and arithmetic. This is when the character Tate is introduced. She knew Tate for years because he was her older brother’s friend, but when they all left her, she kind of forgot who he was, until finally when she was around twelve years old, they talked again. I don’t want to give too much away, but basically, Tate taught her how to read and write, and gave her all of his old schoolbooks.

Learning was one of Kya’s favorite things to do, making her the smartest person in town. She could name every bird, and every fish, and spell articulate words.

Living alone in the marsh with no drama and people sounds like an ideal retirement/vacation. But this way of living can create a horrible monster. Loneliness. And Kya was well acquainted with it. She grew up okay by herself, but as she got older, she wanted company. She wanted to know why her mother left when she was a little girl and where her siblings and father were. She wanted to be a part of a family again—but most importantly, she wanted to be loved. She wanted to be accepted by the town.

And that’s when Chase Andrews comes into the picture *eye-roll*.

The book jumps back and forth between the present moment and the past. The first chapter really throws you into the story, which I love. The year is 1969, and right away you learn a young man was found lying dead in the mud—and the question was it suicide or was it murder arises.

Honestly, I couldn’t put the book down. It was breathtaking, haunting, and plain-out beautiful. I 100% recommend this book to anyone in need of a good story! Thank you for reading this week’s post. What are you currently reading? Please comment in the comments below!

Most Likely Reading,

Kait The Writer