Where The Crawdads Sing is set mainly between 1950 and 1970. The book follows Kya who was abandoned by her family at a young age and ever since has survived on her own on the marsh. Kya only went to school for one day but taught herself how to read with the aid of her friend and developed a deep understanding of biology though living in the marsh. The town that is near to the marsh is prejudiced towards her because of her alternative lifestyle, they call her ‘marsh girl’. The story parallels between Kya growing up and surviving on the marsh and the sheriff investigating the murder of a beloved town member who was found dead near the marsh. The sheriff instantly suspects Kya because he is prejudiced towards her.
Where The Crawdads Sing is unlike any book I have EVER read before! it is such an incredible, heart-warming and well written story that I was immersed into almost immediately. I wouldn’t say that this is a murder mystery, it is more a combination of several genres. It’s a coming of age story, a historical fiction and a murder mystery all in one. It was like all my favourite genres had a baby and it was this book!
I really loved the dual narrative and I felt it helped bring the past and present into one. The narrative really immersed me into both stories simultaneously! The narrative is so creative and added so much depth to the characters who I fell in love with. The descriptions were also beautiful! Despite this book definitely not being a poem I felt that it was one huge and stunning poem, I have never seen writing like this and its just amazing.
I also really adored the incorporation of biology into the book. I believe that Delia Owens worked in Zoology so it felt that she had put her love and soul into the book by including so many aspects of biology. It is also something that I don’t often see incorporated into books so it made for a unique view.
I LOVED the ending! Although I could have predicted the twist at the end it didn’t take anything away from how powerful and shocking it was. I am really grateful that it ended the way it did. I thought it was the perfect ending for such an incredible book. I loved every page!
I would 100% recommend this to anyone.
BooksByJade 