Publication Info
Where the Crawdads Sing is a historical fiction/murder mystery novel written by Delia Owens. It was published on August 14, 2018 by Putnam Publishing. It has been nominated for, and won many awards such as a #1 New York Times Bestseller, Goodreads Choice Award Best Historical Fiction 2018, is a part of Reese's (Witherspoon) book club, and has been named by Business Insider as a "defining book of the decade." It has sold over 6 million copies worldwide in just two short years. This book truly is a masterpiece, but I will speak more on that shortly.
Brief Summary
Where the Crawdads Sing follows the plots of two separate timelines, one in 1952 and the other in 1969. While the these two plots take place almost two decades apart, one thing about them stays the same, Kya...the "Marsh Girl". In 1969 the small town of Barkley Cove, North Carolina is struck by tragedy of the death of Chase Andrews. Being the outcast that she is, Kya is immediately suspected by the locals in the town.
The book jumps back and forth between these two timelines slowly bringing them closer and closer together. As these two timelines merge ever closer together, we the reader are able to grow alongside Kya. Many of us cannot imagine being truly alone. The reader quickly realizes that Kya, at the age of seven is completely abandoned by her family. Left to fend for herself she turns to the marshes and learns how to use her surroundings to provide for herself.
This book is a coming of age story as well as an ode to nature. Throughout its pages it continues to draw the reader in with it's depiction of the beauty and majesty of nature. However, the thought of murder is ever present in the readers mind. This story is one of growth, heartbreak, betrayal, friendship, and most of all the longing to belong and feel wanted.
Review
This book is amazing! That honestly could be the end of my review, but for the sake of the reader I will give more detail. As I began to read the first pages of this book i wasn't quite sure of my feelings towards the story. But as I continued to read I found it more and more difficult to put the book down. I began to become engulfed by Kya and her ability to survive in the midst of being alone.
With the two timelines continuing to grow ever closer together I felt a sense of dread and panic as the mystery of Chase Andrews murder began to unravel. Delia Owens does a fantastic job of seamlessly transitioning between these two timeline and ultimately meshing the two together. She has also done an amazing job of transporting the reading into the small town of Barkley Cove. The detail that she portrays is not something that is commonly given in other novels.
Just to help reinforce how good I think this book is I want to say two final things. First, this book is 368 pages, and while this is by far not the longest book that I have read, I would say that it is longer that your average novel. That being said I finished this book in 4 days. The final day of reading I read close to 170 pages because I simply could not put it down. Secondly, this book is in the running for my favorite book for 2020. While there is still much of this year left, I have no doubt that this book will end somewhere in my top 3 for the year. This book is exceptional and I praise Delia Owens for the world and story that she has created.
Recommendations
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes murder mystery novels as that is a prevalent part of this book. I would also recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a coming of age story as well as a story of survival.
Disclaimer - It is important for me to mention that not everyone will enjoy this book. There is minimal language throughout, but there are heavy themes of domestic violence, neglect, and some instances of sexual themes.
Rating - 5/5
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