Where the Crawdads Sing

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2018. 370 pages. *****

Owens has written a compelling story of Kya Clark, the Marsh Girl, living in the marshes surrounding Berkely Cove on the North Carolina coast. Far from an idyllic life, Kya lives in a shack with her Mother, Father, and siblings. Her father, a drunken brutal man, slowly drives everyone she loves away. Left on her own for long stretches of time while he goes on drunken binges, spending what little money he receives, Kya survives by selling mussels to Jumpin's Gas and Bait. Jumpin and his wife Mabel are the two constants in her life who look out for her and supply her with clothes, shoes, and necessities.
Left to her own devices Kya becomes one with the marsh and entertains herself by documenting the life around her. Always on the outside looking in, she hides when others come to the beach, especially the truant officer. Only attending school for one day, she is befriended by Tanner, who teaches her to read, only to leave her broken-hearted.
The townspeople eventually leave her alone, only to make up stories and myths about her.
Kya becomes the center of attention when she is accused of murdering the popular married man in town.

Owens has written a lyrical, well-written novel about isolation, love, abandonment, and friendship. While stretching credibility at times, it all fits together nicely into a bestselling novel. Somewhat resistant to reading bestselling novels, a friend loaned it to me, and once started I needed to discover who murdered Chase. I had my suspicions and was not disappointed at the ending.  I definitely recommend it and look forward to other Owens novels.

Delia Owens is the coauthor of three internationally bestselling nonfiction books about her life as a wildlife scientist in Africa. She has won the John Burroughs Award for Nature Writing and has been published in Nature, the African Journal of Ecology, and International Wildlife, among many others. She currently lives in Idaho and this is her first novel.
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