[Review] Where The Crawdads Sing – Delia Owens

Where The Crawdads Sing – Delia Owens

August 2018

384 pages

For years, rumors of the ‘Marsh Girl’ have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life – until the unthinkable happens.

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I read this novel as part of a Buddy Read/read along on Instagram with few people. I don’t think I would have picked it up for a while if it wasn’t for this Buddy Read and I’m so pleased I did join it because this novel is beautiful and heartbreaking.

The whole story is very addictive, it takes place in the 50s/60s so the author used the slangs and phrases from this time which sometimes was quite hard to pick up (for me anyway as English is not my first language) but once you get used to it it’s fine.

As I said the story is very addictive, but you also grow attached to the characters all through the story. Obviously Kya is the main character and you see her grow up all through the end. She’s an amazing little one, and badass grownup. Kya grows up mostly on her own, she learns everything on her own and she has to fight for herself and to survive. She grows up on her own after everyone left her alone with her very aggressive father. Her mum, her sisters and brothers left and she’s there on her own trying to survive and find a way to avoid any contact and violence. Then there’s Tate, her first friend and first love who teaches her how to read and helps her a lot even after he’s gone. Jumpin and Mabel are also two of the sweetest characters you will ever find in a novel. Always ready to help Kya. Jodie is one amazing character too, that I was really waiting to know more about.

This novel follows Kya in the 50s and a crime that happens in 1969 where everyone blames her- the Marsh Girl. So we follow Kya’ story since her childhood until the night of the crime and then after everything.

There were so many plot twists and revelations I wasn’t expecting. This novel absolutely broke my heart more than once. And I couldn’t have wished for a better ending. This novel has everything and is perfect from the first page until the very last page. The fact that it’s been very very hyped the last few months scared me, because I have always have super high expectations from hyped book but this one lived up to its hype. 100%.

TWs/CWs: Abandonments, sexual assault and attempted rape, child neglect, child abuse, racism, alcohol, domestic abuse, death, (I’m probably forgetting some)

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5/5 ⭐️

Morgane. x

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