Delia Owens' first novel Where the Crawdads Sing (Putnam, digital galley) is a somewhat awkward mix of nature writing, coming-of-age fable, murder mystery and courtroom drama. Kya Clark is known as the "Marsh Girl'' because she has mostly raised herself in the wilds outside a small North Carolina community. In 1969, when the body of good-looking Chase Andrews is found dead, Kya becomes the prime suspect. Although she has the support of shrimper's son Tate Walker, who taught her to read before going off to college, Kya must stand trial. The writing about the natural world is lovely and lush, but the characters are not nearly as realized, and implausibilities abound.

from On a Clear Day I Can Read Forever

Where the Crawdads Sing is an absolutely gorgeous story. I loved the nature descriptions and the relationships. The writing is lyrical, while maintaining excellent pacing. I highly recommend this book!

In the running for my favorite of the year. It’s a story based on survival and love with a little mystery thrown in for good measure. The main focus is around Kya (the main character) and follows her story from a rough childhood (abandoned by her whole family and left to fend for herself in the marshlands of North Carolina) through adulthood. I just really enjoyed reading this because it made me feel empowered. Kya came from nothing and eventually made herself into a something. Delia Owens has a definite way with words. Beautiful lyrical prose! It was my first by her but won’t be my last. Be sure to move this up on your reading list.

A beautifully written book. This books has a great plot and the characters are very well developed. I enjoyed the marshland setting. The author is to me and I look forward to reading more of her books. I highly recommend this book.

Thanks to Putnam books for the free digital copy of Where The Crawdads Sing in exchange for my honest review.

I have struggled in the few days since I finished this novel to decide how I feel about it and what I want to discuss in my review. I’ll start by saying that even though this book has a lot of positive points, I didn’t love it the way many other reviewers have, so let me discuss the pros and cons.

So many elements of Where The Crawdads Sing are simply beautiful. Throughout the entire novel, Owens describes in elegant detail the marshlands where Kya lives. I enjoyed every morsel of sumptuous setting and felt transported to the marsh every time I picked up this book.

The main character Kya is so well developed. She is unusual in all ways: her life, her thoughts, her demeanor. She pulled me into the book and had me so intrigued that I wanted to keep reading to find out the path her life was going to take. Jumpin’ is another well developed character that really pulled on my heart strings.

My only problem with this book was the slowly paced plot. There were large chunks of the book where I felt not much was happening at all. I actually felt a little frustrated because this whole beautiful setting is built up with such a strange and unusual main character that the story could have gone so much further, in my opinion. In the end, the impact this book made on me was smaller than I expected. If you have been wanting to read this book, I still think you should. I’m happy I got to know Kya and her beautiful marsh, I’m just sad that I was underwhelmed with the storyline. I rate this one ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars.

My Overall Thoughts: Where the Crawdads Sing is a book you've probably been seeing everywhere lately whether it's been blowing up your Instagram feed, hitting some of the late summer must read lists and recently making People Magazine's Best Book Of the Week pick! If you've wondered if it's possibly as good as everyone is making it out to be I'm here to give my two cents worth and say yes it is, so run, don't walk, to buy or borrow it now.

What Initially Drew Me In
I was intrigued by the fact that the storyline involved a possible murder, an isolated "marsh girl" and the two men who get wrapped up in her world. Could this also be a love story? (hint: yes!) Funny thing was, when I really got into the story which alternates between 1969 and the 1950s, I almost forgot about the murder mystery part as I was so invested in Kya's story.

Atmospheric Writing
Owen's writing created a feeling of actually being in the marsh which truly became its own character . I felt the suspense of wondering how this little girl, abandoned by her entire family, was going to survive on her own. The townspeople saw her as "white trash" and, not surprisingly, did little to help her. There was, however, bright spots amongst the cruelty, one of them being a local man named Jumpin who was my favorite character after Kya. Speaking of Kya, if you're at all worried that she's a "weird" character who doesn't want to connect with others, don't be as her desire for companionship and to be cared about by others came through so clearly.

A Flawless Second Half
I loved how Owens clearly combined her love of nature writing with her exploration of a little girl coming-of-age within the natural world. As for the mystery, I found it to be perfectly paced. The author hands us bits and pieces slowly, allowing this storyline to eventually merge with the past one and then really pick up speed. I found the last third of the book especially riveting as I couldn't wait to find out if my theories were correct. They weren't which I loved. As for the ending, I can honestly say I didn't see one part coming and it left me a little stunned. 

You'll be seeing this one on my top 10 reads of the year list, it's just that good. I can't wait for Delia Owen's next book, I hope she writes fast!

Thank you to G.P. Putnam's Sons for the free ebook via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I think everyone’s heard about this book by now! The hype is real, so I decided to read it myself and see what it is about “Where the Crawdads Sing” that’s got bookstagram in a frenzy. Overall, the descriptions of wildlife are enchanting and beautiful, and the main character’s coming-of-age story is heart-breaking and compelling. Nevertheless, I don’t think this was the book for me. I just couldn’t get invested in the plot, but I think it has more to do with my personal reading taste than the book itself (which everyone is raving about). If you’re interested in this book, I definitely encourage you to read it! I’m looking forward to hearing more opinions on it.

Oh my goodness, where do I even begin?

"Where the Crawdads Sing" is written so beautifully and with such vibrant descriptions. I couldn't stop ready and when I finished, I was breathless. This might be one of the most captivating books I have read in 2018 and I can't imagine this book can be topped this year. I was so transfixed and engrossed- I am still emotionally reeling.

Read this.

That's all.

Thank you for the review copy via NetGalley

I finished Where The Crawdads Sing last night and I just can’t say enough amazing things about this debut novel. It’s hard for me to believe that it is in fact a debut because it was written so beautifully, like that of a greatly experienced writer. Delia seamlessly weaves descriptions of the marsh and the life that is teaming inside of it with the life story of Kya living on her own in the outside lands of a small southern coastal town in the 60’s. The added bonus of a murder investigation is icing on the cake. This books covers topics of abondonment, abuse, perseverance, independence, love, and becoming one with nature. I honestly have a hard time comparing this to anything I’ve read before but will say that for fans of Kristen Hannah and Harper Lee, this one will knock your socks off. 5 🌟’s from me, nicely executed Miss Owens! 👏🏻

One of the best books I have read all year. Delia Owens has a great way of writing to keep her reader interested. I love the southern references and how descriptive the book is. You fall in love with characters and keep wanting to know what happens. All around such a great book.

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/

<b><i> “I wadn’t aware that words could hold so much. I didn’t know a sentence could be so full.”</i></b>

I cannot imagine a book that will end up beating <i>Where the Crawdads Sign</i> for my best book of 2018. Truly, this was a case where the entire thing was practically perfect in every way for me (the only minor quibble I had was with the snippets of poetry, but that’s because I hate poetry). Due to the fact that I am so absolutely strung out and hungover from this book, I’m going to do words even less well than I usually do.

The story here starts in 1969 with a dead body – and then it immediately timehops back to 1952. It’s there you meet Kya on the day her mother has decided to up and leave the family and the marsh behind. Kya’s siblings follow their mother’s footsteps in short order – as does her father eventually. It’s then that Kya becomes known as “the Marsh Girl.”

This was a true genre bender that had something for nearly everyone – coming of age, family strife, first love, first loss, and dare I forget – a potentially murder. It was a modern day <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/392414891">To Kill A Mockingbird</a> and I feel so honored to have been approved for an advanced copy.

If you’re looking for an epic tale that spans over five decades, look no further than . . . .

<b><i>“Way out yonder, where the crawdads sing.”</i></b>

<I>ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest (*cough blubbering cough*) review. Thank you, NetGalley!</i>

"Nature had nurtured, tutored, and protected her when no one else would."

This book was just spectacular. The synopsis does not do this book justice. It isn't just a mystery, it's Kya's story. The beauty of Owen's writing is captiving - transporting the reader to the North Carolina coast, a place I'd never been but now feel like I have from reading this book. In addition to the beautiful writing is beautiful characters -- Kya, Tate, Jumpin' top my list.

For those of you that have gotten to know me here, I do not give many five star ratings (my last and only one of the year was in June). This book gets all of th stars. I read my #arc, my library book, and listened to the audio (which was also amazing) because I just could not stop reading this book. I will definitely be buying a copy of my own so that I can reread it again and again.

Thank you @netgalley for giving me a copy of this book and thank you @authordeliaowens for writing this tremendously beautiful novel.

This is an amazing first novel by this author!
In the marsh land, near the North Carolina coast, the youngest child of a big, poor family is first left by her mother, her brother and later her father...she is such a little girl and left to fend for herself.... so heartbreaking!
This story lets us follow her entire life, a life that is mostly very lonely.
Part love story part mystery, these characters will really pull you in!
I just loved it!!

Thank you to Netgalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the digital copy!

{My Thoughts}
What Worked For Me
Gorgeous Writing – Within the first few chapters I’d become a fan of Delia Owens’s writing and by the end I already longed for her next book. To say her writing was poetic feels like a cliché, to say her words brought Kya to life seems all too obvious, to say they sometimes left me breathless appears trite, but Owens’s writing did all this and more.

“Sometimes she heard night-sounds she didn’t know or jumped from lightning too close, but whenever she stumbled, it was the land who caught her. Until at last, at some unclaimed moment, the heart-pain seeped away like water into sand. Still there, but deep. Kya laid her hand upon the breathing, wet earth, and the marsh became her mother.”

The. Marsh. Became. Her. Mother. WOW!

The “Marsh Girl” – Sometimes you like a character and sometimes you don’t, and other times you’re lucky enough to fall a little bit in love with one. I adored Kya. She loved her mother and older siblings, but when Kya was only six, one by one they fled the marsh and her father’s drunken abuses. Within a few more years he too, was gone. Kya proved to be a thoroughly original character, learning to survive largely on her own with only gulls for friends and the marsh for a teacher. Everyone she loved had abandoned her, until she was left alone, crushed by loneliness.

“Before the feather game, loneliness had become a natural appendage to Kya, like an arm. Now it grew roots inside her and pressed against her chest.”

“But just as her collection grew, so did her loneliness. A pain as large as her heart lived in her chest. Nothing eased it. Not the gulls, not a splendid sunset, not the rarest of shells….The lonely became larger than she could hold.”

“Finally, he settled as though he had nested here every single night of his life. He looked at her. Gently she touched his head, then scratched his neck. A loud purr erupted like a current. She closed her eyes at such easy acceptance. A deep pause in a lifetime of longing.”

Most people thought of Kya as “white trash”, and the few who tried to help, she largely feared. Trust came slowly to Kya, but as she aged her loneliness grew unbearable and she fought to overcome her fears and open up her life just a little.

Alternating Timelines – Delia Owens very successfully used alternating timelines in Where the Crawdads Sing. One began in 1969, with the discovery of Chase Andrew’s body, his murder investigation, and the trial that followed. The other told Kya’s story from 1952, when her mother fled, until it eventually merged with the first timeline. In this book it wasn’t the murder investigation that kept me turning pages late into the night. It was Kya’s solitary life and the knowledge that she was eventually going to be charged with this crime. Owens handled the how, when and why of that beautifully, building suspense and doubt along the way.

A Perfect Ending – Enough said!

What Didn’t
Science and Poetry – Where the Crawdads Sing had quite a bit of natural world science in it, as well as poetry. For a time, I thought this was a little much, perhaps even pretentious, but as the story neared its end all that came clearly into focus. In the end, I wasn’t really bother by it.

{The Final Assessment}
I’m not sure my review does Where the Crawdads Sing justice, so let me be clear: You need to read this book! In a summer of debuts, this one shines among the brightest, giving its readers a coming-of-age story, a mystery, an adventure, and romance all wrapped up in one stunning story. I’m confident you’ll be seeing Where the Crawdads Sing on many top ten lists for 2018! Grade: A

Note: I received a copy of this book from G.P. Putnam’s Sons (via NetGalley) in exchange for my honest review. Thank you!

Kya ia a little girl when family members start to leave her. As a result, she ends up growing up alone in the family’s shack in the marsh. The local townspeople think her to be wild and dangerous, but a few see the shy, lonely girl she is. As she gets older, boys start to take notice. One boy in particular captures her heart, but soon another young man enters the picture. When the young man is found dead, the townspeople suspect Kya is guilty of murder.

An amazing story about a girl growing up in the marsh. Kya has a difficult childhood, and doesn’t have the same opportunities as many children her age. She is smart and resilient though, and she manages to create a quiet life close to nature.

This book has multiple aspects that make it a compelling read. Historical fiction. Coming of age. Romance. Mystery. The setting is North Carolina in the 1950s to early 1970s. Kya is a child in the 1950s, but a good portion of the novel takes place during Kya’s teens and early twenties. Kya is alone in the world, but she does get a couple of suitors in her life. The mystery that takes place is well developed, especially in the questioning of the death as a murder or an accident. Unfortunately for Kya, her reputation as a wild child from the marsh has the townspeople convinced she is guilty, whether or not there was a crime.

Where the Crawdads Sing is beautifully written. I especially enjoyed the parts dealing with nature. Growing up in the marsh, and not having anyone in her life, Kya has an extraordinary relationship with the natural world. As Kya matures, she becomes a strong and intelligent woman.

An emotional story that follows the life of an interesting character. Intriguing, captivating, and heartbreaking.

I received a free eARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received this from netgalley.com in exchange for a review.

At a young age, Kya Clark is abandoned by her family and left to fend for herself. Growing up alone and very lonely, she is befriended by Tate who simply wants to be her friend and Chase who has more sinister things in mind.

Very excellent read. I could feel Kya's loneliness and despair throughout the story. The ending was absolutely perfect. A must read.

4.25 stars

This novel caught my eye on bookstagram a few weeks ago, and so I checked NetGalley to see if it was available, and put in my request. I lucked out, and Penguin Group Putnam/Putnam Books accepted! So I want to start with a big thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Let me tell you, this novel grabbed my heart from the start and has yet to let go. Owens introduces her readers to young Kya Clark, whose mother left her at age six, whose siblings split one by one by age seven, and whose father abandoned her alone in the marshlands of North Carolina by age ten. She can't read or write, but she has observed and learned from the marshland, figuring out how to survive without much contact from the outside world. She attempted to go to school, lured by the promise of a warm cooked meal, for one day, only to be dubbed "marsh girl" by the students. From that day forward, she was determined to survive on her own, cooking what little she knew and making her own money by gathering mussels and fish to sell to the only adults in her life, Jumpin and Mabel.

As Kya reaches her teen years, she slowly befriends an old friend of her brother's who helped her find her way home the first time she took out her father's boat. Introducing himself as Tate, he and Kya strike up a blossoming friendship as he teaches her to read. After she's read her first sentence, they share this sweet moment in which Kya marvels what she's just read.

"She spoke almost in a whisper. "I wadn't aware that words could hold so much. I didn't know a sentence could be so full.""

Kya loves being able to read, and it has opened a new world to her- she now knows the full names of her family, as well as her actual birthday.

Soon, Tate and Kya are falling in love, and Kya isn't so sure what to think about these new emotions- but then Tate goes off to college to study marshland biology, breaking her heart. Though she waited for him, years went by, and Chase Andrews, a man who grew up as one of the wealthiest in town, takes a shine to the wild marsh girl turned woman. Lonely Kya keeps him at arms length but eventually falls for his charms and promise of marriage. Then, seemingly out of the blue, Tate returns, and Kya's heart is torn between the two men.

Flash forward to 1969, Chase Andrews is found dead by two local boys. As the police investigate, they start to suspect Kya, who is still the called the marsh girl, still the topic of much gossip, and a continued target because of the mystery of her life in the lagoon. Though the town's people think her stupid and feral, Kya has made a life for herself despite the disadvantages of her youth, becoming more educated than those that used to tease and bully her. But now, she has to prove she's innocent against those that have been prejudiced against her for years.

Where The Crawdads Sing is beautifully written, full of descriptive imagery that puts the reader in Kya's lagoon, with the perfect steady pace interrupted by quick currents. I highlighted so many passages on my Kindle that showed the creative writing, including melodic lines such as:

"Before the feather game, loneliness had become a natural appendage to Kya, like an arm. Now it grew roots inside her and pressed against her chest."

Owens' tale of the abandoned child turned woman survivalist is emotional, absorbing, and inspiring. It bothered me that she was such a spectacle, that in her youth this poor girl was determined to live in isolation with no financial security, living off what she could find or fish- and all the townspeople could do was stare, whisper, and mock. Kya's will and strength astonished me, even though my heart broke for her struggles. I also loved and appreciated the nature/biology/ecology aspect, and Kya's character development as she gains education and knowledge from her lagoon and books. The mystery component of the trial was a nice technique to keep the pace and make the reader continue guessing the outcome until the very end. Overall, Owen has easily created one of my favorite reads this year- a definite must read.

(This review will be posted at a future date on my blog, www.thelexingtonbookie.wordpress.com)

Kya Clark lives with her family in a shack deep in a North Carolina marsh. The year is 1969. They are miserably poor, but Kya’s mother tells her it will be alright, as long as the women of the family stick together. But then one day, she leaves. Older brother Jodie tells Kya that Ma will be back, because it isn’t in a mother to leave her children, but Kya isn’t so sure. Ma is wearing her alligator heels, and she doesn’t turn midway and wave like she always has. And one by one, everyone in her family leaves, and they don’t return. Kya is not even old enough to enter first grade, and she is alone.

This haunting novel is the best surprise of the summer, and it’s for sale today. Thanks go to Net Galley and Putnam Penguin for the review copy.

Owens is a wildlife scientist of some renown; here she changes lanes with her debut novel. She uses her knowledge base to create an evocative setting that is real and immediate, but she never adds scientific information at the expense of pacing. Instead, the setting is used to reinforce Kya’s character; this is unusual in a researcher turning toward fiction writing. Professors and other specialists tend to shoehorn in every fact that they think the reader ought to know regardless of what it does to the flow of the narrative. Instead, Owens blends setting and character seamlessly, spooling Kya’s life before us with the patience and discipline of the finest master storyteller.

Kya barely survives, digging mussels to eat and selling them at a waterside convenience store owned by an African-American entrepreneur known as Jumpin’. Little by little, Jumpin’ comes to realize exactly how dire this child’s situation is, and he and his “good sized” wife, Mabel, contrive to provide her with a few of life’s necessities without frightening her or hurting her pride. I would have preferred to see these resonant characters voiced without the written dialect, but there are no stereotypes in this book.

Tate is an older boy that has been a family friend since she was tiny, but she doesn’t remember him, and thinks she is meeting him for the first time after he begins leaving her beautiful bird feathers on a stump in the swamp. It is he that teaches Kya to read, and he becomes her first love.

The narrative shifts between Kya’s life and an investigation of a murder. Chase Andrews, a local football hero and the son of a local bigwig, is found dead at the base of a nearby water tower. Kya, who is poorly groomed, impoverished, and has no family to protect her becomes the focus of the investigation. Townspeople have long considered her to be “swamp trash,” and this discrimination is age old; Kya can remember her mother telling her that she must never run when she goes into town, because if she does someone will say that she stole something.

One of the most appealing aspects of this novel is that the mystery of Chase’s death never eclipses the main story. The book isn’t about Chase or his demise; it’s about Kya in the marsh, and as she becomes an official suspect, we only want what is best for her.

I read several stories at a time, now that I am retired, but this is the one that occupied my thoughts when I was doing other things. I kept thinking about that poor little girl out there. I can almost always put a book down; it’s what I do, after all. This one is exceptional.

Those that love excellent literary fiction; Southern fiction; or romance need to get this book and read it, even If you have to pay full jacket price.

Barclay Cove is a quiet place along the North Carolina coast. I tried to imagine this setting and time period, as someone familiar with the area, and I could not quite fit where it was in reality; however, using the author’s extraordinary gift for description without being overly flowery, in my imagination, I can perfectly picture the mysterious marsh.

The book begins with the story of Kya, a young girl whose mother walks out on the family, leaving the children to fend for themselves with an alcoholic father who is absent most of the time. Not to mention the fact that they live in the inhospitable marsh as squatters (there are, indeed, small settlements on the North Carolina coast today that were founded my “squatters”).

Kya’s siblings are older, and they flee, leaving her alone with her father. She learns to care for herself at a young age because she has to. Kya is uneducated by choice and circumstance, though the town attempted to get her to attend at first. Even without schooling, she is sharp and caring, as she learns the ways of life through the marsh and all it has to teach her.

For years, Kya lives this way and is known as the “Marsh Girl” by the townies. When a young man of the same age is found dead, everyone in town assumes it must have been Kya, and fingers are pointed. She has been involved with two young men who were entranced with her, but was Kya involved in the death of Chase Andrews?

Where the Crawdads Sing is a glorious and equally somber coming of age story for Kya. Though she was called to a different life from the one she has always known, how much will her upbringing continue to control who she is? The writing is exquisite, the setting atmospheric on a grand scale, and Kya is a strong and unforgettable character I wanted to hug. Overall, I simply adored this book. I was immersed completely in Kya’s vibrant world, and my heart ached at every turn. The ending is memorable, and the messages are strong. Beautiful nature and a captivating story.

Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

This debut fiction novel centers around Kya, a girl left on her own, abandoned by everyone she connects with, to survive on her own to become known as the Marsh Girl. The story’s timeline transports us in and out of the death of a local, the trial, Kya’s childhood and survival of the unimaginable hardships.

It’s the kind of book you can’t wait to finish so you know the ending. But yet are saddened to close the last chapter and no longer be a part of the story. It literally sucks you in....into the peace of Kya’s marsh, to her heart wrenching betrayal by many and eventually how her life plays out in the pages you won’t be able to stop turning....

Five stars is not enough. I cannot wait to read anything Delia Owens publishes in the future.