Where the Crawdads Sing
Book - 2018
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If You Like Where the Crawdads Sing
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens For years, rumors of the "Marsh Girl" have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. She's barefoot and wild; unfit for polite society. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark. But Kya is not what they say. Abandoned at age ten, she has survived on her own in the marsh… (more)
Book Corner: This Summer, Readers Soaked up Sun and Stories
Central Rappahannock Regional Library’s Summer Reading program may have come to an end, but the many books we read can be enjoyed all year long. I’m proud that more than 1,700 adults participated, and expect that number to be even higher next year. (I’m looking at you!) So what did everyone read over the summer? Plenty of children’s books, for one. Clearly, many parents logged the books they r... (more)
From Library Staff
From Library Staff
Part mystery, part coming of age story, and a celebration of the natural world. Selection for January 7, 2021.
This bittersweet story of a young girl, abandoned by almost everyone, and how she makes a life in the marshland of North Carolina, is heartbreaking and beautiful.
Rumors of the Marsh Girl have haunted the North Carolina coastal town for years. Abandoned as a child to survive on her own, Kya is barefoot and feral but gifted in the ways of the natural world. Her wild beauty captures the hearts of two local men, drawing her into the world of the town folk. Th... Read More »
This stunning debut novel follows the story of an unforgettable young woman, the "Marsh Girl," who is determined to make her life in the wilds of the North Carolina coast.
From the critics
Community Activity
Quotes
Add a Quote“Please don’t talk to me about isolation. No one has to tell me how it changes a person. I have lived it. I am isolation.
"the definition of a real man is one who cries without shame, reads poetry with his heart, feels opera in his soul, and does what's necessary to defend a woman."
Tate’s father told him many times, “The definition of a real man is one who cries with shame, reads poetry with his heart, feels opera in his soul and does what’s necessary to defend a woman.”
Mabel to Kya:”Ya need some girlfriends hon, cause they’re forever. Without a vow, a clutch of women is the most tender, most tough place on earth”
“She knew the years of isolation had altered her behavior until she was different from others, but it wasn't her fault she'd been alone. Most of what she knew, she'd learned from the wild. Nature had nurtured, tutored, and protected her when no one else would.”
“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.”
Age
Add Age SuitabilityAliceInWonderbread thinks this title is suitable for 17 years and over
Summary
Add a SummaryThe novel’s main narrative opens in the marshland near the fictional town of Barkley Cove, North Carolina. Seven-year-old Catherine “Kya” Clark lives in a shack in the swamp with her mother, father, and siblings. However, one day, Kya’s mother leaves the shack forever in order to escape the physical abuse inflicted by Kya’s father. Kya’s siblings soon leave on their own as well, leaving only Kya and Pa. Pa spends increasingly more time away from the shack over the years, and when Kya is about ten years old, Pa leaves forever. Kya has become thoroughly self-sufficient by this time, living on the land and occasionally trading in town for necessary supplies.
When Kya is 14 years old, a kind local boy named Tate Walker begins to visit Kya, and he teaches her how to read. He is about four years older than Kya. He also gives Kya his old textbooks from school. When Kya is 15 years old, she and Tate fall in love, but Tate insists that they do not have sex until Kya is older. Tate soon leaves for college, and although he promises to love and remember Kya, Kya feels abandoned. When Kya is 19 years old, she suddenly becomes attracted to a young local man named Chase Andrews. Chase begins visiting her often. Chase says that he loves her and is eager to have sex with her. Kya refuses at first, but after about a year, she consents to sex.
Tate eventually returns to Barkley Cove in order to perform scientific research on the marshland. He visits Kya and asks for forgiveness, but she refuses to take him back. Tate sees that Kya has performed much of her own research on the marshland, and he urges Kya to submit it to publishers. Tate also warns Kya that Chase is a dishonest womanizer. One day, Kya sees in the newspaper that Chase has become engaged to someone else. She is heartbroken. Later, she submits her research to publishers, and when she is 22 years old, a book of her research is published under her name. Kya’s brother Jodie sees the book in a store and returns to the swamp to reconnect with Kya. Jodie encourages Kya to give Tate another chance.
Chase eventually visits Kya and says that he wants to continue his relationship with her, despite the fact that he is married to someone else. When Kya refuses him, Chase tries to rape her. She hits him and escapes. Kya realizes that because Chase is such a popular member of the town, and because she is an outcast for living in the swamp, she has no recourse. One day, in October of 1969, Chase’s body is found near the swamp. He appears to have fallen—or possibly have been pushed—out of a fire watchtower. The sheriff investigates and arrests Kya. However, the evidence is inconclusive and circumstantial, and Kya is acquitted. She and Tate declare their love for each other, and they live together in the swamp. Kya continues her career as a naturalist, and Tate continues his career as a researcher. Kya dies at age 64, after which Tate finds evidence that seems to prove that Kya killed Chase. He disposes of the evidence so that no one will ever find it.
Comment
Add a CommentI found the way Kya was left by all of her family very unbelievable. She was just a little girl, wouldn’t one of her siblings rescue her when they ran away.
Would a community really abandon a child all by herself?
I did enjoy the beautiful friendship with Mabel & her husband, it seemed authentic
Would a young man really explain menses to a girl, come on, never.
I am not sure if Kya actually killing Chase was plausible, she never ever gave an impression of being violent
Sorry, so many “ oh come on’s” in this long story.
The nature-based elements of the story were really fine in my opinion, but when it came to descriptions of main characters and their relationships, I found it a little too bodice-rippingly simplistic. She's drop-dead gorgeous, both blokes are devastatingly handsome, etc. etc. So, meh.
Seems like a regular, predictable novel, until the ending. The ending kicks you in the gut. It is memorable, for sure. I did like the descriptions of nature. It paints a picture like that of bayou near New Orleans. People who are keen natural history buffs will love the book.
Loved this book! Such lovely descriptions of North Carolina marshlands and coastal areas, and the birds and other animals that inhabit them. A different world for me , and I felt like I was there.
I had a hard time getting a hold of the time-line shift and figuring out the story initially, but that soon passed. An intriguing tale of a young girl who learns about life through nature, her only companion. Inspiring and fantastic, I fell in love with her and wanted to cook for her. With an air of mystery, life in the North Carolina swamps is explored in a way which I have never learned about. Highly recommended.
It seems that I am not quite as taken with this book as many others are. This very fast read had me shaking my head from time to time as I tried to imagine Kya's day-to-day life. I also began channelling Gene Stratton-Porter's book 'Girl of the Limberlost' which was one I read way back when I was in Junior Highschool. Both deal with the subject of a young girl growing up in a setting where she essentially raises herself, and both achieve their own success in life. The thread of mystery throughout this story is something of a hook but if you are a mystery buff you will figure out the conclusion about halfway through. It is a good read but not one of my most favourites.
Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens is an inspiring coming of age story of Kya, the Marsh Girl, and a suspenseful murder mystery of the death of Chase Andrews. The book takes place in North Carolina in a small town called Barkley Cove in the 1960s. Kya understands life in the Marsh, but is seen as the outcast from the rest of society. She learns how to survive on her own and makes sense of the world through her knowledge of the Marsh. Owens uses Kya’s fascination of the Marsh to connect her life to the murder case. Although the book switches between the past and the present, the book is easy to follow because there are dates for each chapter that let readers know when it is talking about Kya’s childhood or the murder case. I recommend this book for young adults and adults as there is some foul language and some sexual content.
I do not see what all the hype was about this book. The storyline was nothing new, the dialogue was very rough and stereotyped. There was not a lot of growth in the main character. No one had positive relationships really, and the trial sequence was hackneyed.
Owens descriptions of the marsh and coastal NC were nice but overall, I didn't think this book was that great. Won't be one that I recommend.
A slow brew steeped in the marshes of the Carolinas. Great read that draws you in page by page.
What a WONDERFUL book! One of the best I’ve read in quite a long time.