Where the Crawdads Sing – Book Review

For years, rumours 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.

This book is one of the most hyped books–that soon, this book will be turned into a movie. I got this book from amazon and of course, I jut finished reading this book.

The story sets starts in 1952 when Catherina Danielle Clark, known by nickname Kya who was abandoned and left alone in the house. She was known as the “Marsh Girl” for the fact that she lived by the Marsh and survived by the marsh. While the town people ostracised her, she made friends with Jumpin and Mabel and also Tate, who teaches her to read. Then the story changes to the year 1969 when the popular boy named Chase Andrews was murdered and Kya was the main suspect.

The story is beautifully written with so much of descriptive words and with lots of quotes that seemed to have a true meaning.

His dad had told him many times that 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.

Autumn leaves don’t fall; they fly. They take their time and wander on this, their only chance to soar. Reflecting sunlight, they swirled and sailed and fluttered on the wind drafts

Nonetheless, the beginning of the story was a flat out but the discovery of the body soon piqued my interest. The story of how Kya grew up in the Marsh was fascinating to read. In fact, I actually started to enjoy reading this book and realized why there was so much hype about this book. I suppose the real meaning behind the book is how people are quick to judge a one’s character by looks–which happened to Kya who was rejected by the most townspeople. I did like Kya’s slow budding relationship between Tate and her. As I mentioned earlier the description of the marshes, the poetic way the author has written the book is mesmerizing so it is understanble why this book was such a hype.

The problem about this book was I am not sure which genre this book belongs to. It does sound definitely historical fiction but maybe with hints of thriller in the story and a crime fiction–towards the end of the book are the scenes from the court house.

Overall, I actually enjoyed this book–worth four stars!