Where the Crawdads Sing

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens is an intriguing and enjoyable read. This fiction story follows Kyra’s life - from slowly, steadily watching her family fall apart, to trying to survive. From the descriptions in the book, she is a girl for whom you worry if she will survive the day.

At some point, I thought - surely social services will come for her - given that the story is set in America. I think they try, and she does her best to hide from them. Her mother gave up. Her father was unreliable. Her siblings resigned.

It is a story of resilience, of hope, and interesting discoveries.

Of all the things I loved about the story, I most enjoyed the element of surprise at the end. Perhaps some other readers picked up how it would end but I was certainly surprised.

I did not know what a marsh was and when I finished reading the book, I had a chance to see one near Concord, MA. It reminded me of swamps in Uganda but for some reason, the person who showed me the marsh was of the view that marshes aren’t really swamps. Strange that google seems to say they are more or less the same thing.

Anyway, it is a fun story, laced with themes of love, family, abandonment, and crime - yep…you’ll see.

Would I read it again?

Yeah. One more time, if I wanted but it is has been over a year and I still remember the story.