Where the Crawdads Sing
Book Review - Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Reading Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens at the Kilohana Plantation in Kauai
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens was FANTASTIC. I hesitated just slightly to accept this book for review - I don't often choose books about the marsh lands (I'm a city girl through and through.) But the murder mystery part of the book called to me and I wanted to see how the two stories fit together. It would have been a big mistake if I had passed on this one. It may be one of my favorite books of the year! What really baffles me is that this is Delia Owens' first novel - I don't know how you can be such a talented novelist and not realize it until later in life. But regardless, her book is with us now, and I encourage you all to run out and buy it.
Reading Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens at the Kilohana Plantation in Kauai
The book is about Kya, known in her small North Carolina town as "The Marsh Girl." She was the youngest of five siblings with a loving mother and alcoholic and abusive father. They were incredibly poor. One day, her mother walks out the front door and never returns. One by one, each of her siblings leaves the home as well until it is just Kya and her father. Then, when she is just 9 years old, he leaves as well. She makes ends meet by digging for mussels and selling smoked fish - and by the kindness of a few individuals. Then she is accused of murder - who else could it be besides the weird girl living out in the marsh by herself? Was it her or is the town prejudiced against her for being poor and different?
Reading Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens at the Kilohana Plantation in Kauai
My synopsis doesn't do this book justice. It was just so beautifully written. I can't get over it. My heart broke for Kya as she battled loneliness and isolation - as she had to learn to love again after she was abandoned over and over again - as she survived on her own at such a young age. There were several lines that just hit my soul so hard I had to put the book down and walk away for a second to think about its impact on me - what it meant to the story. I'm really at a loss for words to describe this book. Go. Read. Enjoy.
Reading Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens at the Kilohana Plantation in Kauai
On another note - I read this book in just three days on my vacation in Kauai. I took these photos at the Kilohana Plantation. Is that not one of the most gorgeous trees you've ever seen? I imagine if Kya had traveled further outside her beloved marsh she would have really been in awe of the wildlife and fauna in other places. I certainly am - one of my favorite things about Kauai (known as the Garden Island) is the beautiful and unusual plants, trees, and flowers. I also love how the tree matches my book. Haha!
