Review written by Guinevere Stearns

Where the Crawdads Sing, a novel by Delia Owens, is a gripping story that keeps readers on their toes. It has been on the New York Times Bestseller List for 127 weeks, and it sold more print copies than any other adult title in 2019.

With the highs and lows of the main character, Kya, the reader is swept into North Carolina in 1969. This book has a thrilling love story when not one, but two men fall for Kya’s striking beauty. Because of her status in town and her lack of social contact, there is a drama to the forbidden love between Kya and any man who wants to be with her.

The town calls Kya the “Marsh Girl” and mistreats her, despite the difficult life she has had to overcome. When an important member of the town, Chase Andrews, is found in the marshes, all eyes go to Kya as the first suspect. This story shows the incredible intelligence of a little girl and how she pushes past society’s image of her to create a life for herself. In Where the Crawdads Sing, read about how Kya handles being the lead suspect and what she has to do in order to clear her name.

The book was published in August 2018 by Delia Owens, a nature writer who grew up in southern Georgia. Owens spent most of her life in the wilderness, and she began to think of nature as a true companion. The character Kya is very similar to Owens in that way, and she also thinks of nature as her companion throughout the book. This is a must-read story — and Owens’ first novel — about a very strong girl and her fight against society’s stereotypes.