Book Review | Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens was a new release last year and when I first heard about it I instantly knew it was a book I would love. It seemingly had everything I could possibly want in a novel. It's a historical fiction, which is one of my top favorite genres. It follows the coming-of-age of a young girl. It has been endlessly praised for its gorgeous writing. And it has a murder mystery woven throughout the story.

I couldn't get a copy fast enough.

The book takes place in the south during the 1950s-1960s, following a Kya who has lived hidden in the marsh all her life. When her whole family abandons her, she is forced to live on her own and grow up quickly. I loved watching Kya mature and become independent. I always become more attached to characters when books show their coming-of-age. I felt for Kya so much throughout the whole book.

The historical background was so interesting. There aren't enough books set in the 50s/60s, in my opinion. And the atmosphere of the marsh was breathtaking. The environment and nature that Kya lived in and loved so much was almost a character itself. The reader can feel exactly what she feels when she's on her boat or in the woods.

I adore beautiful, atmospheric writing, and this book delivers. There were so many times when I had to pause in my reading to reread a beautiful phrase or metaphor. Delia Owens is an artist with words, and her unique writing voice was one of my absolute favorite parts about this book. She crafted this book so well.

The story jumps back and forth in time. The reader has to piece together what happened to Kya as she grew up, and to solve the mystery of who really killed Chase Andrews. The nonlinear timeline of the book kept me on my toes, always turning pages to learn what happened. There were courtroom scenes that dragged on a bit for me, but after I got through those 100 pages or so, the ending left me absolutely surprised and speechless.

It's been so long since a book has touched me so much it left me hungry and starving for more. There are very few books that shock me as much as this one did. I'm still thinking about it weeks after finishing it. This was such a special story and it was such a pleasure to read it.

Rating: ★★★★★

"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 march became her mother." --Delia Owens, Where the Crawdads Sing