Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens is a fiction novel about a girl named Kya Clark and the townspeople living in Barkley Cove, a small North Carolina coast town. The novel alternates between two different timelines: one following Kya throughout her childhood, and the other detailing the progression of a murder investigation in Barkley Cove. As a child, Kya is left to fend for herself living in her family’s shack located in a marsh on the outskirts of the coast town. She loves the marsh environment around her and finds comfort in nature. However, when she starts attracting the attention of two young men from Barkley Cove, her life is led down a different path than she— or anyone else—would’ve ever expected.
I loved this novel; its captivating plot kept me on the edge of my seat and I found it very hard to put down! The most compelling aspect of it was Owens’s characterization of the Marsh. She used such vivid imagery and language that she made the entire setting come alive as a character of its own. I could picture every aspect about Kya’s home in my mind: her Shack, the cove, the reading cabin, etc. I am not usually interested in reading novels that deal with romance, but Where the Crawdads Sing did not, in any way, disappoint me. I found myself becoming very attached to Kya, as well as a few of the townspeople such as Jumpin and Tate. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good combination of mystery and romance. The cover of the book very accurately depicts one of the major components of this novel: the setting. It definitely helps add to the imagery within the novel. I would give this book a solid 5-star rating because I absolutely loved it.