Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens follows the life of Kya Clark, a girl abandoned by her family to navigate life alone in the marsh. Kya is an outcast to the community as she is seen as unintelligent, dirty, and uncivilized due to her lack of education and lifestyle. Kya manages to get by while selling mussels to the owner of a nearby store. Kya finds a family in the store owners, Mabel and Jumpin’, they treat her with respect, unlike all the others. Eventually, Kya learns how to read and write, which helps her use her incredible artistic abilities to make a book. The story takes a turn when Chase Andrews is found murdered and Kya is a suspect. This causes a change in the feel of the book.
Overall, this book is enjoyable as it includes many different themes within one story. There is a murder mystery, romance, and coming of age all while bringing out many emotions within the reader. The story transitions back and forth through two different time periods, building suspense while reading. I enjoyed how effortless it was to keep track of the timelines and how smoothly the writing transitioned. However, I would have enjoyed the plot to be more intricate and thorough with details. The plot twist could have benefitted from a larger climax, the suspense and build up was there, but it did not quite meet my expectations. The writing style is easy to read and keeps you entertained, although the pace does slow at times.
Written by Makenna M.
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