Summary

Six-year-old Kya has a large family-brothers, sisters, mother, father, and a house by the marsh. But one day, her Ma abandons all of them-Just walks away, never to return. One by one, all her siblings run away from the house, leaving her behind with her father. A father who is abusive and alcoholic. Then one day, he too disappears. She is left with no food, no money, and no family, and a shack that can barely be called a house, Where the Crawdads Sing is Kya’s story of survival. It is a story of growing up in a neighborhood that detests her kind, a story of humankind.

Kya meets two boys Tate and Chase, very different from each other. Her biggest fears of abandonment take form when they walk into her life. But one of them is found dead, and Kya, The Marsh Girl, is the prime suspect. The town folk slowly realize that Kya is not the dumb weirdo they believed her to be but a sensitive, resourceful, and intelligent girl. Alas, the realization comes too late.

My Review

The story is set in the marshes of North Carolina. Its beauty and flora, and fauna described in the book will mesmerize you. So will Kya’s fighting spirit and her strong will to live a respected life. The setting is unique, and after reading about the marshes' uniqueness and importance, I felt wiser. There is a small map of the marsh to guide the readers about where Kya lived and where the murder took place.

The chapters alternate between 1952 ( when Kya was a kid and telling her story), and 1969 (when the murder took place and details the ongoing investigation).

Kya’s character is powerful. She will make you fall in love with her. Her sweet innocence and fierce self-protection will touch your heart. She always thought clearly and knew what she wanted very distinctly. Despite the dire conditions she found herself in from a very young age, she had a strong sense of right and wrong and never once begged or stole anything. She sold mussels found on the beach to earn a livelihood. And later rightfully acquired the land she lived on.

The other characters, too, are fascinating and very original. The plot caters to several themes like mystery, romance, coming-of-age, and YA, so every reader will feel rewarded by this story.

The writing is simple to follow. But somehow, the dialogues between the characters in the native accent were slightly tricky to follow, and I had to re-read some of them to understand what they meant. But that will not in any way obstruct your reading experience. I loved the little poems in between the chapters about nature that I thought were profound in their way.

At the end of the book, there are a few chapters about the murder trial in court with some typical court room drama. It reminded me of a similar sensational trial in court in another book – To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.

For those of you who don’t know, there is a lot of controversy surrounding the book's author. Those interested should Google it and read about it to give yourself another perspective on this story. I have no clue if the claims are valid or not, but this is one hell of a life for somebody if true.

Final verdict

Nevertheless, I rate this book four stars out of 5 and recommend this only to adult audiences as it has themes of physical assault, alcoholism, abuse, and murder.

I’m glad I picked this unique story, and I might even re-read this story for the strong female character that Kya is.

Happy Reading.