Where the Crawdads Sing
Delia Owens
Kya is a survivor. She has been abandoned by her family, her abusive father the last to leave, No one says goodbye, explains why they have abandoned her, left her alone in the shack in the marshes.
This story starts in 1952 when kya is six, but it fast forwards to 1969 to the unexplained death of a young lad, the all American boy who has fallen from a water tower, leaving no clues as to how he got there, or why he was there.
This unexplained death continues to pop up, nothing explained, meanwhile we keep growing with Kya, living her life, watching her struggle with loneliness, the attentions of the truancy officer, the local boys, and scavenging for food to sell so she can buy her grits and petrol for the boat.
Kya is the protagonist, the nature of the marshes her main ally as there are a load of predatory antagonists. Her family, Tate who teaches her to read and is her first love and just another body that leaves her, and then Chase. He is the athletic chap, the body the police found at the bottom of the water tower, the chap that sedcues Kya and talks of marriage, of wanting to build her a house and live happily ever after with her.
But he too abandons her, marrying his childhood sweetheart.
Obviously, the death of Chase comes to land at Kya’s doorstep. The police have stumbled on a motive, a clue, and she is charged. I’m telling you, as a reader you are so endeared to this poor marsh girl that whether she lured the boy to his death or not, you want her to be found not guilty. Something needs to go right for the girl. Surely, right?
No spoilers here.
This is a great book. I compare it with To Kill a Mockingbird. It's a great read with a couple of jaw-dropping twists. I loved this book