It is rather unbelievable that, even with an abusive and alcoholic father, the rest of the family would simply abandon their six-year old daughter and sister, unless they were totally depraved, which the author portrays them as not. It is unbelievable that not one single adult in the nearby town would know that the girl was in the marsh by herself and thus make some effort to help her. I will put the rest of the “unbelievables” at the bottom in a spoiler alert. Aside from them, there are the errors and other annoying facets. Except it was not. It became less interesting the longer I read. Because Kya doesn't act like a person who has been almost entirely isolated. She just acts like a regular loner. Sure, she may have some habits that fit with her strange upbringing, but she seems to understand people and language just like a regular person. I was nearly out of my head with frustration that the book had spent so long telling me how different she was only to have her be just the same as most people. (Deciding to never love again because everyone leaves you is a pretty regular-person thing to do when you're in your 20's, for example.) A boy she met out on the water becomes a good friend to her, offering her gifts of interesting feathers, teaching her how to read. She teaches herself to draw and paint the birds and insects, flora and fauna of the marsh. Tate introduces her to poetry, and eventually she becomes proficient at writing, and some of her poems are accepted for publication, as well as books. The novel’s title sums up Kya’s raw way of life perfectly as the meaning behind the expression ‘Where the crawdads sing’ is ‘...far in the bush where critters are wild, still behaving like critters.’ Some books have unlikely coincidences, some have downright contrived ones and others have those that are highly unlikely and therefore plain unbelievable. In the first and second cases, a book can still make it if the characterisations, settings and plot are well done. In the third case, unless you are talking about a fairy tale, you have to be either really romantically minded or you just go along with whatever for the sake of entertainment. “Crawdads” falls into the third category.

Phew, I finally made it through this book! My apologies to everyone who loved this, but unfortunately, I did not, and no one's sadder than me. Weston, Christopher (July 19, 2022). "Where the Crawdads Sing honours author's mother's phrase with childhood link". HITC . Retrieved July 21, 2022.Light lingered after the sun, as it does, some of it pooling in the room, so that for a brief moment the lumpy beds and piles of old clothes took on more shape and color than the trees.” This book has easily become one of my favourites. I would definitely re-read it sometime later because of the small intricate details and the poetries that summed up so authentic for the character buildup. Despite knowing the fact that her English-speaking Canadian father will never approve of their relationship, Maggie and Gabriel are determined to be together. However, when she becomes pregnant she is forced to give up her baby for adoption. But just before leaving her baby, she names her Elodie. Years later, the story is told through the perspectives of the young Elodie and her impoverished life in the orphanage, “The Home For Unwanted Girls”. Then there was the part where Tate's mom went to ASHEVILLE for a bike because they didn't have it at the local store. Like WHAT??? She didn't try Wilmington? She drove past Greenville, Raleigh (the capitol), Durham, Chapel Hill, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, missed exits to CHARLOTTE (the largest city), to drive up a mountain for a bike? Literally no other city in NC had it? it takes SIX HOURS to drive from the Pamlico Sound to Asheville on a good traffic day in the year of our Lord 2019. Do you know how long it would've been in the 50s??? Kya leaned closer to him, not enough to touch. But she felt a sensation – almost like the space between their shoulders had shifted. She wondered if [he] felt it. She wanted to lean in closer, just enough so their arms would gently brush together. To touch. And wondered if [he] would notice.

intriguing as the book progressed nearer to the end. Some people, when they read mysteries are very good at solving them. I am not one of those people. Consequently, I was thrown for a loop. I am not a mystery reader in general, but I liked this one.

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It] will reach a huge audience though the writer's old-fashioned talents for compelling character, plotting and landscape description' Guardian

Since " crawdad" is a regional term, it sparked a rise in online queries about the word's meaning. [23] For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet fishing village. Kya Clark is barefoot and wild; unfit for polite society. So in late 1969, when the popular Chase Andrews is found dead, locals immediately suspect her. Lin, Jennifer Marie (July 9, 2020). "Where the Crawdads Sing Movie: What We Know". The Bibliofile. Archived from the original on August 11, 2020 . Retrieved July 16, 2020.

In 1969, local football legend, Chase Andrews is found dead. Rumors swirl as to motive and possible suspects. Rumors have been circulating for years about Chase and his involvement with the Marsh girl. Could she be his killer? What motive could she have? The novel offered not only stunning language, but also a pretty good mystery, that for me became increasingly more Get started with 26 books with characters and themes that are similar to those in Where the Crawdads Sing. The story is set in the two time periods 1950s and 1960s, in a fishing town named Barkley Cove, located in the coastal areas of North Carolina. The story is narrated from the perspective of a female character 'Kya', who was abandoned at the age of nine and was forced to survive in the wilderness of the Marsh. Gradually a beautiful bond grew between Kya and the Marsh, who inspired her, tutored her and protected her for years. But the wilderness of Marsh couldn't cease the rumours and prejudices that brewed for years in the Barkley Cove about Kya. The natives of this town not only called her 'Marsh Girl' but also labelled her to be dirty, wild and unfit.