Delia Owens' Where the Crawdads Sing Beautifully Explores the Vulnerability of Growing Up

This book was a bit of a slow burner for me but once I got into it, it was pretty incredible.

Kya Clark is known as the ‘Marsh Girl’ in her small hometown on the North Carolina coast. After experiencing a troubled childhood, Kya is left to fend for herself at a young age in her father’s house on the marshes. She’s cut off from civilisation, but that’s how she prefers things to be.

When the local popular boy, Chase Andrews, is found dead, the finger is immediately pointed at Kya.

I expected this book to be a thrilling crime drama but it was quite the opposite. It took me some time to get into because of Kya - she’s odd and unfamiliar but so unique. You get to know her really quite intimately and this is when the narrative becomes interesting.

Kya has experienced hardship; she has been abandoned by her family and so finds love and comfort in her surroundings. The relationship between Kya and the marshland is strangely beautiful and Owens captures this with vivid detail.

The second half of the book is like nothing I’ve ever read. We get to see a young girl open herself up to a world beyond the marshes. Kya’s tough exterior becomes vulnerable as she faces new relationships, rumours and the challenges of growing up.

- Katie S x