Historical fiction
Where the Crawdads Sing
by Delia Owens
Quick take
A haunting coming-of-age story about a lonely girl who learns to raise herself in the marshes of North Carolina.
Good to know
Emotional
Puzzle
Rural
Whodunit
Synopsis
For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life—until the unthinkable happens.