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NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE—The #1 New York Times bestselling worldwide sensation with more than 18 million copies sold, hailed by The New York Times Book Review as “a painfully beautiful first novel that is at once a murder mystery, a coming-of-age narrative and a celebration of nature.”

New York Times Readers Pick: 100 Best Books of the 21st Century 

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.

Where the Crawdads Sing is at once an exquisite ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder. Owens reminds us that we are forever shaped by the children we once were, and that we are all subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps.

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Where the Crawdads Sing 2022 Wall Calendar Where the Crawdads Sing 1000-piece Puzzle

Publisher ‏ : ‎ G.P. Putnam's Sons; Standard Edition (March 30, 2021)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 400 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0735219109
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0735219106
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.47 x 0.84 x 8.22 inches
Reviewer: Sonny N.
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A Captivating and Lyrical Masterpiece!
Review: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens is a breathtaking novel that effortlessly blends mystery, romance, and coming-of-age elements into a beautifully written and emotionally resonant story. Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club pick lives up to its high expectations and then some!The novel follows Kya Clark, the enigmatic "Marsh Girl" who grows up isolated in the swamps of North Carolina. Owens masterfully brings Kya’s world to life with vivid descriptions of the natural landscape and a deep, atmospheric narrative that immerses you fully in the setting. The writing is lyrical and evocative, painting a rich tapestry of the marshland and its inhabitants.Kya’s journey from an abandoned child to a resilient young woman is portrayed with such depth and sensitivity. Her character is compelling and multifaceted, and her struggle for survival and acceptance is both heart-wrenching and inspiring. The relationships she forms throughout the novel, particularly those with Tate Walker and Chase Andrews, are complex and add layers of emotional depth to the story.The dual narrative, which weaves together Kya’s coming-of-age story with a suspenseful murder mystery, is expertly handled. The plot twists and turns are engaging and well-crafted, keeping readers on the edge of their seats as they piece together the mystery alongside Kya. The ending is both satisfying and thought-provoking, leaving a lasting impression.Overall, Where the Crawdads Sing is a stunning debut novel that showcases Delia Owens' talent for storytelling and her deep understanding of human emotions and nature. It’s a novel that resonates long after the last page is turned. For anyone who loves a beautifully written story with rich characters and a captivating plot, this book is a must-read. Highly recommended for its emotional depth, exquisite prose, and unforgettable narrative!

Reviewer: Britanie
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: 5🌟
Review: i loved this book so much, set in the marshes of north carolina, it’s the story of kya clark, the “marsh girl,” who’s left to fend for herself after her family abandons her. kya’s connection with the wild around her is so beautifully written, and the way she grows up alone in nature is both heartbreaking and inspiring.i have to admit, when i first started reading, i struggled a bit with the dialect. but after doing a little research on the accents of that time and place, i found myself slipping right into it, which made the reading experience even richer. owens does such a beautiful job of pulling you into the setting and era.what i loved most is how delia owens weaves together kya’s coming-of-age story with a mystery that keeps you hooked. it’s a mystery thriller but also a tender coming-of-age story, with a deep love for nature interwoven throughout. the themes of survival, resilience, and the deep bond between humans and nature really resonated with me. reading about kya’s journey felt like a rollercoaster of emotions. i cried (ugly cried!!!), i smiled, and my heart ached for her. it’s impossible not to root for kya as she overcomes so much hardship.the romance in the story adds a tender, sweet layer that feels so genuine. it really got to me. (oh, tate❤️) there’s a quiet strength in kya that i found incredibly empowering, almost like reading a memoir of surviving against all odds.if you’re looking for a book that’s beautifully written and emotionally gripping, you have to read where the crawdads sing. it’s perfect for anyone who loves stories about overcoming adversity with a blend of mystery and romance. this book has definitely earned a spot in my top favorites. and yes, i watched the movie too—it was amazing—but seriously, the book is always better! 🥹🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Reviewer: Amazon Customer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Excellent book
Review: Well written. Suspense. Surprise ending. This book tugged at my heart.

Reviewer: Sherril S-K
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Gorgeous Sumptuous & Sensual Language
Review: Before I started reading the novel, “Where the Crawdads Sing,” I looked up exactly what crawdads were, only to find out that Crawdads are just another name for crayfish and having spent time in New Orleans, I knew all about crayfish. “Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans resembling small lobsters (to which they are related). They are also known as crawfish, crawdads, freshwater lobsters, mountain lobsters, mudbugs, or yabbies. Taxonomically, they are members of the superfamilies Astacoidea and Parastacoidea. They breathe through feather-like gills.” Perhaps more than you needed to know?Next I wanted to know something about the author, Delia Owens, beyond what I’d learned from the CBS Sunday Morning piece about her, on March 17, 2019. She was the co-author, along with her then husband, Mark Owens, of three non-fiction books, “Cry of the Kalahari”, “The Eye of the Elephant: An Epic Adventure in the African Wilderness” and “Secrets of the Savanna: Twenty-three Years in the African Wilderness Unraveling the Mysteries of Elephants and People.”The Owens lived as young wildlife scientists in Africa for over two decades. This experience of isolation and delving into the minute details of animals and their behaviors, would later be the germ that grew into her first novel, “Where the Crawdads Sing.”Delia Owen’s early life was also influential in her later writing. She was born in Southern Georgia and her family spent some of every summer in the mountains of North Carolina (the novel takes place in rural North Carolina from1952 through early 1970’s). Owens says that her mother would often encourage her, “to explore far into the oak forests, telling her, Go way out yonder where the crawdads sing.”She also taught her how to avoid stepping on snakes and to not be afraid of any critters. Along with the isolation, the oneness with all of nature surrounding her, would come to embody Owens’ protagonist, Kya, in “Where the Crawdads Sing.”The first main element in the story is the descriptive Language, describing the natural surroundings of the pristine coastal marshland of North Carolina. “Marsh is a space of light, where grass grows in water, and water flows into the sky.”“Swamp water is still and dark, having swallowed the light in its muddy throat.”“Life decays and reeks and returns to the rotted duff; a poignant wallow of death begetting life.”“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.”“The darkness held an odor of sweetness, the earthy breath of frogs and salamanders who’d made it through one more stinky-hot day. The marsh snuggled in closer with a low fog, and she slept.”“syrupy sand”I could easily write this entire review by simply using the copious examples of the gorgeous, sumptuous and sensual language of he novel. For me, it is this ability of the author that makes the difference in rating it with three stars or four (occasionally five) stars. If I love the language, I generally love the book.The novel offered not only stunning language, but also a pretty good mystery, that for me became increasingly moreintriguing 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.“Where the Crawdads Sing” is about a girl, Kya, who the small community living in Barkley Cove, not far from the marshland, like to besmirch by referring to her as “the marsh girl.” She lives with her family, consisting of Ma who is loving, but besieged by her often violent husband, Pa, brother Justin, two older brothers and two older sisters. Ma flees her abusive husband when Kya is only 5 and one by one, all the others also leave the rickety shack which is their home, leaving Kya all by herself at the age of 6. She slowly learns how to survive alone in the marshland wilderness and by so doing, she comes to understand and appreciate the marshland with all its creatures living and breathing within it.I will summarize the story line through the use of quotes taken from it:“Maybe it was mean country, but not an inch was lean. Layers of life—squiggly sand crabs, mud-waddling crayfish, waterfowl, fish, shrimp, oysters, fatted deer, and plump geese—were piled on the land or in the water. A man who didn’t mind scrabbling for supper would never starve.”“When light from the quarter moon finally touched the shack, she crawled into her porch bed—a lumpy mattress on the floor with real sheets covered in little blue roses that Ma had got at a yard sale—alone at night for the first time in her life.”“For the first time ever Kya walked alone toward the village of Barkley Cove to buy groceries—this little piggy went to market. She plodded through deep sand or black mud for four miles until the bay glistened ahead, the hamlet on its shore. Everglades surrounded the town, mixing their salty haze with that of the ocean, which swelled in high tide on the other side of Main Street. Together the marsh and sea separated the village from the rest of the world.”“So the only intersection in town was Main, Broad, and the Atlantic Ocean.”“Mostly, the village seemed tired of arguing with the elements, and simply sagged.”“Barkley Cove was quite literally a backwater town, bits scattered here and there among the estuaries and reeds like an egret’s nest flung by the wind.”“She’d never gone to Colored Town, but knew where it was and figured she could find Jumpin’ and Mabel’s place once she got there.”“CHASE ANDREWS, you get back here! All three of you boys.” They pedaled a few more yards, then thought better of it and returned to the woman, Miss Pansy Price, saleslady in fabric and notions.”“We’re sorry, Miss Pansy, we didn’t see ya ’cause that girl over yonder got in the way.” Chase, tanned with dark hair, pointed at Kya, who had stepped back and stood half inside a myrtle shrub. “Never mind her. You cain’t go blamin’ yo’ sins on somebody else, not even swamp trash.”“It’s my birthday,” she told the bird.”“But Jackson mostly ignored crimes committed in the swamp. Why interrupt rats killing rats?”“Kya never went back to school a day in her life.”“Months passed, winter easing gently into place, as southern winters do. The sun, warm as a blanket, wrapped Kya’s shoulders, coaxing her deeper into the marsh. Sometimes she heard night-sounds she didn’t know or jumped from lightning too close, but whenever she stumbled, it was the land that caught her. Until at last, at some unclaimed moment, the heart-pain seeped away like water into sand. Still there, but deep. Kya laid her hand upon the breathing, wet earth, and the marsh became her mother.”“Sheriff Ed Jackson”“Deputy Joe Purdue”“Well, obviously, on the surface, it looks like an accident: he fell from the tower and was killed.”“Saltwater marsh, some say, can eat a cement block for breakfast, and not even the sheriff’s bunker-style office could keep it at bay. Watermarks, outlined with salt crystals, waved across the lower walls, and black mildew spread like blood vessels toward the ceiling. Tiny dark mushrooms hunkered in the corners.”“They sipped until the sun, as golden and syrupy as the bourbon, slipped into the sea.”“Hey, Kya. Sorry I couldn’t get here sooner. Had to help my dad, but we’ll get you reading in no time.” “Hey, Tate.” “Let’s sit here.” He pointed to an oak knee in deep shade of the lagoon. From the rucksack he pulled out a thin, faded book of the alphabet and a lined writing pad. With a careful slow hand, he formed the letters between the lines, a A, b B, asking her to do the same, patient with her tongue-between-lips effort. As she wrote, he said the letters out loud. Softly, slowly. She remembered some of the letters from Jodie and Ma but didn’t know much at all about putting them into proper words. After only minutes, he said, “See, you can already write a word.”“Slowly, she unraveled each word of the sentence: “‘ There are some who can live without wild things, and some who cannot.’” “Oh,” she said. “Oh.” “You can read, Kya. There will never be a time again when you can’t read.” “It ain’t just that.” She spoke almost in a whisper. “I wadn’t aware that words could hold so much. I didn’t know a sentence could be so full.” He smiled. “That’s a very good sentence. Not all words hold that much.”“Learning to read was the most fun she’d ever had.”“Jumpin’ said the Social Services are lookin’ for me. I’m scared they’ll pull me in like a trout, put me in a foster home or sump’m.” “Well, we better hide way out there where the crawdads sing. I pity any foster parents who take you on.” Tate’s whole face smiled. “What d’ya mean, where the crawdads sing? Ma used to say that.” Kya remembered Ma always encouraging her to explore the marsh: “Go as far as you can—way out yonder where the crawdads sing.” “Just means far in the bush where critters are wild, still behaving like critters. Now, you got any ideas where we can meet?”The story goes on. There is love. There is loss. There is what seems to most folks to be a crime. There are scenes from a compelling courtroom trial.That’s all I’ll tell. You must read “Where the Crawdads Sing” for yourself to fill in the gaps and to temporarily live in a world of the marshland in rich poetry and language. Though the scenes in the courtroom take a marked turn from this rich detail of language and poetry, it makes up for it by putting you inside an interesting and ultimately surprising courtroom drama. Where the Crawdads Sing is one of those books that is so good, one wonders where Delia Owens can go from here?

Reviewer: anne_lune
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Si aún no decides si ver la película o leer el libro, debes leer el libro. Te lleva de vívidas descripciones de escenarios naturales de la Costa de Estados Unidos junto con una historia con altibajos de emociones hasta el seguimiento de un juicio bien presentado y argumentado. Después de leerlo, estarás listo para la película.

Reviewer: Sara
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Great book and a wonderful cover

Reviewer: Begaquin
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I have loved reading this book. After having watched the movie I bought it and I found it very well written written. It describes Kya's caracther very much in depth and you can understand her much better than in the movie. The description of fauna and nature are wonderful. Highly recommended.

Reviewer: raffestin
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Cadre, histoire , intrigue etc très éloignés de notre vie mais on s’y abandonne avec un grand plaisir

Reviewer: C*****
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Received mine in good condition.