qingkhrome 's review for:

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

5.0

emotional inspiring slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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I started this book, not expecting to be pulled in by the story, but that is exactly what happened. This is a historical crime fiction as well as a coming-of-age story about a girl who is rejected by people who are supposed to be in community with her from her family to the townspeople. Because of this, she learns life lessons through her love of nature in the marshes she lives in and is nicknamed Marsh Girl. Unfortunately, this leads to a lot of tribulations in her life. In the book it bounces between present day and her childhood. In the present day, there is a mysterious death that takes place and throughout the book bouncing between the past and present, we learn more about Kya and her connection to the victim. I cried multiple times reading this and it has definitely come full circle in the conversations that I’ve been having in real life with people I’m in community with about how it is everyone’s responsibility to protect vulnerable people and how villainizing and making people who are different from you into monsters can often victimize the innocent. Plan to watch the movie soon. I borrowed the audiobook on Libby through my local library and read along with my physical copy that I owned.