Where the Crawdads Sing

Wow, what a book! Delia Owens writes the story of a girl abandoned by the entire world, and how she survives. Kya is just seven years old when the last of her family walks away from her forever, but she has a deep love and understanding of the marshland she lives on, and a strength that is enormous. Though she's shunned by most of her community, she makes strong connections with a few people who help her. Owens writes poignantly about loneliness, rejection, and abandonment, as Kya grows into womanhood, and your heart can't help but break for her. When it seems that happiness is just within reach, she's crushed again. When a man turns up possibly murdered, Kya ends up on trial. Owen's story is riveting — I tore through it, ravenously — and as she picks through themes of family, solitariness, survival, and longing, you will fall deeply in love with Kya, and wish to forever live in the marsh with this precocious child of nature. Recommended By Dianah H., Powells.com

Intrigued by the story of the Marsh Girl (fey, reclusive, hidden) and her possible involvement with two men (and the discovery of a dead body), I was excited to read Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. But I was delighted by the paintings and collecting of shells and feathers and nests, the blending of art and science, poetry and nature studies. I absolutely loved this rich, superbly written mystery! Simply amazing! Recommended By Adrienne C., Powells.com

#1 New York Times Bestseller

A Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club Pick

“I can’t even express how much I love this book! I didn’t want this story to end!” — Reese Witherspoon

“Painfully beautiful.” — The New York Times Book Review

“Perfect for fans of Barbara Kingsolver.” — Bustle

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.

Perfect for fans of Barbara Kingsolver and Karen Russell, 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.

“A painfully beautiful first novel that is at once a murder mystery, a coming-of-age narrative and a celebration of nature….Owens here surveys the desolate marshlands of the North Carolina coast through the eyes of an abandoned child. And in her isolation that child makes us open our own eyes to the secret wonders — and dangers — of her private world.” The New York Times Book Review

“Steeped in the rhythms and shadows of the coastal marshes of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, this fierce and hauntingly beautiful novel centers on…Kya’s heartbreaking story of learning to trust human connections, intertwine[d] with a gripping murder mystery, revealing savage truths. An astonishing debut.” People

“A lush debut novel, Owens delivers her mystery wrapped in gorgeous, lyrical prose. It’s clear she’s from this place — the land of the southern coasts, but also the emotional terrain — you can feel it in the pages. A magnificent achievement, ambitious, credible and very timely.” Alexandra Fuller, New York Times bestselling author of Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight

“Both a coming-of-age story and a mysterious account of a murder investigation told from the perspective of a young girl....Through Kya’s story, Owens explores how isolation affects human behavior, and the deep effect that rejection can have on our lives.” Vanity Fair

Delia Owens is the coauthor of three internationally bestselling nonfiction books about her life as a wildlife scientist in Africa — Cry of the Kalahari, The Eye of the Elephant, and Secrets of the Savanna. She has won the John Burroughs Award for Nature Writing and has been published in Nature, The African Journal of Ecology, and International Wildlife, among many others. She currently lives in Idaho, where she continues her support for the people and wildlife of Zambia. Where the Crawdads Sing is her first novel.