Ok, guys, I finished Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens a while ago and boy was that a good book! I mean, rumor has it that it is going to be a made into a movie soon! I haven’t gotten any writing time because life has been CRAZY! and I am busy with work (bad excuse I know… I shall work on my time management skill so I can have my writing time back on a regular basis).
Anyway, the book was so good that I’ve decided to pause writing about the wedding (I know, I still owe you guys my wedding photos, the story of our crazy wedding day and all the juicy dramas…) and make a post about the book. So, without any further ado, let’s dive in!
First thing first, this is a murder mystery and I seldom read murder mystery books or any mystery books, to be honest. Partly because the plot of the story usually falls flat soon after the murder takes place. On top of that, the last murder mystery I read was “All the Missing Girls” and it was bad enough for me to abandon the book halfway through. (something I seldom do…) Where the Crawdads Sing, on the other hand, not only had a good plot, superb writing, good character development with all the characters; best of all, that cliff hanger. Oh! It kept me reading and speculating all the potential suspects through the whole book until the end. I love it when the mystery remains a mystery until the very last page rather than figuring it all out in the middle of the book.
Set in the late 50s, known as the marsh girl, Kya grew up in the little shack in the marshland just off the coast of North Carolina. She used to have ma, pa, and 4 older siblings. However, one by one, they all left the shack, left the deserted marshland…and Kya. At age 9, Kya found herself living alone in the little shack with a few saltine crackers and some grits in the kitchen. Soon, Pa left after a letter from Ma and never returned. No more Monday checks nor yelling and beating or the pungent smell of alcohol. At the same time, no more waking up to Ma in the kitchen frying bacon in the skillet or the smell of gold biscuits; no more hugs and comforting words from her brother Jody either. Just her, the shack, the old boat pa had left and the gulls on the beach.
To survive, Kya learned to dig oysters by the moonlight and smoke fish during the day, she then sells them to Jumpin’ in exchange for goods and gas. Jumpin’ and his wife, Marsha, though have no children of their own, they love and cared for Kya as their own. Years went by Kya grew into a beautiful young woman, though she received no formal education with Tate’s help and patience Kya learned to read and write. Soon she was reading all kinds of book that Tate brought for her, slowly but surely, their affections and trust for each other turned into a budding romantic relationship.
At last, happy times doesn’t last long with Kya as it always has been in her life. Tate graduated from high school and has been accepted by the Chapel Hill on full scholarship, along with the college acceptance Tate also got a job at the biology department on campus. Once again, Kya is alone by herself. This time, she found companionship in her readings of all the marsh creatures and plants, her drawings, and meticulous documentation that goes along with her collections…
I won’t spoil the whole book here, though this book is seriously a must-read! I devoured the whole book in 3 days and I cried at the end of the book. (I don’t usually cry reading, so you know how good this one is, considering that it got me crying…) So, don’t wait! Get yourself a copy and start reading!
Until next time, happy reading! ❤
Rapunzel's Treehouse 