WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING

By Delia Owens

The audio version of Where the Crawdads Sing has been like manna from heaven to me.  The prospect of listening to this engrossing, poetic, beautiful story lured me outside for my daily walk for weeks – I couldn’t wait to listen to a bit more, yet I dreaded coming to the end.  It is for this reason that I wish to invite you to read or listen to Kya’s story.

Kya was abandoned by her entire family as a young girl to raise herself in an isolated shack on a marsh in the midst of the natural world, portrayed by the author Delia Owens as the closest thing to heaven.  We are introduced to this world through Kya’s ever growing awareness as she acquires the skills necessary to fend for herself while drinking in the wonders of her surroundings (the “sun warm as a blanket,” “ballet of fireflies, “the breathing wet earth.”)

Kya is known to the townspeople as the “Marsh Girl” and looked down upon as an uneducated vagabond.  In marked contrast, the author introduces us to this curious, imaginative, resourceful child who matures into a knowledgeable, gifted artist and poet.  Her journey on the path to maturity is filled with adventure, the details of which I will leave you to discover.  I leave you with my opinion that discovering them is not only well worth your time but a treasured diversion from our currently overwhelming concerns.

                                                                                                                         Susan Barron