“Where the Crawdads Sing” was one of the most interesting and hard-to-put-down books I have ever read. Written by Delia Owens, the book was flawlessly produced and never failed to keep my attention. The book is a work of fiction (set in the 50s and 60s), but it comes to life with the detail and intriguing manner in which it is written.

The story is about the life of Kya (Catherine Danielle Clark), and the death of one of her alleged lovers, Chase Andrews. The book goes from when she was only six years old and abandoned by each member of her family to the day she died. Kya was known by the townspeople as the Marsh Girl because she lived alone deep within the marsh. However, that was where she found peace…it was her happy place. Kya faced scrutiny because of Chase’s death, for being skittish, and for her lack of education (though she published books about organisms from the marsh). The story is constantly engaging, making it so each chapter you say “just one more chapter.”

Delia Owens used the perfect words for the reader to imagine what was happening. Her capability of threading together a beautifully written tale is inspiring. The book showed that in the midst of pain, abandonment, and scrutiny, one can always find peace in the calmness of nature. The relationship Kya had with the wildlife was also incredible because she wasn’t afraid to take care of other creatures, though no one was there to take care of her all those years. The suspense throughout the novel was also very nice, with each chapter being a switch in time periods. This gave way for the constant need to know what would happen next and how each event would unfold.

Another thing that really made this book an all-time favorite was the ending. Sure, I did slightly see it coming, but the shock was still real and it even caused my mouth to fall open. The ending leaves the reader a chance to imagine how things continually went and raises questions. But ultimately, it brings to light the “What?” “Why?” and “Who?” around which one major plot point was centered.

All in all, this book was amazing. However, there are some parts throughout the story that are rough, with some profane language and other things. As a whole, I would give this book a 4.5/5 stars! Although some unnecessary points are in the story, it was definitely excellently written and something that I will re-read for sure.