Book Review | Where The Crawdads Sing

“I wasn’t aware that words could hold so much. I didn’t know a sentence could be so full.” ~Where The Crawdads Sing

This book was a poetic masterpiece. The way Delia writes is beautiful and so unique. She is a painter of words, and a vibrant storyteller.

~Review~

(SPOILER FREE)

3.5/5 Stars

(Briefing)
Kya, also known as the Marsh Girl, has lived her whole life trapped in the marsh in Barkley Cove, North Carolina. But it’s far from a cage.
After being abandoned by her family as a child, Kya is thrust into raising herself and soon becomes an expert in many things, but especially the marsh. Her life goes on in the same rhythm for many years, until one day she meets a boy. Love is a new concept and something she never knew possible. But there’s more than love she has yet to discover.
Being an outcast, Kya never desires to indulge in the frivolity of the village a few miles from the marsh. However, when she’s suddenly accused of murder, the life she had so carefully cultivated hangs in the balance, and the final verdict will determine whether or not she can go home to the gulls, live a life behind bars, or the worst of them all: death by another’s hand.

(First Impression 5/5)
After the first few sentences, I immediately saw how beautiful of a writer Delia is. The storyline was clear from the beginning and kept me reading for more. I’ve already said this, but it’s because it’s the best way to describe Where The Crawdads Sing: poetic, lyrical. A beautiful song about a girl who was abandoned, talentless, and lacking understanding, soon growing into a woman of knowledge, creativity, and fierce love for her home.

(Character Development 5/5)
Kya by far surpassed her old childhood self as she grew in knowledge, understanding, wisdom, and creativity. From being illiterate and secluded to a marsh like a wild animal to painting images and writing accurate, factual books to change the world. Although the choices she made as a young adult were frustrating, and I often became annoyed whenever she fell into an obvious trap, I also think the circumstances Kya grew up in made it understandable why she would be naive.

(World-Building 5/5)
The world-building in this book exuded more beauty than any of the other aspects. Each word, each sentence, each paragraph, each page, was woven like a piece of poetry that flowed like the tide of the marsh. The beautiful images of the marsh and nature scenes described in this book were stark in my mind like I was looking at it all in person. Delia’s eccentric way of describing things and the analogies she chose made this book unique and lovely to read.

(Emotions 4/5)
There were many points in this story that tears would fall from my face. Where The Crawdads Sing is unmistakably an emotional piece of work, filled with heartbreak, abandonment, fear, love, grief, loneliness, and so much more. Kya’s life is one not many can imagine, and it makes my heart ache just to think about it. Her childhood ended so suddenly and her life was full of hardships. But the joy I had when she achieved her goals and made a name for herself brought to light that there is always a reason for trials in this life.

(Style 5/5)
The perspective of this book—the third person omniscient—made me nervous in the beginning. It’s tricky, writing in such a way, and I have a hard time indulging in stories like those. However, Where the Crawdads Sing was worded to near perfection. The only part I had a hard time understanding was the dialect, as it was unique to reflect the setting of where the characters were. The people of North Carolina had a unique accent that I’m not sure is entirely accurate. It wasn’t something I minded much, but it made some sentences jumble together.

(Cleanliness 2/5)
The first half of Where The Crawdads Sing isn’t too bad, apart from swearing. But after Kya turned 15 it seemed to be all about sexual desires, reproduction, heated romantic moments, and lust. There is one sex scene that doesn’t last very long, but the last half of the book had many scenes that got so heated to the point where it almost reaches that level. There’s a lot of removal of clothing, touching, and lustful thoughts. The details of the physical aspects of the romance seemed to never end (and I didn’t even full on read it but skimmed. So you can imagine how profuse it was, or perhaps don’t imagine…). I wrote down the pages for each sexual scene at the end of this blog in case any of you plan on reading this book but wish to steer clear of the spice. Those scenes do kind of just jump out of nowhere in the beginning, so you have been warned.
Profanity was used, but not too drastically, and violence isn’t out of the picture either, as it is a murder mystery. There is also an attempt at rape/sexual assault.

(Conclusion 3/5)
I started out adoring this story and the elegant writing style, but my attention and adornment were lost amid the secular aspects (hence why I gave the book 3.5 stars). The ending wasn’t a favorite. It was a bit of a drag, frustrating, and tiresome, though it did make my heart pound to finally reach the end. I have a mixture of feelings about this book, and the ending no doubt stirred them all the more. I was utterly shocked and had to take a few minutes to think it all over. So, to end this review, I must say Where The Crawdads Sing was a beautiful story, but also filled with many unnecessary and awkward sexual scenes, foul language, and plot twists I was not expecting (well, obviously. That’s, of course, the whole point of a plot twist). This book didn’t exactly meet my expectations nor did it fall below them. It was a story I will remember, but one I don’t believe I’ll read again.

Genres: fiction, murder mystery, romance, young adult, new adult

!TRIGGER WARNING!
Death, murder, attempted rape, sexual abuse, sex, abuse, child abuse, language, sexual insinuations, emotional

Sexy scenes: page 133, 134, 161, 184, 185

Sex scene: 193-194

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made in perfect love.“ 1 John 4:18 NIV