Where the Crawdads Sing

 Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

I read this book because of the song. (Carolina, by Taylor Swift. And yes, I am a total Swiftie.)
The song was great.
The book…

Kya is alone. Has been abandoned by everyone and everything meant to protect her.
She stays far from town, separated from the rest by a marsh and an abyss of rumours. With only the birds and the beasts for company. Mysterious and secretive, she is an object of speculation, and gossip circles her like the gulls overhead. And when local golden boy Chase Andrews is found dead, she is the one everyone suspects. But Kya isn’t what they say she is, just a girl alone and growing desperately tired of her solitude. She opens the door and crosses the marsh, for two very different people. But with desperation comes foolhardiness…

Dear god… I… oh wow. Just wow. I can safely say that I have never ever read anything, ANYTHING, so cliche ridden and just damnably annoying in my life. Or at least the last six months. (Cue moody contemplation about the downfall of good literature.)

I safely guessed the plot five minutes into the first chapter, but valiantly plowed ahead, hoping that their might be some substance to the books blockbuster status. There wasn’t. (Cue moody speculation about the downfall of culture and taste.)

The plot is just so aghghgngnxx. (Random slamming of keys to denote frustration) First the author goes on and on about the main characters ‘abandonment by her family and her survival on her own’. A portrait of abuse too cliche ridden and trite to glean much sympathy. Oh and BTW, the main character was 6 years old by the time she was surviving by herself, did I mention that?

Next Kya becomes a teenager. After years of living alone and not going to school and all that, she meets Tate. Who she has earlier met in her childhood and has shared meaningful, brief memories with. Who teaches her to read. Who she then gets involved with. (Oh, BTW again, she’s stunningly gorgeous. Surprise!)
Then she meets this other guy. And oh poor, naive Kya….

Cut forward to the accusation of murder and courtroom drama and stuff. The murder case quite reminds me of To Kill A Mockingbird. In both cases, the accused is someone who the town is prejudiced against. Tom was black. Kya is ‘swamp trash’. But while TKAM is a classic, prejudice is portrayed far too cheaply here. The usual childhood playground drama, the usual avoidance, yada, yada, yada.

And ah, the final surprise plot twist! Yay! We knew there had to be one. Because otherwise, what would the entire point of the novel be?

Moving on to the characters.
Kya, let me put this simply, is a Mary Sue
Evidence
1. Sensitive personality
2. Stunning good looks
3. Ridiculous intelligence- Kya goes from learning to read and write at age fourteen to being a talented poet in a year and is a natural biologist .
Do I need to say more?
Tate- your average blue-eyed boy.
Chase- Your average entitled jerk.

The novel has been acclaimed for its poetic descriptions of the wild. The author is a nature writer, and it does show. Nature is portrayed lovingly and richly in its every aspect, with creative, lush detail. Still, it could be a bit voluble for the average reader

Overall, 2/5. Stick with the song, people.