The body of Chase Andrews was found by two boys from the local village on the morning of October 30, 1969. Sheriff Ed Jackson suspects that Chase was murdered when the lack of footprints around the corpse arouse his suspicions and ties it to the Mar...
Why you should - Where Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
The quote that caught my eye - "There are some who can live without wild things, and some who cannot."
Firstly, I'm grateful that I was delivered a smooth, velvety copy of the cover, which I kept caressing like a baby. Thank you fliparkt.
Secondly, I'm not a creep, the cover was so smooth and I've been laid off from work so the little things like good covers try (Yes, I emphasized on 'try) to bring me happiness, so don't judge me. 😅
Also, I needed to heal my heart after reading They both die at the end by Adam Silvera with a little anime therapy. Did it work?What did I watch? Find out at the end.
A little about the story.
Set in 1952, six-year-old Kya and the youngest of the five siblings watches as her Ma walks away from their shack in her fake alligator shoes, she's filled with a gut feeling that her mother might not return as she noticed the case Kya's mom took with her. Jodie, her brother assures Kya that she'll be back. Left with their unstable violent Pa, the three siblings along with Jodie, abandon the shack one after the other leaving Kya behind with their dad who is hardly home. She learns to cook the grit, clean, running errands from nearby Barkley Cove, though she dislikes going there, where they mistreat her and label Kya as Marsh Trash. 😠 *Meanies
Kya learns to sustain herself and for a brief period of time she spends time with her Pa who teaches her fishing and introduces her to an owner of a bait shop and gas station Jumpin', with whom she trades smoked fish and mussels. Jumpin' and his wife, Mabel, watch out for Kya.
Meanwhile, her father abandons her again and she's back to being all alone by herself. Floating through her loneliness along the marshes she comes across Tate Walker and they soon become friends due to their shared interests for the marsh and nature. He leaves her bird feathers pinned to the woods. Tate teaches Kya to read and write, let's her borrow some used books, they experience the sweet feeling of first love as they become close to each other. Since Tate's nineteen and Kya fifteen, he decides not to take things further than a kiss for the moment with Kya wishing for more.
"Of all the ragged loves she'd known from the wayward family, none had felt like this."
However, Tate leaves for college without bidding goodbye to Kya, and she's back again to being by herself feeling love lorn, abandoned and betrayed. Despite this, Kya retains her curiosity to learn and keeps herself informed about the Marsh by reading and collecting samples and stays in touch with bustling marsh life around her.
Kya meets the popular boy named Chase Andrews,whom she once glanced at Barkely Cove, a local hotshot who urges her on dates to which she reluctantly agrees as she's still in love with Tate. However, Tate returns home to conduct his research, his heart filled with regret of leaving Kya hanging and to mend things with her he finds Kya going out with Chase Andrews.
As Kya begins to unfold her newfound life something unplanned occurs, Chase Andrews is found dead beneath the fire tower in the marsh.
The narrative runs like two parallel lines, switching between the life of Kya, her childhood, her fleeting encounters with Tate starting from 1952 and the investigation of Chase Andrews set in 1969 runs alongside, introducing Sheriff Ed Jackson suspects that Chase was murdered when the lack of footprints around the corpse arouse his suspicions. He questions the secret relationship between Chase and Kya.
Did any of Kya's siblings return to the marsh? Did Tate and Kya confront each other? Why did Chase keep his relationship with Kya a secret? Why and Who murdered Chase Andrews? What path of life did Kya choose for herself? Are the questions you'd encounter while reading the story.
*My personal Rant
Yes, Yes, I omitted some parts of the narrative and the characters because I want you to read the book. I felt it was more of a coming of age story and love for nature because as the story proceeded, the mystery was somewhat predictable and the courtroom drama was just fine.For me, it felt like the story mostly centred on how Kya dealt with her loneliness and her longing for company, especially for her mother and Delia Owens love for nature, given that she's a zoologist. Check out her other books here : https://www.deliaowens.com/other-books
Delia Owens did a wonderful job describing the marshes, I could feel myself wandering among the mysterious lands and floating by myself in those bluish greens waters. Also Tate Walker, he's pretty cute. He also educates Kya about puberty and brings her health pamphelts. He helps Kya calm down when she receives her first period and bring her a little treat the next day. But Kya is simply amazing, she is a survivor, a rare beauty of mind and soul. The scene where she stands up for Jumpin' instead of walking away, her love for seagulls, when she punched chase, I was like you go girl! \(^ヮ^)/
I loved the verses used by the author in the story that Kya felt close to her heart. Especially by Amanda Hamiltion, who's identity you'll discover at the end of the story.
"I must let go now.
Let you go.
Love is too often
The answer for staying.
Too seldom the reason
For going.
I drop the line
And watch you drift away."
*Ahh my heart.
(„• ֊ •„)
To be honest, Kya reminded me of Pocahontas a lot and I got all excited.
But why the Title-where crawdad's sing?
The title "Where the Crawdads Sing" was taken from a phrase Owens' mother used to use encouraging her tomboy of a daughter to take to the woods around their rural Georgia home, and listen to what those woods had to say. "I learned from a book that crawdads don't really sing. But I learned from my mother that if you go far enough into the wilderness, by yourself, and there's nothing but you and nature, you will hear the crawdads sing."
I was a new recruit and I wanted to keep to myself as I browsed the internet to find new books and avoid awkward conversations about distasteful cafeteria food, so I thought I'd check best sellers listed in New York times. This was sometime during February. The book was listed under top 10 and has been a best seller for the past six times. Now it's number 1 under combined print and Ebook fictions.👍🏻
Anyhow, the title was intriguing and I have a thing for mysteries. Thank you Agatha christie and Sir Authur Conan Doyle. A muder mystery in the marshes of North Carolina and the curious title attracted me right away and I ordered my copy during this quarantine. I was reading other stuff. Hahaha *Nervous laughter.
On a final note, I think that 'Marsh Girl' would have been a better title, what do you guys think? Let me know If you like the book and how you came across it!😁
So I rewatched Barakamon to ease my heart but I got hit on the face with something else. Hahaha. 🤣
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