Our Rating:
Library Formats:
Book, eAudiobook
Age Group:
Adults, Young Adults
Genre:
Coming of age, Crime
Two members of our staff loved this book so much they wrote reviews! This book is part of our Centenary Collection.
Review 1
This book was on the top ten bestsellers for ages and I can see why. It is a beautiful story. It took me a few pages in to really appreciate the tale. However it begins in 1952 with six year old Kya Clark who lives in a rundown shack off the marshland of Barkley Gove, North Carolina. She faces horrible family breakdown and soon finds herself surviving in marshland alone. But she is not really alone – she has the gulls and the other wildlife to accompany her. Soon her isolated life is broken by the arrival of two very different young men who are captivated by her wild beauty.
Then in 1969 Chase Andrews, the local “jock” is found dead and the locals immediately suspect Kya, the “Marsh Girl”. The story moves from a coming of age story to a murder mystery. The descriptions of the marshland are gorgeous and you can feel the heat and swampland off the page. Highly recommended.
Review 2
One of the best books I’ve read in a long time, and finished in only a few hours.
The story focuses on Kya, a young woman who has lived alone in a North Carolina swamp since she was a child, as she falls in love and tries to cope with the world outside her home. This is only a minor spoiler, but the book does have a happy, if bittersweet, ending, so don’t worry about that.
It is the first book from Delia Owens, and it’s brilliance really speaks to her skill as an author.
I can understand why this book has been so popular amongst the library’s readers and book clubs, as it is incredibly well written and has an incredibly engaging storyline. It is definitely a character driven book, with a focus on the natural world that surrounds Kya, and I would highly recommend it.