Skip to main content

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Meeting date: November 27, 2018 ;
Star rating: 4.1/5 stars

For years, rumors of the "Marsh Girl" have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life--until the unthinkable happens.

Perfect for fans of Barbara Kingsolver and Karen Russell, Where the Crawdads Sing is at once an exquisite ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder. Owens reminds us that we are forever shaped by the children we once were, and that we are all subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps.

Comments from attendees:
  • The jacket and blurb do not do this book justice!
  • Imagery is fantastic ; very cinematic
  • It's amazing how Kya survived in the marsh and surviving her life in general - wonderful character
  • Marsh became Kya's teacher, savior, protector, parent - it was the only thing not to leave her
  • Jumpin' is the BEST CHARACTER - total winner of the story
  • The big reveal was a reveal! So many avenues that caused doubt. It was masterful.
  • An authentic portrayal of loneliness
  • Discusses the effects of abuse on a family, a child, and a couple eloquently and without flowery
  • A *slow burn* - plot picks up at the trial
  • The attendees had so many emotion reactions to this story!
Lowest rating: 2 stars
Highest rating: 5 stars

Book Club Kit (courtesy of Delia Owens)

Comments

Popular Selections

*4/28 Pick* Long Bright River by Liz Moore

Meeting date:  CANCELED - April 28, 2020 ; Star rating:  not yet calculated Book Club meeting canceled due to COVID-19 outbreak.  Please visit  ferguson.lib.mo.us   for further information. Two sisters travel the same streets, though their lives couldn't be more different. Then one of them goes missing. In a Philadelphia neighborhood rocked by the opioid crisis, two once-inseparable sisters find themselves at odds. One, Kacey, lives on the streets in the vise of addiction. The other, Mickey, walks those same blocks on her police beat. They don't speak anymore, but Mickey never stops worrying about her sibling. Then Kacey disappears, suddenly, at the same time that a mysterious string of murders begins in Mickey's district, and Mickey becomes dangerously obsessed with finding the culprit--and her sister--before it's too late. Alternating its present-day mystery with the story of the sisters' childhood and adolescence, Long Bright River is at once hear...

*5/26 Pick* The Other Mrs. by Mary Kubica

Meeting date: May 26, 2020 ; Star rating: not yet rated Propulsive and addictive, and perfect for fans of “You,” The Other Mrs. is the twisty new psychological thriller from Mary Kubica, the New York Times bestselling author of The Good Girl Sadie and Will Foust have only just moved their family from bustling Chicago to small-town Maine when their neighbor Morgan Baines is found dead in her home. The murder rocks their tiny coastal island, but no one is more shaken than Sadie. But it’s not just Morgan’s death that has Sadie on edge. And as the eyes of suspicion turn toward the new family in town, Sadie is drawn deeper into the mystery of what really happened that dark and deadly night. But Sadie must be careful, for the more she discovers about Mrs. Baines, the more she begins to realize just how much she has to lose if the truth ever comes to light. Comments from attendees: TBD

The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal

Meeting date: November 26, 2019 ; Star rating: 3.8/5 stars Two sisters, one farm. A family is split when their father leaves their shared inheritance entirely to Helen, his younger daughter. Despite baking award-winning pies at the local nursing home, her older sister, Edith, struggles to make what most people would call a living. So she can't help wondering what her life would have been like with even a portion of the farm money her sister kept for herself. With the proceeds from the farm, Helen builds one of the most successful light breweries in the country, and makes their company motto ubiquitous: "Drink lots. It's Blotz." Where Edith has a heart as big as Minnesota, Helen's is as rigid as a steel keg. Yet one day, Helen will find she needs some help herself, and she could find a potential savior close to home. . . if it's not too late. Meanwhile, Edith's granddaughter, Diana, grows up knowing that the real world requires a tougher constit...