A – Z Book Reviews

There are some lifestyles and cultures that I simply cannot imagine living, not even in my wildest dreams! Where the Crawdads Sing encompasses one of those lifestyles: a young girl living (mostly alone) in the wilderness of the swamp lands. Kya lives off the land, she is isolated from society in almost every way. She is uneducated in the normal sense of the word and has learned her lessons from the land.

The book takes a bit of a romantic turn around the half way mark. I felt like the romance twist was a bit forced and slightly unlikely, given Kya’s past and background. However, Delia did match Kya with a good partner and I was happy with their relationship in the end. I don’t always love when novels try to “force” a romance spin on the plot, and this wasn’t necessarily my favorite piece of the story.

The main portion of the book leads Kya through a murder trial of a town local who is found dead in the swamps. Kya is the main suspect (immediately), and is taken into custody. I felt like the trial piece and the depiction of Kya’s unrest as she is imprisoned was done very well. I also feel like the book had nice closure as the trial comes to an end and we see how Kya’s life was changed after the murder case ended.

If you are like me and tend to watch the movies of the books you read, I would not put much hope in this film. I was less than impressed on the portrayal of Kya and the acting job of all those involved. It struck me as a low budget film that missed the mark. Read the book (it’s worth it), but pass on the movie!