So my friend Susan started a book club here! I'm so happy about it, because it's giving me a chance to really kick up my reading.
The first book was "Where the Crawdads Sing" by Delia Owens. I have seen the picture on the library website, since it is popular. So I'm glad she picked it out!
The book opens up with a scene of a man's body being found in a swamp. They don't know who killed Chase Andrews, but they had some suspicions.
The first half of the book were memories about a girl named Kya (born Catherine) who grew up in the swamps outside a tiny town in North Carolina. She is abandoned by her family at a very young age (like ages 6-8), but somehow has the drive to survive. She sells clams to a local store run by an old "colored" man named Jumper, and makes rudimentary food. CPS comes to bring her to school, but she gets made fun of so much that she only goes one day.
Her older brother, Jody, has a friend named Tate that recognizes Kya and helps her. She learns to read and write, and eventually falls in love with Tate (in a way). She has no way of knowing what human emotions are or how someone should act besides the animals that she has seen. Tate prevents anything from happening at the last minute, and eventually goes off to college.
Meanwhile, she meets Chase, who wants to spend time with her. He shows interest, and one day when Kya is in town she sees him with his arm around another girl. He blows her off, but comes back and apologizes. They eventually go on a trip together, where he takes her virginity and she does not like it. He gets engaged to another girl soon after, and Kya writes him off.
She had been documenting the animals that she has seen, and Tate finds a professor who publishes it. This gives her money that allows her to not only survive but begin to thrive for the first time in her life.
She had been documenting the animals that she has seen, and Tate finds a professor who publishes it. This gives her money that allows her to not only survive but begin to thrive for the first time in her life.
Shortly after this is when Chase's body is found, and Chase's mom is sure it was Kya. He wore a shell necklace that she gave him every day, even after he was married. However, Chase was the type of person who had multiple affairs and could have had many enemies. Ultimately, Kya was arrested and thrown in jail.
The next whole part of the book is the courtroom and trial. It was a big shift in narrative, losing all of her descriptions and talking about the nature around her. Instead it's very matter of fact and cold. It's obvious from the get-go that the prosecution was very biased against Kya. There was no real solid evidence against her. There were no fingerprints period, which was suspicious. But nothing to suspect her.
(SPOILERS AHEAD- if you haven't read it don't keep reading!)
The next whole part of the book is the courtroom and trial. It was a big shift in narrative, losing all of her descriptions and talking about the nature around her. Instead it's very matter of fact and cold. It's obvious from the get-go that the prosecution was very biased against Kya. There was no real solid evidence against her. There were no fingerprints period, which was suspicious. But nothing to suspect her.
(SPOILERS AHEAD- if you haven't read it don't keep reading!)
Ultimately the jury did not convict her. However, Tate spent so much time and emotion invested in Kya's trial that he didn't notice his dad's failing health. His dad passed away shortly after. Kya and Tate got common-law married, but never were able to have children. They lived in her house in the swamp, and Kya died in her 60's, and while Tate was cleaning out her things he found out that she was also an accomplished poet. One of her poems talks about luring a man to his death, and pushing him off the tower into the swamp.
So, my thoughts on the book.
It showed how judgmental people can be in regards to "other" types of people. The prosecution had suspicions but they had many other people to look into. Why not the wife, since he has had many affairs? Why not the significant other of a woman that he had an affair with? But those were all "our" people in the town. Kya was an outsider and had been marginalized her whole life. She was an easy suspect.
It was fitting that she never got legally married. Why would she try to fit in with the government that had failed her this whole time?
It is sad that she wasn't able to have children. But since she found out her mom had a mental breakdown and left when she was 4, it makes me wonder if she would have handled having a child. Not having a nurturing presence in your life could have made it difficult to know how to raise a child. (I know it is possible, but she had a very feral childhood.)
Overall, a good read! Some of the descriptions are a little mature for younger audiences, but it was definitely engaging.
So, my thoughts on the book.
It showed how judgmental people can be in regards to "other" types of people. The prosecution had suspicions but they had many other people to look into. Why not the wife, since he has had many affairs? Why not the significant other of a woman that he had an affair with? But those were all "our" people in the town. Kya was an outsider and had been marginalized her whole life. She was an easy suspect.
It was fitting that she never got legally married. Why would she try to fit in with the government that had failed her this whole time?
It is sad that she wasn't able to have children. But since she found out her mom had a mental breakdown and left when she was 4, it makes me wonder if she would have handled having a child. Not having a nurturing presence in your life could have made it difficult to know how to raise a child. (I know it is possible, but she had a very feral childhood.)
Overall, a good read! Some of the descriptions are a little mature for younger audiences, but it was definitely engaging.
