Where The Crawdads Sing

 Delia Owens is a zoologist and the author of Where The Crawdads Sing, a best selling novel. Set in the coastal swamps on North Carolina, this story is about Kya and starts out in 1952. Kya is the youngest of four siblings living in a shack in the marsh. Her father is an addict and he is abusive. One by one her family members move away for their own safety until only Kya and her father are left. For a while, he does better. He takes her fishing and gives her a knapsack to keep her treasures (feathers, shells, etc.) in. One day he gets a letter from Kya's mother asking him to let her take the children and raise them in New Orleans. That sets him off and he burns the letter and all of his wife's belongings and drawings. He frequently leaves Kya for a week at a time and eventually he never returns. Kya figures he died. She is about 7 years old now. Luckily he left his boat and motor. Kya figures out she can sell mussels to a local business man to earn money for gasoline and grits. The story starts out sad and bleak but Kya is strong. She studies nature intently and applies the patterns of animal or insect behavior to human behavior. I loved all the nature in this novel. Kya is a born naturalist and an artist. She knows the marsh better than anyone. I enjoyed the book and was surprised by the ending.