For years, rumours 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.

 

Book Club Discussion Questions.

 

Before becoming a New York Times bestselling novelist, Delia Owens was a zoologist. She’s written three nonfiction books with her former husband Mark Owens about her experiences with animals. How do the themes of this novel and Owens’s style of writing reflect her interests and work with animals?

How realistic is Kya’s upbringing in the marsh? Do you believe she really could have made it out there on her own?

Discuss the series of events that led to Kya living alone in the marsh. Why do you think Kya’s mother leaves in the beginning? Do you agree with her decision?

For much of the novel, we don’t know why Kya’s mother left and never returned. Why did you think she left at first? Can you forgive her for not later rescuing the children? Why or why not?

What did you think about Jodie’s revelation about their mom? What did it reveal about the differences between Kya and her mom? Were you surprised when Jodie came back?

Who failed her, and who was there for her? Were there better choices that could have been made?

Trust is a key theme that runs through the book. For example, Kya's brother Jodie told Kya to give Tate another chance, as he was only a young man when he first abandoned her and broke her trust? Was he right to do this?

Tate supports Kya throughout the murder trial. He seems unquestioningly accept all the evidence that points to her innocence and he is very surprised, at the end of her book to read her poem Fireflies. Do you think, though, that he ever thought her guilty and if so would it have stopped them from making a life together?

The North Carolina marsh where Kya lives has long been a sanctuary for outsiders. How does this setting shape the novel? How does growing up in this isolation affect Kya? In what ways does her status as an "outsider" change how others see her?

In interviews, Delia Owens has said she wrote this book about feeling alone. How is that expressed in the novel?

In various biographies, including Delia Owen's own website, it is told that Owen's mother, also an outside-girl, encouraged Delia to explore far into the oak forests, saying “Go way out yonder where the crawdads sing.” What does this mean? In what ways have your own mothers been encouraging influences in your lives?

Could you survive living alone and having to provide your own food and shelter with very limited external resources available? How self-sufficient are you?

When reading reviews of Where the Crawdads Sing it is interesting to make parallels to Delia Owen's own life. Do you think having biographical or contextual information about an author or text adds or detracts from the reading of fiction?

Throughout the novel, there are two men who play a major role in Kya’s life: Chase and Tate. How would you compare these two characters? Is Chase a different kind of man than Tate? How are they different? Is one man better? Do you think that their differences are biological or learned? How does Kya see each man?

And while we can talk about how they’re different, it might also be interesting to discuss how they’re similar. What do these men, together and separately, represent in Kya’s life?

Contrast Kya’s relationships with Chase and Tate. What do each of them offer her, and what does she represent to them?

Discuss Kya’s relationship with Tate. How does Tate’s understanding of Kya change over time? Is Tate a good partner for Kya? Why or why not? Why do you think Tate was always drawn to Kya? What did he see in her that others didn’t? Was she a conquest or do you think she was something more to him at first?

When Tate went to college and came back, he couldn’t see a life with Kya. Let’s talk about why he thought this and the actions behind his decision.

Speaking of characters who play important roles in Kya’s life, how did you feel about Jumpin’ and Mabel? What is Kya’s relationship like with Jumpin’ and Mabel? Why are they drawn to Kya — and what do they have to offer her? Are they parental figures for Kya, or something else? How did they influence the person she becomes, if at all? How did they help her survive? What do they teach her about the world? Why do you think they didn’t turn her in to social services, knowing that she lived alone as a child? Do you agree with that decision to protect Kya from social services (p. 110) and to encourage her to live alone in the marsh? Why or why not?

Kya learns about human nature and how to relate to other people mostly through observing animals. Most notably, Kya observes female fireflies changing their flashes to communicate different things. What does this realization mean to Kya? How does this observation affect Kya’s relationship with others? How does this lesson influence Kya’s decisions in the second half of the novel? What about her other observations of nature? In what ways do they affect who she is and how she interacts with the world around her? Do you think these lessons adequately prepare her for life in Barkley Cove? Do you think human society follows the same rules as the natural world? Should it? Why or why not?

Kya seeks comfort from nature and animals throughout the story. Do you think if she hadn't lived alone she would have still have had such affinity with nature?

When Kya is on trial she knows that she may be facing the 'death sentence'. However, she is far more afraid of being locked up in prison for years than dying. Discuss why this is the case.

By the end of the novel, Kya has come to realize…

Most of what she knew, she’d learned from the wild. Nature had nurtured, tutored, and protected her when no one else would. If consequences resulted from her behaving differently, then they too were functions of life’s fundamental core

What does she mean? Do you agree with her philosophy? What do you think it means to be a good person? Do you think Kya is a good person? Why or why not?

Poetry is a very important element of this novel. In fact, it’s a major point of connection for Tate and Kya. Tate’s father tells him that poems are important because "they make ya feel something" (p. 48). What does poetry mean to Tate? What does it mean to Kya? Were you surprised when Kya was a secret poet?

What does the poetry throughout the novel add to the narrative?  How does poetry help Kya throughout the novel?

Kya is judged throughout her entire life: as a child, she’s the dirty, uneducated marsh girl and then as an adult, she’s the odd and wild thing in the marsh. Instead of trying to help her as a child, the locals turned their backs on her and left her alone. How did this impact the later trial case? What role did guilt play in it? Did the people of Barkley Cove owe anything to Kya?

Considering her treatment and the way the town sees her, how did you feel about the results of the court case? Was it satisfying? Believable?

Do you think Tate made the right decision? Why?

Once Kya was arrested, did you think she was going to be convicted? Were you surprised at the outcome? Were you surprised she never told the truth to Tate? Why do you think she did kill Chase? Did that change your opinion of Kya? The ending of Where the Crawdad's Sing brings a surprising twist as we learn that Kya is actually the local poet Amanda Hamilton. We discover that her husband had no idea about this. Do you think it is ok to have 'big secrets' from your partner?

Why doesn't Delia Owens share with us Kya's secrets until the end of the novel? How did this make you feel as a reader? Did you admire Owen's writing skills or did you feel duped by her and Kya?

How does the North Carolina marsh setting shape the story? In what ways does the setting seem like another character in the novel?

There’s so many vivid descriptions of life in the marsh. What are some of the descriptions that stuck out to you the most?

How did you feel about Kya’s decision not to return to school? Why does Kya choose not to go back to school?

Do you think she makes the wrong decision? How does Kya’s lack of formal education shape her vision of the world? Would her character or her life be different if she had gone to school?

Which characters had the biggest influence on Kya? On whose lives did she make the biggest impact?

One more question about connection with other characters: there is a palpable lack of women in Kya’s life. At the beginning of the novel, Kya’s mother leaves. Kya doesn’t have any female friendships to speak of. Would Kya’s story be different has she women in her life? If so, how?

What does Kya learn by watching the girls in Barkley Cove? Why do you think she keeps her watching secret? Do you agree with Kya’s secrecy? How is her idea of womanhood influenced by her observations and by her life in the marsh? How is womanhood explored throughout the novel? What does being a woman mean to Kya? How does she relate to the other women in Barkley Cove?

For a while Kya is drawn to a fake fantasy that she could be (for want of a better phrase) one of the 'cool kids' getting along with Chase's gang of friends. Have you ever longed for something that is unobtainable?​

Do you see Kya as a victim? Why or why not? How did your opinion of her change over the course of the book?

What did the title, Where the Crawdads Sing, mean to you before and after you read the book?

There are many villians in Where the Crawdads Sing,but only one murderer. Discuss.

The ease with which Kya learns to read seems almost unbelievable? Were there any other parts of Where the Crawdads Sing that you found unbelievable? Did this spoil the story for you?

Why does Owens tell the reader that Tate never really enjoyed Amanda Hamilton's story?

Who would you cast in the key roles for the movie version of Where the Crawdads Sing?

Racial segration is a secondary theme in Where the Crawdads Sing.How convincing is the portrayal of Kya's relationship with Jumini and Mabel?

It has been said that Where the Crawdads Sing is similar to Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. Why would someone make this claim? Do you think it is a fair statement to make?

For most of the novel, the chapters alternate between Kya’s upbringing and the murder mystery. What did you think about the balance between the two?