An incredible story about loneliness despair, courage to survive, perseverance, fighting prejudice, but also about love and hope.
In the quiet town of Barkley Cove on the coast of North Carolina, ghost stories about the Swamp Girl have been circulating for years. In 1969, when the corpse of local beauty Chase Andrews is discovered under a fire lookout tower, the townspeople immediately suspect Kya Clark, nicknamed the Swamp Girl, of his murder. Apparently, she had some affairs with Chase and when he married a "good guy", she couldn't get over it and reached for revenge. In addition, on the fateful night, the seashell pendant that Kya had given to Chase disappeared, and he still wore it around his neck.
But Kya is not as she is said to be. She is sensitive and intelligent, living for years in a vast and inaccessible swamp, dependent on herself and calling it home. He collects mussels, catches fish, smokes them and exchanges them for other goods. He is friends with seagulls and tries to live in harmony with nature. She learns from animals to avoid danger, to forage for food, and to skillfully escape from those who would deprive her of her freedom. He will only show up at school one single time - for the promise of a good meal. However, when he experiences ridicule, bullying and misunderstanding, he gives up on everyone and retreats back to his shack in the barinas. But there comes a time in her life when she longs for the company of people, for love and touch. Her unbridled beauty captivates the two young men of the town and Kya slowly begins to open up to a new life - when suddenly something unimaginable happens.
The novel Where Crayfish Sing is a beautiful ode to the untouched natural world, a moving story of a young girl's lonely coming of age, and a murder mystery case with a surprising ending. Owens reminds us that childhood shapes us for life, and nature still holds secrets for us - beautiful and often cruel.