Where the crawdads sing *Warning - contains spoilers*

Just finished this book, and have mixed feelings towards it.

I was absorbed and captivated by the story. The nature descriptions were wonderful, and conjured up good imagery of the area.

However, at the end, I felt disappointed. One minute they were investigating Kya, and then seconds later she was in court. Actually, ithink the court case was okay.

However, after the court case, the story seem to be rushed. At the end, it implied that she was the murderer. However, there was no explanation as to why Kya was up on the tower with Chase, and even that she was there She could have come across him dead and taken the necklace. Also, was she even there, or was she visiting the publisher?

Also, it implies she was the poet. Why was this added in at the end?

Also, like posters above have said, it became cliche. The child who can look after herself, learn to feed herself, read, make money, become a published writer etc. It was all too a bit convenient.

I didn’t hate the book, and enjoyed it for what it was, but I felt it was flawed.

Also not a fan of Eleanor Oliphant.

I thought the premise was great but the way it evolved into a murder mystery/courtroom drama/romance was such a waste of a good idea. I’d have much preferred to find out how growing up alone and isolated affected her psychologically/caused all sorts of issues re attachment disorder etc but she still managed to survive and make a living with her science studies and books.

And yeah, as soon as we started getting descriptions of how beautiful she was and that’s the only reason anyone was interested in her, it kind of made me go

Have just finished this, having stayed up most of the night!

Absolutely LOVED it! It's definitely worth today's tiredness. Excited that it's being made into a film although I'm often disappointed if the film's not quite as I imagined the book

I started this before lockdown and keep putting it down to read other things, it's just not engaging me at all. The descriptive writing is beautiful but the characters and story just aren't doing it for me (I'm about a third of the way through). I think I might bail out.

So much filler in this book. Could have cut a third off and wouldn't have missed it. It was ok. I'd never bother to re-read though.

*Bold fail.

IMO it’s not really worth persevering with itWeekday.
Life’s too short, and it really doesn’t improve further on.
I was a bit disappointed in it to be honest, but I know it’s very popular on here.

I bought this book due to the rave reviews but I'm really struggling to get in to it. Is it worth persevering with if im not getting on with it? Or is it likely its just not for me?

I absolutely hated it - I thought it was garbage and ended up skimming to get to the end. I cannot understand why it is so well regarded - it rates its socks off on Goodreads. The characters were shallow and the whole plot so cliched - I'm getting angry just thinking about it! I'm yet to find anyone in real life who agrees with me. Where are my people?!

Loved it. Read it in one sitting. It had echoes of “the Mermaid’s Chair” by Sue Monk Kidd in terms of the setting - the marshes and the egrets etc. really enjoyed it

Loved this book

They do! I’m a Northerner and love gravy.

Thank you @Geekster1963. All Northerners love gravy 😉. And I do like Marmite.

It does seem to be a bit of a marmite book. I like your user name NorthernGravy

I couldn’t stand the second half.

I gave up after around 30%, something didn't agree with me in that story.
Most women love it as I saw it on FB book clubs pages.

I really didn't enjoy it. Leaving out the nature writing, which was good, if that's your thing.
As soon as Kya matured into a beautiful free spirit (as they always do, in this kind of book), my interest went down to zero. Yeh, like you'd grow up in that environment and turn into a dazzling beauty, with great teeth (no dentistry required if you're a magical marsh woman).
And the 'poetry'. It was so terrible I just skipped it.

I really enjoyed it too - just finished it in 3 sittings. If you enjoyed this, you may like Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver too.

ChateauM. keep going. The book delivers what you want . . .

I’ve just finished reading it and I can honestly say I haven’t enjoyed a book so much for years, it just drew me in and I loved it, especially how it ‘looked’.

Read it a few weeks ago. Loved the descriptions and thought the plotting was excellent. Can't believe how alone she was though, found that really upsetting.

www.oprahmag.com/entertainment/books/g28750870/reese-witherspoon-book-club-list/

I adored it. It’s one of Reece Witherspoon’s book club books. She will be making a movie of it. If it’s anything like her adaptations of Big Little Lies and Little Fires Everywhere it should be good.You can follow her book club on Insta. I’ve read a fair few of her recommendations many of which are good, peppered with a few turkeys. The Last Mrs Parish is the most badly written book I’ve ever read. The Giver of Stars was also so not worth the hype. I couldn’t wait for it to end.

Ask Again Yes is superb and Such a Fun Age is too.

I’ve just recently finished it and loved it. It’s a brilliant book, beautifully written.

Gosh, I got it ages ago from my Mum and struggled to finish it.
I thought her descriptions of nature were wonderful - so lyrical.
But, the people? No, didn't do it for me, and I couldn't finish it as I was so frustrated with the writing.

I read it after seeing it on here. Tesco had it cheap. I bought Educated, by Tara Westover as well.
It was okay, but I prefer what I am reading now, which is Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng.
MN is great to recommendations. I use the What we’re reading thread on my phone at the library when looking for books.