Books like “Where the Crawdads Sing”? Recommendations for DD

[nationalvelvet]

DD (17) is dyslexic and has never been keen on reading for pleasure (or at all). She is studying sciences and occasionally reads non-fiction science books on things like animal behaviour and ecology, which can be hard going for her even when she’s interested in the subject matter.

She recently surprised herself by reading and enjoying “where the crawdads sing” by Delia Owens, maybe because the natural history element of the storyline appealed to her. I would love some reading recommendations to pass on to her. If you also liked it, what else have you enjoyed recently?

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah. About a 17 ish year old girl who is taken by her parents to live in a shack in Alaska after her dad returns from Vietnam. She has to deal with the extreme environment and her dad's declining mental health due the war. Then she meets a local boy and their romance sets has dramatic consequences for everyone.

Thank you @Creepybookworm That definitely sounds like something she could get into. I’d be a bit concerned about the length - she does find reading quite tiring & might feel daunted starting something that’s over 500 pages. But if she enjoyed it it looks like there’s lots by the same author!

Ring of Brightwater - Gavin Maxwell
My Family and other animals - Gerald Durrell
All creatures great and small

Somehow, I’ve named three books based on real life, but they’re the ones I first thought of.

Call of the Wild

go to a bookshop and look in the YA section.

A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter

The Paper Palace definitely has Crawdad vibes.

Cry of the Kalahari by the same author

Memoirs of a Geisha. An easy read and a page turner.

Flight Behaviour by Barbara Kingsolver might appeal to her. It has a young female protagonist and the science and nature parts are very interesting.

I was going to say Paper Palace too

Thanks all, some great suggestions. Flight behaviour is a really good shout @BrandyandGinger - I read that I while back and I’m sure she’d enjoy it too.

Wild by Cheryl Strayed is an enjoyable memoir about a young woman walking the pacific crest trail by herself. She’s a heroin user at the start of the book, just so you know, but I don’t remember it being particularly dark at all.

I echo Flight Behaviour by Barbara Kingsolver. Love that book.

Remarkable Creatures a novel about Mary Anning (a real person) who spent her life looking for fossils in the 1800s and made amazing discoveries.

There's a film on Netflix called Ammonite, loosely based on Mary Anning's life. I haven't seen it yet but Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan are in it and they're both usually very good.

I have two other suggestion for your daughter, All Over Creation by Ruth Ozeki and Bewilderment by Richard Power. I think they would both appeal to a girl with a interest in science and nature.
I'm putting The Great Unknown on my own to-be-read list. It sounds like exactly my kind of book.

Sorry, The Great Alone.

Miss Benson's beetle is a bit lightweight but fun and chunks are set in nature.

I loved Hannah Kent's books, they are historical and nature centred but maybe a bit miserable.

Has she read Temple Grandin's Animals in translation?

Jodi Piccoult?

Lightweight but fun sounds good! She does tend to get bogged down in quite serious non-fiction and then wonders why she doesn’t enjoy reading… Temple Grandin looks interesting too.

I’ve actually got a Hannah Kent book on my list (burial rites) but have been putting it off because it looks a bit too grim!

Once there were wolves has a similar sort of feel. Set in Scotland and is atmospheric and a there is a murder too

The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy.
Crawdads reminded me of this book, because of the descriptions of the setting (in this case, shrimp fishing on the shores of south carolina). I read it when I was in my late teens/early 20s and loved it.
www.amazon.co.uk/Prince-Tides-Pat-Conroy/dp/0552773581/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1666221172&sr=8-1

Re Burial Rites, I read it recently having read loads of good reviews. I found the whole thing grim and depressing and (spoiler alert) there wasn't a happy ending!

Clicked on to recommend the Great Alone! Also, Burial Rites is beyond grim. Avoid.

Reading Peace like a River - lots of nature but cold Canada - I am enjoying it.

Your DD may like it

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/1472154509/ref=tmmpappswatch0?ie=UTF8&qid=1666355702&sr=8-1