Where the Crawdads Sing
by Delia Owens

Book description from Amazon: For years, rumors 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.
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.

Why does the nominator think this would be a good book for the Campus Read?
A beautifully-told story of a young marsh girl, who lives a life that many others cannot understand, opens the readers eyes to struggles and burdens others carry in this life. This story weaves the young woman’s personal development with the timeline of a murder investigation in a small town in North Carolina. There are many reasons why this would make for a captivating campus read. The main reasons is this:
The story winds biology, water science, romance, isolation, misunderstanding, crime, art, self expression, and human existence together in a way that opens the readers eyes to life around them. In a time of isolation, it seems that we need reminders of human connection more than ever. The main character in this book is disconnected from her family and her community, but she finds a way to connect to the earth. The marsh girl, underestimated and forgotten by many, goes on to illustrate reference books to educate readers on biology (seashells/seabirds). The cohesive way this book addresses culture, humanity, and education will help heal our collective campus as we strive toward strategic goals of diversity, inclusion, community, and understanding.
This book topped The New York Times Fiction Best Sellers of 2019 and The New York Times Fiction Best Sellers of 2020 for a combined 32 non-consecutive weeks. As of late January 2021, the book has spent 124 weeks on the best seller list.