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Jun 27, 2020IndyPL_SteveB rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
This is primarily a story about the survival and eventual maturation of Kya, a girl who was abandoned by her mother at age 6 and by the rest of her family over the next couple of years. She grows up in a marshland in North Carolina, near the ocean, and learns to take care of herself. But it is also a murder mystery, about a murder which takes place many years later. Kya’s life and the murder investigation form two distinct timelines, which are explored early in the book. We know who the victim is right away and we assume that there will be a connection with Kya. This future murder hangs over young Kya’s story like a boulder hanging over a house. The writing itself is beautiful. Owens is a biologist herself, and her ability to draw us into the life of the marsh is powerful. Kya learns about the ways of the world from her observations of the natural life around her and makes frequent comparisons with the ways of humans as she learns about them. But this is contrasted by Kya’s experience of abandonment, first by her family, and secondly by other men in her life. The marsh and the ocean, and especially the birds which inhabit them, seem like the most important constants for her and the only things which can compensate for her deep loneliness. While I was in many ways mesmerized by this book, I don’t think the author gave us enough detail for us to believe how Kya was able to survive on her own as a young child. And I don’t think the author thought through the murder investigation very well. Even with those misgivings, I enjoyed the book very much. Narrator Cassandra Campbell handles the nature description and young Kya well, but she fails to make Kya sound older as time goes by. That becomes a distraction.