Where the Crawdads Sing, published in 2018, tells the story of a 1950s North Carolina town that accuses the mysterious "Marsh Girl," Kya Clark, of a local celebrity's murder. According to author Delia Owens, the text explores " how isolation affects a person." Owens spent ten years writing the book, which is her debut novel.
Where the Crawdads Sing was released to critical acclaim, earning a spot on Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine Book Club in September 2018 and on Barnes & Noble's Best Books of 2018. However, some readers criticized the text's stereotypical portrayals of black characters.
On July 15th, 2022, a film adaptation of the novel, directed by Olivia Newman and starring Daisy Edgar-Jones, was released to popular acclaim.
