The book was selected for Reese Witherspoon's book club in September 2018[9] and for Barnes & Noble's Best Books of 2018.[10]
By December 2019, the book had sold over 4.5 million copies, and it sold more print copies in 2019 than any other adult title, fiction or non-fiction.[11][12] It topped The New York Times Fiction Best Sellers of 2019 and The New York Times Fiction Best Sellers of 2020.[13][14] By February 2022, the book had spent 150 weeks on the best seller list.[15] By April 2022, the book had sold 12 million copies;[16] by July 2022, 15 million copies;[17] and by April 2023, 18 million copies,[18] making it one of the best-selling books of all time.[19][20][21][22]
Since "crawdad" is a regional term, it sparked a rise in online queries about the word's meaning.[23]
Aspects of Kya's life and the novel's narrative choices, including its attitude towards its Black characters, are said to be reminiscent of Owens' time in Zambia, where she, her then husband, and his son are still wanted for questioning in the killing of a poacher captured on film in a 1996 report by ABC News. Owens is not a suspect, but is considered a potential witness, co-conspirator, and accessory to felony crimes.[24]
