This month\u2019s book was Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. Two stories are entwined into the main character of Kya, who grows up in the 50s in the marshes of North Carolina. Her mother walks out on her abusive, alcoholic father leaving her youngest child Kaya and her siblings in his care. One by one her siblings leave. There is a short period when her father tries to care for his young daughter, but he soon returns to his drinking and gambling, he abandons Kya leaving the seven-year-old to fend for herself in their remote shack. Ever resourceful, Kya becomes self-sufficient by growing her own vegetables and picking and selling mussels to local trader Jumpin\u2019 and his wife who take her under their wing. Despised by the \u2018respectable\u2019 people of the nearest village where she is known as the filthy \u2018marsh girl\u2019 Kya keeps to herself and avoids going to school. Finding her mother\u2019s water colours Kya paints the flora and fauna of her surroundings. Although illiterate Kya has become a knowledgeable naturalist. As a teenager she becomes friendly with Tate who teaches her to read and write. Kya goes on to write illustrated books on nature and becomes a popular writer. The second part of the story involves Chas a wealthy spoilt boy who takes advantage of her. The story ends with a surprising twist.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s difficult to believe that this brilliantly crafted story is the author\u2019s first novel. It rapidly became a bestseller and is about to be made into a film. It transported us to a different place and time, and we were gripped by the poignant struggles and triumphs of this little girl. Most of us thought it was one of the best books we had read and gave it 9\/10 points.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
OFF THE SHELF Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens This month\u2019s book was Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. Two stories are entwined into the main character of Kya, who grows up in the 50s in the marshes of North Carolina. Her mother walks out on her abusive, alcoholic father leaving her youngest child Kaya and her siblings […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[347],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s6cWjO-9586","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8715,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=8715","url_meta":{"origin":9586,"position":0},"title":"Where the Crawdads Sing\u2019 by Delia Owens","author":"Alan Williams","date":"29th November 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Where the Crawdads Sing\u2019 by Delia Owens After the success of last month\u2019s inaugural Page Turners Walking Books meeting, the group met outside once more, following appropriate social distancing guidelines, to discuss their latest book. The venue this time was Cold Knap in Barry. There were spectacular views across the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Wenvoe Page Turners"","block_context":{"text":"Wenvoe Page Turners","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=41"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/crawdads.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9239,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=9239","url_meta":{"origin":9586,"position":1},"title":"Heroes and Heroines","author":"Alan Williams","date":"3rd March 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cTHE PAGE TURNERS\u201d HEROES AND HEROINES Due to continued Covid restrictions, there was no opportunity for book club members to meet up in February. Instead the Page Turners were set the task to decide who is the greatest hero or heroine they have read about on their literary journeys. Will\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Wenvoe Page Turners"","block_context":{"text":"Wenvoe Page Turners","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=41"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/mockingbird.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":16496,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=16496","url_meta":{"origin":9586,"position":2},"title":"“This Must be the Place” by Maggie O’Farrell","author":"Alan Williams","date":"30th December 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 \"This Must be the Place\" by Maggie O'Farrell If you haven't noticed, it's the award season in the film world with Oscar and Bafta nominations for the best film and TV programmes from 2025 being discussed. To start our December Page Turner meeting, a vote was taken to decide\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "New Items for January 2026"","block_context":{"text":"New Items for January 2026","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=429"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13975,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=13975","url_meta":{"origin":9586,"position":3},"title":"“A Spell of Winter” by Helen Dunmore","author":"Alan Williams","date":"13th February 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"OFF THE SHELF \"A Spell of Winter\" by Helen Dunmore This is an unsettling story of love and betrayal, which is dark and claustrophobic in parts, but a story we all wanted to finish. It is set in turn-of-the-century England, with a Gothic literary genre. Catherine and Rob Allen are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Off The Shelf"","block_context":{"text":"Off The Shelf","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=347"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8061,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=8061","url_meta":{"origin":9586,"position":4},"title":"Falling in Love (Death at La Fenice)","author":"Alan Williams","date":"13th August 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Off The Shelf Falling in Love (Death at La Fenice) \u00a0 Falling in Love (Death at La Fenice) was this month\u2019s book written by American author Donna Leon. Leon lived in Venice for many years and has written a series of crime novels set in and around the city,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Off The Shelf"","block_context":{"text":"Off The Shelf","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=347"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9006,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=9006","url_meta":{"origin":9586,"position":5},"title":"Educated by Tara Westove","author":"Alan Williams","date":"31st January 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"OFF THE SHELF \"EDUCATED \" by Tara Westove Tara Westover tells the story of her family and upbringing in rural Idaho. It is fascinating and at times quite scary. Her father ruled the family, and they were all at the mercy of his extreme ideas. 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