Delia Owens has created a modern American classic. Readers will be drawn into the story of the “Marsh Girl” and her life from childhood to young adulthood. It is a story of prejudice and misunderstanding, romantic delusions and the beauty and cruelty of the natural world.

Set in coastal North Carolina, we return to the early to late 1960’s. The marsh provides protection and fascination to our sensitive and intelligent heroine, Kaya. She learns to live alone and thrive with little human contact after being abandoned by her family at ten. But loneliness and heartbreak in love drives her from the safety of what she knows into the surrounding community and unknown dangers.

The first part of the book reads like “Tom Sawyer”, complete with hokey dialogue, fascinating wildlife (crawdads = crayfish) and conventional, small-minded locals. The second part of the book reads like “To Kill a Mockingbird” with a more adult “civilized” tone, complete with a down-home defense lawyer, incompetent law enforcement, and a zealous prosecutor.

I love water, the ocean and wildlife, so the author had me hooked from page one. I also like reading about people (even fictional) who resist conforming to societal norms and expectations. The surprise ending caught me completely off guard, but it makes plodding through the court proceedings worth it.

The novel succeeded at drawing me back to the wonder of childhood. I highly recommend it.