Ahhh I loved this so much. The audiobook also extremely increased my enjoyment and the experience of reading this book because Kya was narrated so well, and the accents were so well done that it just heightened immersion for me. (I also really wish I would've been able to read this closer together, but the audiobook is so long that that was never really possible, but it would've made it even more heartbreaking, I think).

A lot of people would call this book slow, and it is, but it's also so much better for being slow. The author didn't try and insert needless action or moments of exaggerated excitement and the book was better for it, it felt raw and beautiful and real. This book was simply the story of Kya, of a marsh girl abandoned by everyone but the swamp she lives in, a girl who learns to rely on herself (and only herself). The small town near her swamp is filled with such harsh prejudges against 'swamp people', to such an extent that Kya only lasts one day in school as a young child, even though the school promised knowledge and warm food (two things lacking in her life up until that point). The story of how, with the help of very few, she teaches herself both to survive and thrive alone in her marsh with her collections and creatures, was heartbreaking.

The added court trial and potential murder of Chase Andrews, a story that's weaved in alternating chapters of Kya growing up, added intrigue and tension that otherwise might've been missing, and is a constant push to keep reading even when the story doesn't necessarily feel like it's going anywhere (which is often an issue to make some readers stop). Watching the trial progress alongside learning about Kya and her life made some moments even more heartbreaking and tense, and there were definitely scenes where I was so tense I couldn't breath, so worried that the prejudices against Kya would win out and they would kill her for being a marsh girl, for not being 'one of them' (even though they were the ones who never let her learn how to in the first place).

I also really loved how this story was written. The prose was beautiful, and I'd repeat lines in my head sometimes after having heard them. Owens did a fantastic job of making Kya's loneliness and sadness feel real and tangible, something the reader could understand and even feel alongside Kya. We hurt when

Spoiler

Tate left her, when her father read the note and shifted back to his drunk self and left, when Chase took advantage of her

It was all just so wonderfully well done and well written.

All in all, I loved this (and honestly fully expected to, this is a well-loved book among my book club), and I'll definitely be reading other books by Owens in the future! (And definitely listen to the audiobook if that's your thing!)