Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

In a small town on the South Carolina Coast in the 60s and thereabouts, Kya Clark lives, first with her dysfunctional family and then alone, in a run-down cabin on many acres surrounded by a marsh. Despite being ostracized by the townspeople and ridiculed by other children her age, Kya figures out how to survive and support herself in the marsh, and then with the help of a very few trusted others, she learns how to educate herself as well.

The story is rich with the natural details of marsh plants and wildlife and contains a mystery or two and a few twists as well. I loved the focus on nature. I also liked Kya's fierce attitude toward most humans and the evolution towards limited trust, along with the deep joy and dedication she felt toward the marsh and its creatures.

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Eventide by Christine Allen-Riley

Published October 20, 2014 5/5 Stars Devon Greer’s world is shattered when a tragic car accident takes her best friend, Rachael. Miserable with grief, Devon attempts to adjust to this new, hostile reality, in which the kids at school (and most of Rachael’s family) blame Devon for Rachael’s death, since Devon was driving the car that fateful night. Not long after the accident, Devon has reason to question her own sanity when she sees Rachael running through the woods next to the road near the accident site. Upon investigating, Devon finds there are more creatures living in the woods than just wildlife, and she begins to believe there’s a chance to rescue Rachael from them and bring her back. Will Devon and Jonah – Rachael’s cousin who has discovered the secret in the woods as well, and who is developing tender feelings for Devon – be able to rescue Rachael before it’s too late? Allen-Riley has taken the wild and beautiful forests and waters of Michigan’s

Brown Dog by Jim Harrison

The character of Brown Dog is the Upper Peninsula of Michigan's Siddhartha. Brown Dog is always on the lookout for a good fishing river, a night of carnal pleasure, or an odd job that pays enough to buy a six-pack. He is happiest when he is in the woods of Michigan and flying under society's radar. He is a flawed every-man with simple tastes and a pure heart whose bare-knuckled fighting skills, occasional poor judgment, and adherence to his own set of rules rather than the law of the land often land him in one sort of trouble or another. He does his very best to take care of those who can't take care of themselves, even when he's having a hard time meeting his own needs. This book collects all of the various Brown Dog novellas into one (along with one new B.D. novella) so lovers of Brown Dog can immerse themselves in his off-kilter hero's journey. I am so fond of the character of Brown Dog. As someone who has lived in and has strong memories of the U.P., I

Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver

In a sentence, this book is about love, loss, and the environment. It's made up of the stories of three women who are living in a small struggling area of farmland at the base of a mountain in southern Appalachia. A wildlife biologist lives a reclusive life in a rustic mountain cabin, observing a newly-arrived pack of coyotes, until a young hunter interrupts her solitude. An entomologist from the city moves to the small town for love, and eventually has to decide whether to stay and care for the land she's come to love and become part of the large farming family or go back to the city. Just down the road, sparks fly as a couple of elderly neighbors – one with an organically grown apple orchard and the other with a dream to repopulate a decimated species of chestnut tree – feud over how to care for the land. Over the course of a summer, the three determined women fight for what they want and discover how they are connected. I really loved this book. Its pace is languorou

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