Crawdads is primarily this: a depiction of life lived on one’s own terms. And in that way, it is very well done. Kya’s story prompts the reader to ask big questions. For example, questions about the interactions of economic disparities and race, the trade-offs between living on your own terms and living in dangerous isolation, the merits of formal education versus an education through experience with the natural world, and how the pursuit of a higher understanding of our world can results in a higher understanding of ourselves.