Question

Did where the crawdads sing follow the book

Answer 1

No, Where The Crawdads Sing didn’t completely follow the book, as there are some differences between them, in the book the role of Kya’s parents is large and the author gives them a long backstory, while in the film they have limited scenes, also in the film Kya manages to have a deal with one of wildlife reference books’ publisher in the film's first half thanks to Tate, while in the book she becomes an author  two years later after Tate disappeared off her life and returned again, also Kya’s reveal of Chase’s engagement is less dramatic in the book than the movie, another difference that Tate’s appearance in the movie was less than the book, as in the movie he disappears and comes at the end of it, but in the book his role was larger, as Kya gave him her first published book,  he visited her at the prison, and after she got free, they lived together until they became old, and the last difference is that in the novel Kya has a nickname which is Amanda Hamilton, and she used it to publish poems, among them was a poem where she admitted to Chase’s murder, while in the film, this nickname is never mentioned, and Tate knew about the crime of Kya from the shell necklace, which she gifted to Chase, and disappeared after his murder, but Tate found it in Kya’s old notebook.