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emygrl99's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Cursing, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexism, Blood, Dementia, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
katharina90's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
Strong sense of place, with parts of the setting taking on a character-like quality (e.g., Self-Reliance house).
Many POVs across time. Having the timeline laid out at the top of every chapter was really helpful.
Both heartbreaking and hopeful. The message I was left with was about living authentically/on your own terms and finding "home" (love, care, belonging) outside of abusive biological family and oppressive societal norms.
"At home in her body, at home in the woods."
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Fatphobia, Rape, and Sexual content
katiecav's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Grief
Moderate: Child death, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Sexual assault, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
kelsieyohe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Moderate: Child death and Murder
Minor: Homophobia and Sexism
aprorrison's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Grief
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Forced institutionalization
miabee12's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Lesbophobia
wisconsingrrrl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Gaslighting
kind_taylor's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Blood, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Body shaming, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, and Gaslighting
deliberate_dreamer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
• Gone Girl-style regionalism/pacing (minus, thankfully, the depths of sadism),
• Baby Sitters’ Club Mystery girl-power nostalgia (leveled up for their original fans now grown),
• Thoreau references to appreciate & chuckle at, and
• multi-decade elite entourages & class commentary à la The Great Gatsby’s Buchanans.
In The God of the Woods, Liz Moore cinematically carries out a solid, multi-perspective, multi-timeline organizational style. Character development balances intentional voice-building with ownership of its clichés. The God of the Woods also nicely works to subvert expectations of the semi-thriller/mystery genre while intuitively exploring generational submission vs. empowerment, as well as issues of patriarchy vs. matriarchy, legacy, classism, mental health, instinct, and closure. I found at least 90% page-turning and worth 4.5+ stars — but at times longed for the author to take more chances or make things messier even more.
Are all of the characters likable? At times, all them I detest; other times, all of them, I appreciate in their own way. All of them earn their keep. As I read, I chuckled often to think to one GoodReads review noting so much dislike for the characters that they declared “Let her be lost; let all of them be lost, actually” (@brend). In answer to that review, I sense this aggravation was intentionally part of Moore’s goal: to generate in us Gatsby-level disgust for the whole lot, yet challenge is to preserve their humanity, too.
All in all, I found this to be an engaging, mostly-satisfying read. It was also the first time my library surprised me a rare “skip-the-line loan” of an e-book, so cool!
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Gaslighting
Minor: Animal death, Confinement, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Murder, Lesbophobia, and Toxic friendship
karaokestar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Moderate: Child death, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Pedophilia, and Alcohol