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laurak483's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Child death and Domestic abuse
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Murder
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
lizsim's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, and Blood
mittan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, and Grief
Minor: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, and Injury/Injury detail
rly's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Moderate: Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
lexcellent's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
sharakins'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Rape, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
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
grunbean's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
The last few chapters couldn't be put down. Some parts of the ending didn't make the most sense to me, but there were interesting choices that could see coming from the clues.
I think the characters and the care and depth with which they were written is the best part. Sometimes it can be overwhelming when you have lots of different perspectives, but I feel this author balances it well. Some characters I love and feel sympathy for, and some I am apathetic for. But those I had apathy for were still interesting to read!
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, and Alcohol
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, and Blood
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Rape
tofulibrarian'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
4.75
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Infidelity, Rape, and Murder