Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - El dios de los bosques

An enjoyable and plot heavy book about a missing teenage girl at a summer camp in the woods. Although the characters are fairly one dimensional, the book is intricately plotted with lots of characters, reveals, and hidden details. The book is full of twists and like any book where there are lots of twists and turns, how much you like or dislike certain twists can really impact how you enjoy the book.

The most engaging parts of the story are the investigation surrounding the disappearance of the girl, but there is lot of plot dedicated to the back story of many of the character 15 years before this book takes place. These sections are more character focused with some investigative plot elements, and do a lot of heavy lifting setting up the major themes of the book, namely what is "Self Reliance," the despicableness of the wealthy, and the virtues of "the poor people." I think that this book maybe fetishizes the poor and downtrodden more than necessary, and the themes of wealth inequality are a little on the nose, making its message a little messy.

Overall, an engaging mystery read with some heavy handed class inequality messaging that gets to make fun of Emerson. I think this book would ever be interesting to reread due to the large number of small references, connections, and hidden information that is hidden from the reader the first time through.

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rly's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

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lexcellent's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

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chelsn99's review against another edition

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mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This was definitely a fun and winding read. The story follows a wealthy family whose young son disappears over 10 years ago and in the present time (1975), their daughter also mysteriously vanishes, leaving everyone pondering whether or not these two cases are linked. Moore definitely did a good job of leading the reader down rabbit holes and teasing the final reveal.

The story is told through multiple perspectives, which are broken down into 6 different time frames. I see the logic for why the storytelling was framed this way, but as a reader, I was also left frustrated at times because as soon as a perspective got interesting or something was about to be revealed, the POV shifted to a different person or time. Definitely kept me on the edge of my seat trying to guess what comes next.

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grunbean's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

This book feels like a trip in to the woods, with the twists and turns that come with the trees. I wouldn't call this dark, but a step in to the shade. A lot of dark themes are touched on, but it stays on the periphery. I think a deeper exploration could have brought this higher, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.

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!

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dingadine's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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gkaltam's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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? No

4.0

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