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dawnrw's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Blood, and Vomit
Moderate: Child death and Alcohol
deerojyma's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Minor: Addiction, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Dementia, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Alcohol
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
sarahbsews's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Drug use
Minor: Blood, Vomit, 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
loudkidatthelibrary'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
4.0
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Classism
Minor: Child death and Vomit
krandelzhofer's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Grief
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
carousel's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Child death and Death
Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, and Alcohol
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Vomit, Dementia, and Lesbophobia
audgiereads'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Animal death, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
marilululu's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Homophobia
Minor: Drug use, Vomit, Abandonment, and Colonisation