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vireogirl'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? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism
Moderate: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
nicolestegall'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
5.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Child death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, and Death of parent
caitlin_bookchats's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child death and Domestic abuse
Minor: Alcoholism, Sexual violence, and Death of parent
maeflwr's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child death and Grief
Moderate: Drug use and Gaslighting
Minor: Domestic abuse, Vomit, Death of parent, and Lesbophobia
literary_liv'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: Addiction, Child death, Death, Blood, Grief, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Blood, Dementia, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Classism
Minor: Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, and Sexual content
samgyupsal'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Drug use, Dementia, and Death of parent
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Alcohol
Minor: Animal death
greenlivingaudioworm'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
3.0
To panic, said T.J., was to make an enemy of the forest. To stay calm was to be its friend.
I had high hopes for this book. I saw it being recommended all over the place this summer by people whose book recommendations I typically enjoy. Plus I liked Moore’s first book, Long Bright River, so I figured I would enjoy this one too. BONUS: Reading it the week of Halloween? A slam dunk, surely.
NOPE.
To be fair, I think a lot of this was due to the fact I listened to this book instead of physically reading it. As a voracious audiobook listener, there aren’t many audiobook experiences where I will gladly admit the physical form of the book is better. This is one of those times.
Please, just pick it up. Sure, there’s a map at the beginning, but more importantly, as the book goes on, at the beginning of each chapter, it outlines where at in the story you are. There are so many timelines to keep track of and honestly, it became a little overwhelming and confusing. I relistened to so much of this book to try and figure out where I was and I finally just gave up and hoped for the best. This truly impacted my enjoyment of the book and I think I would have liked this book so much more if I actually read it.
On a separate note, for a book that was sold to me as a mystery worth reading, I found the ending of both mysteries (two siblings disappearing many years apart) to be so much of a let down. I don’t want to say too much more than that for fear of spoiling the book, but dang. Not at all what I was looking for when I signed up to read this one.
One character I really liked was Judyta (Judy). What a strong female character and a strong woman in a time when women weren’t respected for doing their jobs correctly and doing their jobs well. She also was so incredibly brave when it came to standing up for herself and her independence with her parents. I loved every single chapter I got to read where we followed Judy’s journey as an investigator looking into Barbara’s disappearance. There’s just something about strong female characters, especially set in a historical time where they aren’t seen as equal, that makes me love a book.
Fingers crossed you’ll like this book more if you physically read it. 🤞🏼
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
atalea's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism
Moderate: Animal death, Infidelity, Sexual content, Dementia, and Pregnancy
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Fatphobia, Incest, Self harm, Blood, and Death of parent
booksbytheglass's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
liz moore’s writing is so enchanting and haunting, especially on the subject of two disappearances in the same family, fifteen years apart from one another. the setting of a summer camp was eerily spooky, perfect for this time of year, and gave all of the nostalgia for youth and nativity.
what didn’t work for me was the ultimate conclusion. for a multi-layered, dual timeline, family crossed mystery, the way that it wrapped up was very anticlimactic. I wanted a larger reveal that had complications throughout the entire family and surroundings, rather than a coverup that was much smaller than anticipated. and while I loved the conversation of gender roles during the time period of the 1970s, it didn’t contribute much to the mystery at hand.
I feel that this story falls victim once again to the mismarketing of genres (this is a publisher not an author critique!)… this is most certainly NOT a thriller and instead leans more into the family drama aspects rather than a mystery at all…
for a 500 page book though, it certainly read very quickly with short chapters (which is my weakness)! loved buddy reading this one with my pal ashley!
rating: 3.5 stars
wine pairing: sonoma coast chardonnay
Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Sexism, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Death of parent
infusionofviolets's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Drug abuse, Physical abuse, and Classism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Death, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail