You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Scan barcode
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
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
kfkeene's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Classism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Lesbophobia
ashrad'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
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Body shaming, Infidelity, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
percab3ths'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
5.0
Going into this book, I had no idea what the plot was. Characters, setting, relationships. I went in completely blind. All I know was that this book was set at a summer camp, surrounded by the mystery of one family with generations long problems. That is ALL I knew.
I came across this book thanks to a YouTube video by one of my favorite book channels to watch. It was on her ‘honorable mentions’ list of 2024, the book she opened the video with actually, and I was immediately taken by the way she’d described it.
I’m still processing what I’ve read. Maybe I’ll be able to articulate my words better when the shock of reading this absolute masterpiece wears off.
From the characters (Louise, Bear and Tracy my beloved, you deserve the world), to the INSANELY clever plot; everything was so thought out—The Van Laar family history, the character backgrounds, the setting that provided so much mystery and intrigue, you had absolutely zero idea what you were getting yourself into walking into those woods—The way that NO CHARACTER was useless, every person named provided a crucial piece of information.
We need more Liz Moores in the world. And god forgive me that I hadn’t picked this book up sooner.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Moderate: Body shaming
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
ladybug12793'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
3.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Dementia, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Lesbophobia, Abandonment, Dysphoria, and Classism
snowydaze'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
4.25
Graphic: Gaslighting
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Drug use, Sexual content, Violence, Vomit, Medical trauma, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
hwilcove's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Child abuse and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
sjanke2'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? It's complicated
4.75
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
jw000'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
4.75
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, and Classism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Lesbophobia, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Minor: Animal cruelty