Book: The God of the Woods

The God of the Woods
Liz Moore
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When a teenager vanishes from her Adirondack summer camp, two worlds collide

Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn’t just any thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region’s residents. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found.

As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds. Chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow, Moore’s multi-threaded story invites readers into a rich and gripping dynasty of secrets and second chances. It is Liz Moore’s most ambitious and wide-reaching novel yet.

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I’m starting to feel really impressed by my local library having all these Libby books and audiobooks available - with no waiting time. Or I’m just lucky, and the service is still new so not many people use it, but yeah.

I find there are many unbelievable parts in this book.

Barbara goes missing, and (spoilers) it ended up she went into hiding. Conceptually it’s all fine, but how believable is that? She’s described as being a goth (hair dyed black, black eyeliner) but also skillful in the ways of camping? To me, it feels a bit far fetched.

I got particularly miffed at the Louise’s parts. Well yeah, I really hate it when reading about some innocent being accused, but then honestly Louise wasn’t helping herself either, what with her lying as well.

Overall not a bad read, but I think there were quite a few unnecessary POVs (Tracy’s, for one). Also, the author seemed to be writing all these elaborate scenes, giving lengthy explanations, but then at the end of it… wrapped up pretty quickly. I was like “huh?” And it ended.