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allysw's review
4.0
I was worried, at first, that this book was going to be another run-of-the-mill boarding school tale. Not so. The mystery is convoluted enough to keep things interesting, but not too complicated. But the characters are the real triumph. Cally is fantastic. She's just edgy enough to be considered strange at St. Bede's, but not so weird that she would be too quirky in the background that she's used to. The revolving door of stereotypical St. Bede's girls--Noel/Helen/Freddy/Pigeon--are almost indistinguishable from one another, which seems to be the point. Templeman has written a smart, interesting book for young adults that will be enjoyed by all ages. Can't wait to add this one to my collection so that patrons of all ages can enjoy it!
operasara's review
5.0
The Little Woods by McCormick Templeman follows Cally who is new at St Bede's academy, the place where Cally's sister went missing years before. Cally finds out when she moves into her room that the girl whose bed she is sleeping in disappeared earlier in the year. Callie makes her way through the politics of private school dealing with friends, romance while trying to figure out the mystery of the missing girls.
I didn't expect much when I started the book but I've always been a fan of boarding school books so I gave it a try and was pleasantly surprised. I found myself engrossed and entertained even thinking about the mystery when I put the book down. Cally was an interesting character, a quirky girl on the outskirts of the social scene. This is a fun and creepy book that older teens will enjoy.
Appropriateness: This book is full of adult content. There are a lot of drunken parties and there is a lot of pot smoking and talk of other drugs, casual sex (with a condom), cheating and a teacher/student relationship. Our main character for the most part stays away from the alcohol and drugs, making excuses to not drink and drinking small amounts so others don't know she's not drinking. I would recommend this book to readers 16+ and use the book as a starting point for a discussion on peer pressure.
I didn't expect much when I started the book but I've always been a fan of boarding school books so I gave it a try and was pleasantly surprised. I found myself engrossed and entertained even thinking about the mystery when I put the book down. Cally was an interesting character, a quirky girl on the outskirts of the social scene. This is a fun and creepy book that older teens will enjoy.
Appropriateness: This book is full of adult content. There are a lot of drunken parties and there is a lot of pot smoking and talk of other drugs, casual sex (with a condom), cheating and a teacher/student relationship. Our main character for the most part stays away from the alcohol and drugs, making excuses to not drink and drinking small amounts so others don't know she's not drinking. I would recommend this book to readers 16+ and use the book as a starting point for a discussion on peer pressure.
heykellyjensen's review
2.0
The longer I think about this one, the more disappointed I am in it. This story is contrived to the point that even when all of the pieces come together at the end, the plot holes and character holes are more gaping.
Ten years ago, Cally's sister and her best friend died after spending the night on the campus of St. Bede's academy (her sister's friend, Laurel, was the daughter of one of the teachers and that gave them free reign to stay there that evening). Now, Cally's decided mid-way through the semester that she's going to attend St. Bede's -- the same out-of-state, private academy where her sister had died -- and she's taking up residence in the dorm where Iris had lived. Iris who just months before "disappeared," and who many believe was killed by Helen, Iris's former/Cally's current roommate.
The story is set against the backdrop of these mysterious woods. They were on fire the night that Cally's sister died and they're where Iris had supposedly disappeared.
So while Cally's at school, she's meeting a whole host of characters. There's the girls who I can't tell apart but who are all pretty shady, then there are the two boys, Jack and Alex. I don't understand why there was ever a need to introduce a love triangle because it didn't amp up tension or suspicion about who committed crimes here at all. Instead, it was distracting and the sex was poorly written, uninteresting, and didn't advance the characters. These relationships were flat and cliche and felt like they were trying way too hard (they weren't even there for shock factor because there's virtually no on-screen time for intimacy). What these romances did seem to do was rouse suspicion of the girls in the story for Cally -- that is, it was an opportunity for her to reconsider whether these girls were good people or bad people, based on whether Jack or Alex had been cheating on her with them/if they were hiding it from her. That was one of the biggest problems in this book: the only way most of these characters are defined is through their relationship to these boys. It didn't make sense why they were the ones she trusted from the start and why she let the one good character fly under her radar. Cally was inconsistent.
Then there's the drug use, which never once felt authentic or real. It felt cliched and honestly,. Likewise, I found the big reveal/potential non-reveal of Iris's back story to be more about shock value than about who she was as a person. It's never clear if what Helen and Noel say happened with her really happened, but either way, it didn't work for me. .
The Little Woods felt like it wanted to do a lot of what Erin Saldin does more successfully in The Girls of No Return: offer up characters whose intentions and back stories are unclear but who are stuck together in a remote place where bad things happen. Except in this story, the whole reason Cally attends St Bede's in the first place is contrived, and that no one questions why she was doing it was bizarre. The dark and haunting elements never coalesced here. Moreover, Cally's voice isn't all that memorable to me; what's sticking out is how much I had to suspend my belief.
While the story had a lot of problematic aspects, I thought the writing itself was nice. The pacing was right, despite the things that didn't work, and I do think there will be readers who will dig this. But I guess my biggest concern is that this is the kind of story that would work well for younger YA readers, yet the "shock" elements and the writing itself -- which at times borders on using really sophisticated language (a product of Cally's education and character, so it's not problematic in and of itself) -- are going to be too mature.
I'm bummed because this had all of the makings for something great, but it instead fell into many of the tropes that make these kinds of stories cliched. It just tried too hard.
Ten years ago, Cally's sister and her best friend died after spending the night on the campus of St. Bede's academy (her sister's friend, Laurel, was the daughter of one of the teachers and that gave them free reign to stay there that evening). Now, Cally's decided mid-way through the semester that she's going to attend St. Bede's -- the same out-of-state, private academy where her sister had died -- and she's taking up residence in the dorm where Iris had lived. Iris who just months before "disappeared," and who many believe was killed by Helen, Iris's former/Cally's current roommate.
The story is set against the backdrop of these mysterious woods. They were on fire the night that Cally's sister died and they're where Iris had supposedly disappeared.
So while Cally's at school, she's meeting a whole host of characters. There's the girls who I can't tell apart but who are all pretty shady, then there are the two boys, Jack and Alex. I don't understand why there was ever a need to introduce a love triangle because it didn't amp up tension or suspicion about who committed crimes here at all. Instead, it was distracting and the sex was poorly written, uninteresting, and didn't advance the characters. These relationships were flat and cliche and felt like they were trying way too hard (they weren't even there for shock factor because there's virtually no on-screen time for intimacy).
Spoiler
There's unnecessary grief sex, too.Then there's the drug use, which never once felt authentic or real. It felt cliched and honestly,
Spoiler
the fact that Asta was tripping when the kids drowned was SUCH A LETDOWN to the entire mystery. It was bad enough that the suspect/murderer was obvious from the beginning, but the reason why it happened was disappointingSpoiler
There's also the whole puzzle box subplot which felt tacked on. It helped out in the big reveal a little but the way it was introduced in the first place was a bit sloppyThe Little Woods felt like it wanted to do a lot of what Erin Saldin does more successfully in The Girls of No Return: offer up characters whose intentions and back stories are unclear but who are stuck together in a remote place where bad things happen. Except in this story, the whole reason Cally attends St Bede's in the first place is contrived, and that no one questions why she was doing it was bizarre. The dark and haunting elements never coalesced here. Moreover, Cally's voice isn't all that memorable to me; what's sticking out is how much I had to suspend my belief.
While the story had a lot of problematic aspects, I thought the writing itself was nice. The pacing was right, despite the things that didn't work, and I do think there will be readers who will dig this. But I guess my biggest concern is that this is the kind of story that would work well for younger YA readers, yet the "shock" elements and the writing itself -- which at times borders on using really sophisticated language (a product of Cally's education and character, so it's not problematic in and of itself) -- are going to be too mature.
I'm bummed because this had all of the makings for something great, but it instead fell into many of the tropes that make these kinds of stories cliched. It just tried too hard.
maddiestar's review
2.0
I tried- I really did- the mystery sounded so good! Everything else was 🙄
chrissyfiction's review
5.0
The Little Woods is a fantastic novel which introduces readers to a 17 year old junior named Calista Wood, who goes by Cally. Cally goes to a boarding school known as St.Bede's Academy, half way through the school year. Behind the boarding school is a small woods which people say are haunted. Discovering that students have disappeared from the academy, Cally drives herself to figure out the mystery. The Little Woods was certainly a very enjoyable book. The storyline is full of twists and turns, and takes you on a wild ride. I didn't want to put the book down to go to bed. This book certainly deserves 5 stars!
foreveryoungadult's review
Graded By: Jenny
Cover Story: Lovely
BFF Charm: Maybe
Swoonworthy Scale: 5?
Talky Talk: Edgy
Bonus Factors: Mystery, Boarding School, Puzzles
Relationship Status: I Probably Won't Get Asked Back Next Semester
Read the full book report here.
Cover Story: Lovely
BFF Charm: Maybe
Swoonworthy Scale: 5?
Talky Talk: Edgy
Bonus Factors: Mystery, Boarding School, Puzzles
Relationship Status: I Probably Won't Get Asked Back Next Semester
Read the full book report here.
folklaureate's review
2.0
More reviews at Rondo of a Possible World: YA Book Reviews
Mystery and thrillers are tough books for me to get into, not because I don't like the genre, I enjoy a good thriller or mystery for that matter, it's just that The Little Woods failed to really get me into the story and what really failed to do so was the characters.
Good character development is a major factor that drives a book home. Cally, our main character, was one that I couldn't find myself connecting with, couldn't find myself wanting to know about her story. Getting a feel of who she is was difficult with her personality. A barrier between me, the reader, and her was set through the entirety of the novel and I just couldn't enjoy the book while knowing that I didn't know anything about the main character. Twists and turns aside. The lack of connection just didn't make this book anything for me to like or remember, and I wish that there was something or someone that I could have enjoyed reading about but there wasn't. It was a plot oriented book with paper cutouts of characters.
Final Summation: For a mystery novel The Little Woods does entertain in some aspects but the fact that I couldn't connect with any of the characters, especially the main character, everything else in the book fell flat for me.
Mystery and thrillers are tough books for me to get into, not because I don't like the genre, I enjoy a good thriller or mystery for that matter, it's just that The Little Woods failed to really get me into the story and what really failed to do so was the characters.
Good character development is a major factor that drives a book home. Cally, our main character, was one that I couldn't find myself connecting with, couldn't find myself wanting to know about her story. Getting a feel of who she is was difficult with her personality. A barrier between me, the reader, and her was set through the entirety of the novel and I just couldn't enjoy the book while knowing that I didn't know anything about the main character. Twists and turns aside. The lack of connection just didn't make this book anything for me to like or remember, and I wish that there was something or someone that I could have enjoyed reading about but there wasn't. It was a plot oriented book with paper cutouts of characters.
Final Summation: For a mystery novel The Little Woods does entertain in some aspects but the fact that I couldn't connect with any of the characters, especially the main character, everything else in the book fell flat for me.
fictionaladventures's review
1.0
I'M SO GLAD TO BE DONE WITH THIS.
This book was terrible. You don't have to listen to me though - it's just my opinion.
I say that because, technically, there was nothing wrong with it. The writing was fine, it was believable enough. It just didn't work for me. My two biggest problems were:
1.) There were way too many characters. It was really difficult to remember who everyone was, and even in the last few pages I would be like, "Who the heck is that??"
2.) The love triangle was TERRIBLE!
I usually like triangles, but in this it really repulsed me. Because it wasn't just her trying to decide between the two guys - she actually led them both on. There was way too much cheating going on in this book for me (practically every couple is cheating), and it was super boring.
That is all.
This book was terrible. You don't have to listen to me though - it's just my opinion.
I say that because, technically, there was nothing wrong with it. The writing was fine, it was believable enough. It just didn't work for me. My two biggest problems were:
1.) There were way too many characters. It was really difficult to remember who everyone was, and even in the last few pages I would be like, "Who the heck is that??"
2.) The love triangle was TERRIBLE!
I usually like triangles, but in this it really repulsed me. Because it wasn't just her trying to decide between the two guys - she actually led them both on.
Spoiler
And in the end she didn't even end up with either of them! What a waste.That is all.
lpcoolgirl's review
5.0
Really enjoyable book, and a pretty good ending, a mix of happy and sad, and yeah, good book!
lavenderrreads's review
2.0
2.5
Was expecting this to be creepier than it turned out to be. The story focused more on high school drama than the actual "mystery."
Was expecting this to be creepier than it turned out to be. The story focused more on high school drama than the actual "mystery."