Reviews tagging 'Child death'

The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson

44 reviews

briely's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Murder

Minor: Child death, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, and Car accident

manarnia's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I love Stevie Bell, and it was very fun and exciting to read a standalone mystery of hers.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Gun violence, Blood, Car accident, Child death, Death, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence

Moderate: Cursing

Minor: Alcohol and Medical content

yvonne_cl's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Child death, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Alcohol

libraryghost's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Child death and Car accident

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Blood

thedandybrambler's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I finished the final book in the original Truly Devious trilogy around this time last year, and did so with a sense of disappointment. Maureen Johnson manages to wrap up an interesting, winding mystery into to the lives of funny, diverse and complex young adults. The Box In The Woods was not only a brilliant read because it allowed me to dive back into the lives of Stevie, David, Janelle and Nate but also or because it is genuinely an interesting mystery, but also because it’s wide array of LGBTQ+ characters is rare in any book, especially when their sexuality or gender orientation don’t become their overriding personality trait. Johnson has created an array of complex, well rounded well adults who are a pleasure to read about, regardless of what mysteries they’re solving. 

But perhaps the best part of finishing this book is that

Nate finally finishes his

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Child death, Death, Drug use, and Gore

Minor: Hate crime, Homophobia, and Slavery

stardustandrockets's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I don't know if I'm bad a guessing who dunnit in mystery novels or if Mauree Johnson is that good at keeping me guessing the entire time (probably the latter, but I may need to read more mysteries to find out), but I didn't see the murderer coming. I had zero ideas.

That being said, a few parts were a little choppy as far as how Stevie came up with her info and put everything together, but I felt that way with the other three books as well. I really enjoyed the summer camp vibe even though Stevie didn't partake in much of it (she was too busy trying to solve a murder). There was a lot less of the past POV entwined with the present, but that makes sense all things considered. I do hope we get more Stevie Bell mysteries (I enjoy the characters the most, especially David), but the ending was nice for this stand-alone book. No cliffhangers like the first two.

Highly recommend reading this one (and Truly Devious) if you're a mystery fan or trying to find your way into the mystery genre.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Drug use, Car accident, Child death, and Violence

Minor: Homophobia, Gun violence, Grief, Medical content, and Suicide

Nazis, anxiety

beca_reads's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This was a nice follow up to the previous three Truely Devious books. It was nice to be back with Stevie and her friends solving another case. The book was full of twists and kept me gripped right to the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Murder, and Violence

junefish's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Child death, Death, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Drug use, Medical content, and Gun violence

Minor: Homophobia, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, and Infidelity

kayladaila's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Stevie Bell goes undercover as a camp counselor to solve a decades old murder. This was a laugh-out-loud funny little stand-alone mystery with almost all our favorite Truly Devious characters back! Maureen Johnson continues to write fairly accurate adolescent prodigies, as readers will see Stevie torn between solving the murders and pining for David. The story of this one was definitely riveting and I hope there are more stand-alone Stevie Bell mysteries!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Grief, Gun violence, Death of parent, Car accident, and Child death

Minor: Drug use, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Panic attacks/disorders

skudiklier's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Another amazing mystery with Stevie Bell! I've never thought of myself as a mystery fan by any means, but between the Truly Devious series and this new book, I'm wondering if I need to rethink that stance. This book just flies by in the best way. Everything about it is good, from the pacing to the characters to the conclusion. As long as Maureen Johnson writes books like these, I'll keep reading them. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual content, Medical content, Homophobia, Gun violence, Drug use, Child death, Car accident, and Alcohol

Non-spoiler version: holocaust mention Spoiler version (really don't read this if you don't want it ruined)::

the murderer is a literal nazi from WWII and hiding this is his primary motivation for the murders central to this book. It doesn't talk much about the specifics of the holocaust or anything though