Reviews tagging 'Death'

THE BOX IN THE WOODS by Maureen Johnson

91 reviews

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

vlntnmz's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Death, Drug use, Medical content, and Panic attacks/disorders

daria3's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Murder

Moderate: Blood

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders

meow_gal's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny informative mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Car accident, and Drug use

rhguerrero's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Violence, Murder, Gun violence, Death, Cursing, Car accident, and Blood

car5o's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense 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 and Death

linesiunderline's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Stevie, I will follow you wherever you go next.

So there you have it, in a nutshell. Readers of the original trilogy will find a lot to love in this standalone adjacent novel. The quick humour, sharp writing, tight and tense structure - it worked brilliantly in the first books and Johnson is back at it here.

Things I would have liked to see:
• more of the sections revealing details from the past narrative - as the novel went on they were more spread apart and I found those sections added a lot of tension and excitement 
• an even stronger sense of place - I wished that the camp could have come across as vividly as Ellingham does in the original books
• more scenes featuring Stevie with  the side character friends because the friendship dynamic is so well done

Very satisfying - more Stevie please!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders

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