Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant

11 reviews

faithsbookreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

Boring, so many slow/irrelevant bits, not thrilling at all. The only thing that made me emotional was Finch running after Cooper. Other than that, I was really disappointed with this book. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Car accident, Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, War, and Confinement

stephanieluxton's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.0

This book isn't really what you think it'll be.
I went in expecting a thriller and some serious dark secrets and maybe horror elements. Not so much.

This book is about Cooper and his daughter, Finch who live together off the grid in a cabin in the woods. They've been there for 8 years since Finch was a baby. Cooper keeps their existence pretty secret for good reasons. Cooper's friend Jake always visits once per year to bring them supplies. This book gives a peak into their lives on a year in which Jake doesn't show up and a series of events jeopordizes the secrecy of their lives. It's not a thriller. There's no horror. It's just about a man coming to terms with the mistakes of his past and trying to figure out how to create a worthy future for his daughter. 

Is it a good book? Yeah, its fine.

It didn't blow my mind but the characters were likeable.

I'm not a huge fan of literary fiction which is why I didn't rate it higher.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and War

Moderate: Confinement, Grief, Car accident, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Death, and Gore

Minor: Animal death, Murder, and Death of parent

bookishchaos's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I really wanted to like this but it was very boring and not well constructed. The writing is like reading a journal, everything is described by the father's perspective, which didn't make any sense. It would have been a lot more interesting if we were reading from Finch/the daughter's POV.  

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Confinement, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Gaslighting and Gun violence

Minor: War

willow_the_wisp's review against another edition

dark mysterious relaxing slow-paced

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

1.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Gun violence, Car accident, Death, and Panic attacks/disorders

katyannreads's review against another edition

mysterious fast-paced

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

3.5

I liked this book. Very atmospheric and I liked the characters. It just wasn’t as *shocking* as many other people are saying. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, War, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Death and Car accident

Minor: Murder

aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

Went into this thinking it was a traditional thriller (like wrong exit) but it wasn't. An atmospheric kind of mystery? centering a father and daughter, why they are there, the father's PTSD of his war experiences, and a lot of other drama and trauma. I think this read pretty quick, I was heavily invested in the story, but I can see some people not really caring about it. It's a lot of back and forth from the father's present day life and his past life.

I bawled like a baby at the end. Not sure if it's because hormones (period is coming) or because the ending really pulled my heart out that much but the waterworks were in full haha 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Kidnapping, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Blood, and Abandonment

shieldbearer's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

• 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

2.0

The ending literally ruined this book in the worst way possible. I'm giving it two stars because the writer is excellent with pacing, and does an excellent job laying groundwork that pays off later in a way that isn't too conspicuous. Unfortunately, the ending makes it clear that most things I really liked about this book are not intentional on the author's part. Literally just end the book when he leaves to drive into town for the last time and your experience will be a million times better. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, Cursing, War, Gun violence, Gore, Mental illness, Blood, Child death, and Car accident

Moderate: Infidelity, Bullying, Animal death, Confinement, Classism, Child abuse, and Terminal illness

Minor: Abortion

Cooper should not be parenting Finch. He is very mentally unwell and the fact that the way it ends is framed as a "happy" ending is very disappointing. I spent the entire book thinking the author had done a wonderful job writing Cooper as an unreliable narrator, his opinions and perceptions tainted by both his biases and his trauma. But no, he's 100% correct about everything and the fact that his daughter has to care for him when he has a panic attack is completely fine. The fact that Finch's grandparents think she's dead at the end is 100% acceptable even though the Big Moral Debate is doing that to another set of parents. Cooper needs help and while I was rooting for them, and I really wanted Finch to stay in the woods- she needs a stable parental figure in her life and that is not Cooper.

sfbookgirl's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• 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

4.0

These Silent Woods is a moving read that consists of both heartbreaking drama and the occasional spooky vibes. Cooper and his young daughter Finch live in a cabin in the middle of nowhere, but readers don’t find out why they are living out there until much later in the story. The father-daughter duo receives supplies from Cooper’s friend Jake once a year, but when Jake doesn’t arrive, Cooper and Finch find themselves in trouble. 

 

I really enjoyed the pacing of the story and the slow unraveling of the truth about Cooper and Finch. This isn’t your typical thriller as it focuses more on the relationship between Cooper and Finch and less emphasis on thriller-y vibes, but I think lovers of thriller books will still enjoy it. While I liked These Silent Woods, it didn’t pack the same punch that I have experienced with other thrillers. The ending wraps up nicely, but I found myself wondering about a secondary character that gets the short end of the stick. Overall, this book gets raving reviews and I would recommend checking it out.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, War, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Kidnapping, Car accident, Gun violence, and Mental illness

onemorepagecrew's review

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

This novel was not what I expected in the most wonderful way.  The story is set in the Appalachian woods, a place I have lived in and hiked in, so it immediately intrigued me when I read the book description.  The setting is a remote cabin without a connection to the broader world where a father and daughter have made their lives.  There is a series of events that makes it more challenging for them to continue surviving in the wilderness undetected and ultimately it leads to some tough moral questions for the protagonist.

What the book description does not say is that the beautiful, and at times heartbreaking, inner monologue of the father will unveil a story far deeper than survival in the woods.  The suspense for me did not come from the unexpected visitor or the threat of being discovered, it was much subtler than that.  The moral dilemmas and choices that love and war placed in the father’s path are what built the feeling of tension.  

I felt gratitude that the author did not bring in other character perspectives in first-hand.  I loved learning about the father’s past and some of his struggles from his point of view and listening to how he observed the experiences of those around him.  I appreciated the honest look at what veterans are faced with in terms of mental health and re-entry to civilian life.  He was aware of his limitations and worked through them as best as he could, in the moment and when he spent time with them afterwards.  The love he has for his daughter was so tangible and raw, it broke me down a few times along the way.  Overall this was a gem of a book and I am so glad I picked it up.

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Gun violence, Murder, War, and Mental illness

saldre's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Pregnancy, War, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief