Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson

57 reviews

jayoz15's review

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adventurous funny 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

4.0

It was so good being back with Stevie & the gang in this book! This story focuses on a new unsolved murder case -- The Box in the Woods -- which happened at a summer camp in the 1970s. While I didn't love this mystery as much as the Truly Devious case, it definitely had really spooky vibes. As always, I like how Maureen Johnson makes Stevie a real person, where she makes mistakes and has to deal with her anxiety. I like how everything came together in the end, and I'm really hoping we get to see more of Stevie & Co. for their second year at Ellingham. 
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coolbeancat's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny lighthearted 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

4.5

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yvonne_cl's review against another edition

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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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abbycdefgxyz's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

This book was nearly perfect. The story was very good and it all got explained in the end. However, it felt like there was no time for the reader to try to put the pieces together to figure out the mystery until the last chapter of the book where the mystery is being explained. The reader didn’t have many of the facts until then.
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libraryghost's review against another edition

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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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vlntnmz's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

4.0

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daria3's review

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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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linesiunderline's review

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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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junefish's review against another edition

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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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kayladaila's review

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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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