A review by lindenw
The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

2.5

I love a YA mystery, and I love a summer camp as home base for a story. I thought this would be a home run- a creepy mystery paired with summer fun, what could go wrong? Well, a lack of plot & clues to follow along really did this one in. There was a whole lot of book for not much plot occurring, a lot of characters introduced without much follow through on them, and the fact that the book hinged on the main character doing one single thing to solve it- and the answers are all laid out there, with no way for the reader to have even tried to make an accurate guess along the way. Just thought I’d have more fun in this one, like I did with the trilogy prior to it.