Tag: murder

mystery, young adult

The Box in the Woods (Truly Devious, #4) by Maureen Johnson

Mia
Of course I had to go to the woods to take a picture of The Box in the Woods!

SUMMARY:

1978. Camp Wonder Falls. Four teens are murdered and organized in a grotesque display in a box in the woods, the lid painted with the word “surprise!” When the police of the small town fail to solve the murders, they become one of the most popular cold cases of all time. And Stevie Bell is going to solve it (or try to, at least).

After solving several murders at her elite boarding school, Ellingham Academy, along with the cold case murders of the Ellingham family, Stevie is dreading a summer away from her new friends. That is, until an offer comes along for her to work at the same summer camp that the Box in the Woods Murders were committed. With her Ellingham friends, Stevie is in for a summer of mystery solving and camp fun (and lots of danger).

REVIEW:

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

The Box in the Woods!! I was SO excited for this one. Being a huge fan of the Truly Devious series, I wondered if this would live up to the original books. While I don’t think it was as good as the Truly Devious trilogy, I still enjoyed it a ton, making it one of my favorite releases of 2021. 

What I found when I finished The Box in the Woods is that my heart said it deserved 5 stars, while my head said it deserved 4 stars. I loved the way the novel made me feel, but I also recognized a few things that made me lower my rating. One of these things was the slow start. I’m not going to go as far to say that the beginning was boring, but it felt uneventful. I have heard others complain about the same thing when it comes to the Truly Devious trilogy, and I always excused that because I felt that although the mystery was slower in the beginning, the book was still eventful and engaging. We were learning more about the characters, building relationships, and getting to see the Ellingham campus. Unfortunately, in The Box in the Woods, I couldn’t excuse the slow start. It didn’t seem like I was learning more about the characters; instead, their personality traits were rehashed. New relationships weren’t building, and the mystery was slow. 

However, the ending was fast and super exciting (I devoured the last third in one sitting), redeeming the slow start for me. Stevie got to have her classic Detective Confrontation Moment™, we got a chase scene and a surprise… it was everything. 

Another thing that was everything? The relationship between Stevie and David. Since the book takes place several months after the third Truly Devious novel, readers get to see how they have settled into their relationship, and it is so cute. I know a lot of readers hate the relationship between Stevie and David (what?????), so if you aren’t a fan of that, you probably won’t like this, but I loved it.

Because of Maureen Johnson’s trademark creepy setting, fun characters and relationships, and complex mystery, I gave The Box in the Woods 4.5 stars (5 in my heart and 4 in my head) and really, really hope that this isn’t the end for Stevie Bell.

mystery, thriller, young adult

The Good Girls by Claire Eliza Bartlett

Mia

Summary:

It’s Thursday morning at Jefferson-Lorne High School, and as usual, the students are abuzz over new gossip. Except this time is different. This time, someone has been murdered.

Daughter of the police chief, almost-valedictorian, and so-called “good girl” Emma Baines is missing, and a video of her being pushed into the roaring rivers of Anna’s Run has been released. The only thing left to do is find her killer. However, the Lorne Police Department has never been too successful when it comes to solving murders of teenage girls. 

A few years ago, another soul was lost to Anna’s Run. It was ruled a suicide, but Emma believed otherwise. She won’t let hers be ruled the same. 

As the school’s troublemaker, cheer captain, and other almost-valedictorian are interrogated, readers quickly realize not all is as it seems in Lorne. The murder must be solved before another “good girl” is lost to Anna’s Run.

In this multi-layered mystery, author Claire Eliza Bartlett explores and breaks stereotypes while beautifully narrating a shocking and relevant story of friendship, feminism, revenge, and how far people are willing to go to hide the truth. 

BOOK CONTENT WARNING: s*xual assault and violence, m*rder (not just referred to, but described)

Review:

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

“Wow,” was the only word I could use to describe this book when I finished it. Wow. This book was not what I anticipated at all. I expected a fairly formulaic, basic Young Adult mystery novel. You have characters who are different high school stereotypes trying to solve a mystery to clear their own names, accidentally finding friendships in the midst of it, like One of Us is Lying (Karen M. McManus). This was not that at all. This was better.

This novel was more than a regular murder mystery. It was not just a forgettable but fun read. It was powerful. It provided commentary on relevant issues accurately, including s*xual violence, poverty, LGBTQ+ prejudice, and power dynamics. For me, this is what set it apart from its similar YA high school murder mystery counterparts. As a high school student today, I know all too well how all of these issues play out in a high school setting. Bartlett does justice and brings light to these problems without it seeming performative or as if she is just knocking them off of her fingers like buzzwords. They are built into the plot and characters, just as they are in real life.

The Good Girls was so multifaceted. There were multiple mysteries to uncover at the same time, the characters were complex and well-written, and the writing style was beautiful, to say the least. Bartlett has an almost poetic way with words. Her descriptions and metaphors when it came to Anna’s Run, the river where the two girls were murdered, were hauntingly melodic. There were certain passages or descriptors that made the novel feel prose-like at times, which is difficult to find in Young Adult fiction.

Additionally, the stereotypes of the cheerleader, overachiever, and “school slut” were not used for comedy, but instead broken. Each character was so well-written and complex. It made the characters feel real. A lot of mysteries don’t spend enough time on character development. After all, it is a mystery. However, Bartlett’s character descriptions and anecdotes set this book apart. In the end, you weren’t thinking of any of the characters as their label. They were just who they were.

I took a half-star off of my rating because of some plot points that fell flat at the end, but nothing that took away from the story in my opinion. I know some have critiqued the book by saying that it was paced too slowly, but I disagree. If you come into this book expecting a fast-paced thriller, I can see how you would be disappointed. However, the time spent on character connections and development set up the plot twists and discoveries so that they were more shocking and compelling.

In the end, I think The Good Girls is one of my favorite reads of 2021 already. If you read One of Us is Lying but were wishing for a little more depth, this is for you. Just read it!