appThree rules were given to the campers upon their arrival ... The third app the most important, as evidenced by its display, in capital letters, in several communal locations app was WHEN LOST SIT DOWN AND YELL.app
In the summer of 1975 at Camp Emerson (which everybody knew was owned by the well-to-do Van Laar family) a teenage camper is missing from her bunk and a widespread panic ensues as everyone starts searching for her, including the Van Laars themselves. But, of course, who wouldnappt search for their own daughter?
Liz Moore weaves a multithreaded story giving readers more than just a scary campfire tale. In a narrative that stretches over nearly two decades of bouncing timelines and more intertwined points of view than you can count on one hand,
appThe God of the Woodsapp delivers a slow burn like no other.
Each layer of the story gives readers more titillating details about the Van Laarsapp past, which seems to be strangely shrouded in more ways than one.
Closing in on nearly 500 pages, Mooreapps novel has a myriad of stories within stories to unpack. Imagine appThe God of the Woodsapp like Chinese nesting dolls. Each doll represents a different timeline, yet they are all connected and pack away neatly into one complete novel.
To help organize her complex storytelling technique, at the beginning of each chapter Moore provides all the numbered years the story spans with the current year in bold, as well as the name of the character whose point of view readers are getting next.
As confusing as it may sound, Moore nails this approach app although it admittedly could be difficult to keep track of in audiobook format.
Some readers who like a more streamlined tactic to storytelling may not see all the characters as necessary players in the plot. There are a few camp staff members and house servants who could have been cut from the narrative, but at the same time they deliver an upper class versus blue collar conflict that gives the story an extra layer of depth.
This also helps flesh out the characterization of the Van Laars.
The number of suspects and motives give readers many possibilities as to how and why Barbara Van Laar disappeared from her bunk.
As if one missing child wasnappt enough, Moore gives readers a bonus mystery: Bear, Barbaraapps little brother, vanished 14 years ago as well with no true resolution of his whereabouts.
Even though the details are slowly doled out, the pace of the book is on point. Moore throws out bread crumbs at a perfect interval to keep readers immersed in a search for answers.
The way Moore combines family drama, social class conflict, creepy lost-in-the-woods ambiance and police procedural vibes is impressive. If readers can jump in without feeling intimidated by the bouncing timeline, overflowing cast of characters and the sheer chunkiness of the book, appThe God of the Woodsapp checks all the boxes for the ultimate literary mystery.
Christy Keller is a page designer for app.
