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A review by aclopez6
The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson
5.0
Wow -- I was very impressed and surprised by this book. I read the first three Truly Devious books (same characters, one main mystery) and the main flaw with those was that they were a slow build, with not as much happening in each book in terms of plot.
In this book, Johnson has already established our main characters: Stevie, Nate, Janelle, and David, and does a fantastic job of introducing new characters, such as Carson -- owner of a BoxBox subscription service (it is what is sounds like...they send an assortment, of boxes) and budding podcaster, Patty -- a baker and person with a whole lot of past in a small town, and Nicole -- an intimidating camp organizer who wears a whistle. This mystery is presented, and similar to Truly Devious, some information/clues is shown through flashbacks and journal entries, but it feels intentional, and it adds to the story, rather than making it drag.
5/5 stars for this book--I would certainly recommend to students (I teach high school/middle school), even as a standalone, and would consider using excerpts to study author's craft with humor and suspense building.
In this book, Johnson has already established our main characters: Stevie, Nate, Janelle, and David, and does a fantastic job of introducing new characters, such as Carson -- owner of a BoxBox subscription service (it is what is sounds like...they send an assortment, of boxes) and budding podcaster, Patty -- a baker and person with a whole lot of past in a small town, and Nicole -- an intimidating camp organizer who wears a whistle. This mystery is presented, and similar to Truly Devious, some information/clues is shown through flashbacks and journal entries, but it feels intentional, and it adds to the story, rather than making it drag.
5/5 stars for this book--I would certainly recommend to students (I teach high school/middle school), even as a standalone, and would consider using excerpts to study author's craft with humor and suspense building.