The Box in the Woods

OMG, I really didn't think this series was going to continue and I am so delighted that it has. Especially loving that the mystery has moved on to exploring a horror summer camp situation -- not only is it a perfect fit for the crew, but it's a good standalone. I think what I like the most about these books -- in order:
Really awesome dialogue. Makes me laugh out loud. Is delightful.
The characters are all challenging -- broken in different ways, clear about their limits, interesting and driven.
Full of emotion that reads really true. Sometimes repressed, sometimes not. Captures the insanity of teen hormones in a remarkably believable way.
Twisty. This time I saw the ending coming, but I was surprised to be right. Particularly like that show more the fact that Stevie is a teen is one of the reasons she's succeeding at solving the things she's solving -- it makes sense that she'd be closer to understanding the power dynamics somehow.
Leaves you with a lot of compassion for the victims. Never loses sight of the loss, even when it would be easy to do so. show less

The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson is a great return to Stevie’s world as it allows us to see her branch outside of her boarding school. While Ms. Johnson has fun with Stevie’s love of murder, in this novel she is careful to show Stevie’s growth through her realization that the very same murders she finds so fascinating affect real people and have serious emotional, mental, and even physical consequences on others. Even though it serves as a growth lesson for Stevie, I find it a neat nod to all of those fans of true crime podcasts and stories as it is so easy to lose the human aspect. As for the mystery, I personally never saw the ending coming, but I know others thought it predictable and obvious. Still, I enjoyed the chance show more to see the friends together again. Plus, I am thoroughly grateful to Ms. Johnson for making The Box in the Woods a true stand-alone novel, mentioning the previous three novels without spoiling a single thing, and providing enough context for newbies to be able to enjoy the story without any previous knowledge of Stevie and her crew. Well done! show less

This thoroughly enjoyable mystery may be marketed for teens, but adults also will be intrigued by it. Well written and complex, it reads fast, maybe because readers will devour the pages to get to the end. For those who read the Truly Devious trilogy, it is a pleasure to meet the well-defined characters we’ve come to admire. For readers new to the series, you will undoubtedly want to read the first books next. Stevie and her friends are summering at a kids’ camp, ostentatiously as counselors, but really to solve a cold-case murder of four teens back in the 1970s. Those teens also had been counselors at the camp, and had been brutally murdered there. It is pure art to see Stevie work her magic in trying to solve the case. The crucial show more evidence doesn’t show up until the very end, so trying to guess the killer probably isn’t possible. But that doesn’t deter from the excitement present in the book. Still, see if you can tell which clues are important and which are red herrings – that’s always fun to do! This is a great series; finally, gripping stories about teens with just the right amount of romance and little or no teenage angst! show less

Me before reading The Box in the Woods: Do we really need another Truly Devious book…?

Me after reading The Box in the Woods: Okay, Maureen Johnson, where’s book 5!?!?

A special thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children’s books for allowing me to review this ARC!

The first 3 novels in this series follow the protagonist, Stevie, throughout the course of a year at Ellingham Academy. During that year Stevie works on solving the Ellingham mystery. In The Box in the Woods, however, we see Stevie in a completely different setting, as she is invited to a summer camp where a quadruple murder occurred in 1978. The first three books in this series were good, but felt like they were missing something. After reading The Box in the Woods, I show more think that something was momentum. The 4th book in this series moved at a quicker pace and definitely kept my attention throughout the entirety of the novel.

First of all, Stevie is as lovable as ever in my opinion. I know she has some oddities, but that makes her all the more likeable to me. Who wants to read about a perfectly confident teen who has all her ducks in a row? No one! The awkwardness and uncertainty of Stevie is endearing and relatable, which made the book that much more compelling.

Similarly, the book goes back and forth between present time and when the murders occurred in 1978. While switching between two time periods can be extremely difficult to write, Maureen Johnson pulled it off flawlessly. In both sections I felt completely immersed in the time period that was being described and the mystery of the box in the woods pulled me in from the outset.

Another aspect of the novel that I have to address is Maureen Johnson’s impeccable ability to describe details. Some authors use minimal description and let readers fill in the blanks and come up with their own picture, but Maureen Johnson does the opposite. The lucidly clear details that Johnson incorporates give such a vivid and consistent image to the reader. The book felt really immersive for this very reason. I could picture the characters and the setting, down to the minute details of the changes in time periods to the changes in the weather. I admire Johnson so much for this talent, because, as a reader it is more meaningful to be able to “see” Stevie throughout the story. Absolutely phenomenal descriptive work in my opinion.

Finally, while reading The Box in the Woods I definitely got some Scooby Doo vibes (and I completely mean this as a complement)! While it was a little cheesy at some points, it felt right. The compulsive need to keep reading and the overall mysterious tone of this book made it an outstanding read. I’m not sure if Maureen Johnson has plans for a 5th book (or maybe even more), but I could see this series continuing on with many more successful books! show less

Oh thank god!! I was so nervous to read this because I had such a love/hate (okay, mostly hate) relationship with the first 3 books in this series, and I really wanted to like this. It’s probably because I always saw some glimmer of something good in the first 3 books, but the characters just fucking ruined it. I still didn’t love Stevie or anything, but she was WAY more tolerable. Honestly, all the things that bugged me in the original series seemed to poof out of existence in this installment.

1. Stevie & especially David weren’t terrible. David was so yuck before, and he was just normal this time.
2. The virtue signaling was at a minimum.
3. THERE WAS A PAY OFF— we got to know what happened!! (I mean, it’s still far fetched show more that this girl figures this stuff out with virtually nothing to go on, but I can suspend disbelief).

Stevie is still a very unrelatable robot person to me- which is fine. I just don’t get why she becomes so surprised about hormones and the feeling she gets around David. It’s almost like she’s a complete narcissist and is SHOCKED that she is capable of feeling attracted or care when she likes a boy.

Where this book takes place is so good! I love a camp-murder setting. I loved the Ellingham setting too, but summer camp and woods just go with horror slasher stuff.

I would read more from this series if the books are like this one. And I’m kind of hoping there are more books... which I definitely wasn’t expecting. show less

Getting out of a reading block is always SO satisfying, and me waiting to do so with this book must have been destiny.
Maureen Johnson owns my heart and soul with this legacy of hers, I could sit down and read about Stevie doing her groceries and I'd be super engrossed while at it.
She does it once again (Both writer and character) and I love her for it. An unsolved mystery, an unlikely suspect, an awe-striken reader wasting hours of sleep to read as much as humanly possible.
All in all? I'll gladly sell anything this woman asks me for if I can get another book. Don't make me do it, because I will.

'You can tell a lot about a person from what they read'

Where do I start with this book? Maybe by mentioning that you don't have to read the trilogy to understand this book.

The Box in the Woods is set during the school break from Ellingham Academy and before the kids have to return for their semesters. Stevie is invited to solve a mass murder that happened in the '70s on a camp by its now owner who has named it Sunny Pines. He has his own selfish reasons - to make a podcast on the case.

The best part about the book is that it's a standalone and there is no time utilized to set a premise. We are bombarded with information and our brains start ticking from the get-go.

It is an unputdownable thriller that takes us on an adrenaline-boosting show more ride. The narration in the book reminded me so much of BuzzFeed unsolved (100 points) and had my heart popping in the final few chapters.

The representation of the LGBTQ community is brilliant. We need more books with narratives like this. The character development isn't a lot since it's only a span of a few months but I did fall in love with Nate, Janelle, and Stevie's friendship more.

Plus the book is set in a camp around a lake that has a TREE-HOUSE LIBRARY. The town of Barlow Corners sounds like a very cozy place for us bookworms to live in. The author did a brilliant job with the descriptions.

Also, the characters are so relatable, it's embarrassing coming from a 24-year-old.😂

'How are you feeling?' David asked
'Everything hurts.' Stevie said, 'Fine'

The only issue I had with the book was that the ending might have felt a little rushed but it was unexpected, nonetheless.

Thank you After-School Tales and Harper Collins India for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review! show less