Tags
Contemporary Fiction, Mental Illness, Mystery, Serial Killers, Substance Abuse, Suicide, Suspense, YA Fiction
Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Release Date: December 1st, 2020
384 Pages
Synopsis: Running from a scandal at her New York private school, Magdalena heads to her family home to recover under the radar.
Over-medicated and under-confident, she’s fearful she’ll never escape her past.
Until she meets Bo out hiking. Gorgeous, wild, and free he makes her believe she might finally be able to move on.
But when a mutilated body is discovered in the woods, Magdalena realizes she can’t trust anyone.
Not even herself.
I’ve enjoyed Josephine Angelini’s previous books, especially her Starcrossed series, so it comes as a shock that I really didn’t care for her standalone What She Found in the Woods.
My biggest issue was the way social issues like mental illness and drug addiction were portrayed. I don’t want to venture into spoiler territory, but in my opinion these themes were used as shallow plot devices instead of being a thoughtful exploration of the afflictions that plague so many. I feel terrible writing this after reading Angelini’s reasons why she included these topics as part of the story, but as always, I feel the need to be honest with my review.
While the enigmatic Magdalena was a puzzle to me that I felt the need to solve, most of her teen friends were pampered, entitled brats who annoyed the heck out of me. The romance between Magdalena and Bo was sweet, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the main problems I had.
There were some elements here that I enjoyed, namely the mystery of what was really happening and who was responsible, but as intriguing as that was, my distaste for the mainly superficial depiction of the all too real illnesses that millions battle, overrode everything else. There are many positive reviews of What She Found in the Woods, on Goodreads, so if your interest is peaked by the premise, don’t just go by my opinion, as I believe I’m an outlier regarding my feelings. As I said, I’ve enjoyed Angelini’s other books, so I’m looking forward to her next.
By Hook Or By Book 
Hi Kim. I’m very intrigued by your review. May I get a little feedback from you regarding your reaction? (I don’t mean to hijack your post, but I need to give you a little background. I suffer from PTSD and related anxiety disorders. I held them back all my life, until one day when I just couldn’t any more. Many times people have insisted that I write my own story. I can’t. Period. Although I tried to couch it in different ways. A year ago I decided to try, one more time…)
I gave the heroine of my work in progress my own history. She has some of my quirks and problems. However I still wanted the book to be quirky and fun. I didn’t want the PTDS problems to be the focus of the book at all. I’ve tried to strike a balance, and make sure I don’t make light of these issues.
So I finally ask — is that the kind of thing that bothered you with this book? If mental illness (or other) was mentioned at all, did you feel the need for the story to be serious, and have an in depth exploration of the societal impacts of the issues? I’m sincerely interested in your thoughts. My questions are not a criticism of your review at all. Hugs.
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Hi Teagan. I’m sorry to hear you suffer from PTSD and anxiety. I suffer from the same. I think your book sounds wonderful with basing the MC in part on you, yet also injecting humor into it. I don’t want to include too many spoilers for anyone else reading the comments, but Magdalena has schizophrenia and not only do her symptoms not entirely match with what I studied about the illness in my college psychology classes, but she’s someone who for a good portion of the book I thoroughly disliked because of her actions, which wound up being attributed to her illness. The other issues I had surrounded a women’s clinic for drug addiction where some of the story was set upon. There were a couple of characters who I got to know a little, but most of them were mere shadows in the background. And finally, there were some of Magdalena’s friends who volunteered at the clinic simply to score drugs. I hope this helps some.
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Thanks so much for your reply, Kim. Yes, that helps a lot. I appreciate your feedback, because I’ve been overly concerned about offending or triggering anyone with my story.
I went looking for more details on the book too. I can see the difference now, and how the issues really are part of the plot and setting — whereas I made them part of character development.
Mine is being a very difficult book to write. I wish I never let “self” get into the storytelling — but it became too much of the story to remove it.
Happy November. More hugs.
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Let me know if you need an help. I think it’s very courageous what you’re doing.🤗
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Sorry this was a poor read for you Kim, fingers xt your next one is a 5 star!
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Meh. Can’t win them all.
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Well you can’t like every book, Kim. You have had a good run recently, so one dud is to be expected.
Best wishes, Pete.
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I’ve been very lucky with books this year Pete.
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