When Hype Falls Flat: My Thoughts On The God Of The Woods By Liz Moore

Main Characters

Barbara
TJ
Alice
Peter III

Publisher’s Summary

When a teenager vanishes from her Adirondack summer camp, two worlds collide

Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn’t just any thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region’s residents. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found.

As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds. Chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow, Moore’s multi-threaded story invites listeners into a rich and gripping dynasty of secrets and second chances. It is Liz Moore’s most ambitious and wide-reaching novel yet.

Recent Reviews

Review: The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

I really wanted to love this book, but honestly, it just didn’t live up to the hype. The premise sounded so good, and I kept pushing through, hoping it would get better, but it just never clicked for me.

First off, the pacing was slow. The first 100 pages dragged, and even after that, it still felt like the story was taking forever to go anywhere. There were some interesting elements that could have made the book really stand out, but they weren’t explored enough. Instead, we got a bunch of characters who felt more like plot devices than real people. Even the main ones—Louise and T.J.—were pretty forgettable, and the siblings at the center of the mystery had no real depth. With 476 pages to work with, I expected way better character development.

The back-and-forth timeline just didn’t work for me. It made the story feel disjointed and harder to follow, especially with how many characters there were. I listened to the audiobook, which probably made that even worse, but I kept losing track of who was who. By the time I got to the ending, I was barely listening because I just wanted to be done. It didn’t feel satisfying at all—kind of slapped together and not really worth the slow buildup.

Also, I don’t get the title? It didn’t really connect to the story in a meaningful way. Just another thing that felt off.

I’m honestly surprised by all the glowing reviews. I expected something special, but it just left me disappointed.

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Book Photos

Book Quotes

It was funny, she thought, how many relationships one could have with the same man, over the course of a lifetime together.

― Liz Moore, The God of the Woods