Omg, back at it again with the blog posts!
Hi guys, so today’s post is for a YA mystery. I am a big fan of a good whodunnit, and The Box in the Woods certainly filled the itch I was having for a truly devious crime.
Stephanie “Stevie” Bell is an amateur sleuth with one of the longest running and well known cold cases under her belt with a “solved” checkmark next to it. In the summer between her junior and senior year, Stevie is plucked from relative obscurity and boredom working at her local deli to solve another case long ran cold.
The Box in the Woods take place over two timelines: the present and the past with secrets, truths, and hidden lies in both. Stevie enlists two of her best friends from school and the trio set off to Sunny Pines, formerly Camp Wonder Falls, to dig in and try to solve a 20-something year old case that left 4 teens dead and no one to blame.
The Box in the Woods is the 4th book in the Truly Devious series by Maureen Johnson, but you don’t have to read the first 3 books to understand this book. There are some slight spoilers, but again, it’s nothing too big, and nothing that the back cover of this book didn’t already tell you.
I really enjoyed this book, not just with the content, but how it was written. The kids (because they are kids) act and think like kids do. Janelle, one of Stevie’s friends she brings along to camp, is in a relationship with a non-binary character (*pockets* for LGBT+ rep!)
Overall, I really enjoyed Box. Johnson’s writing is snappy, funny, and keeps the novel moving at a nice pace. I’d definitely recommend her to fans of Karen M. McManus, Kara, Thomas, or people who enjoyed the films Knives Out or Murder on the Orient Express.
To purchase your own copy of Box, click here for my Bookshop affiliate link, or check out your favorite retailer. There is a tour-wide giveaway for a copy of the book, which you can enter here.
Maureen Johnson is the #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author several YA novels, including 13 Little Blue Envelopes, Suite Scarlett, The Name of the Star, and Truly Devious. She has also done collaborative works, such as Let it Snow with John Green and Lauren Myracle (now on Netflix), and several works in the Shadowhunter universe with Cassandra Clare. Her work has appeared in publications such as The New York Times, Buzzfeed, and The Guardian, and she has also served as a scriptwriter for EA Games. Maureen has a MFA in Writing from Columbia University and lives in New York City. To see what Maureen is up to, follow her on the web at her website, Instagram, or Twitter.
Stacia Loves To Read 