fantasyfave57's review against another edition
5.0
I thought I'd read my favourite book of the year until I picked up this, this book will absolutely change you, it pulls at your heart strings and fully sucks you in, a truly beautiful story,
The writing is so good you could be fooled into thinking it's a true story.
The writing is so good you could be fooled into thinking it's a true story.
mandyist's review against another edition
4.0
In the mid-to-late 1990s it seemed like everybody was checking out, some more than others. In a resurgence of 60's hippie culture, New Age travellers and other likeminded individuals were rejecting the millennium and all that it brought and going off-grid. I've often wondered what became of those people, the ones who simply disappeared and speculated about the lives of the children that grew up in cults and alternative communities.
Emily Barr's The Girl Who Came Out of the Woods begins in one such community. Set in a clearing in the woods in a remote south Indian forest, a group of people believe themselves to be all gods and goddesses. They are completely self-sufficient, shunning contact with the world outside, and the children in the community have never seen more than ten people in their lives.
Until one day when tragedy occurs during an annual celebration and sixteen-year-old Arty is forced out of the community and into a world she has never set foot in, in order to gain urgent medical attention.
Often hilarious but equally heartbreaking, The Girl Who Came Out of the Woods is Arty's story and how she comes to terms with this brand new world, considering that much of her previous knowledge was gleamed from Richard Scarry picture books. Everything is new to her and how is it that we all carry around phones that we use to do everything but talk to other people?
Threaded throughout the novel is a mystery and the promise of a dark secret. As the chapters flip between now and then, we have to wonder how it was that things went so wrong, how did Arty's mother land up in the clearing in the woods and is Arty herself now in grave danger?
At times uplifting in a way that reminded me of Slumdog Millionaire and at others downright terrifying, The Girl Who Came Out of the Woods is wonderfully unique and speculative (although I have started to notice other novels coming out with a similar theme). Arty often shows eye-rolling naivety - I honestly thought I'd dislocated my eyeball during one particular scene - and she possesses impossible amounts of good luck and fortune. But if you can suspend disbelief and forgive Barr for her slightly rose-tinted storytelling, there is a deeper message to be found about privacy, technology and how we build trust to develop deep and meaningful relationships.
I listened to The Girl Who Came Out of the Woods on Audible, narrated by Tamaryn Payne. Tamaryn did a great job of reading the multitude of characters in the story, so much so that you can begin to tell them apart by her voice. I obviously can't know for sure but I think I enjoyed this novel more on audiobook than I would have if I'd read it and I'd definitely recommend it.
I give The Girl Who Came Out of the Woods an excellent four out of five stars and recommend to fans of young adult thrillers, lovers of India and anyone with a healthy fascination of cults and communes.
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Emily Barr's The Girl Who Came Out of the Woods begins in one such community. Set in a clearing in the woods in a remote south Indian forest, a group of people believe themselves to be all gods and goddesses. They are completely self-sufficient, shunning contact with the world outside, and the children in the community have never seen more than ten people in their lives.
Until one day when tragedy occurs during an annual celebration and sixteen-year-old Arty is forced out of the community and into a world she has never set foot in, in order to gain urgent medical attention.
Often hilarious but equally heartbreaking, The Girl Who Came Out of the Woods is Arty's story and how she comes to terms with this brand new world, considering that much of her previous knowledge was gleamed from Richard Scarry picture books. Everything is new to her and how is it that we all carry around phones that we use to do everything but talk to other people?
Threaded throughout the novel is a mystery and the promise of a dark secret. As the chapters flip between now and then, we have to wonder how it was that things went so wrong, how did Arty's mother land up in the clearing in the woods and is Arty herself now in grave danger?
At times uplifting in a way that reminded me of Slumdog Millionaire and at others downright terrifying, The Girl Who Came Out of the Woods is wonderfully unique and speculative (although I have started to notice other novels coming out with a similar theme). Arty often shows eye-rolling naivety - I honestly thought I'd dislocated my eyeball during one particular scene - and she possesses impossible amounts of good luck and fortune. But if you can suspend disbelief and forgive Barr for her slightly rose-tinted storytelling, there is a deeper message to be found about privacy, technology and how we build trust to develop deep and meaningful relationships.
I listened to The Girl Who Came Out of the Woods on Audible, narrated by Tamaryn Payne. Tamaryn did a great job of reading the multitude of characters in the story, so much so that you can begin to tell them apart by her voice. I obviously can't know for sure but I think I enjoyed this novel more on audiobook than I would have if I'd read it and I'd definitely recommend it.
I give The Girl Who Came Out of the Woods an excellent four out of five stars and recommend to fans of young adult thrillers, lovers of India and anyone with a healthy fascination of cults and communes.
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cow_png's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
This was a good book! But that might be it??? I enjoyed it but nothing was like "WOW!!"
Spoiler
maybe expect that we were reading about matthew in the basement not arty. that was fucked.Spoiler
velveteen_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
The concept is interesting but it felt as if it wasn't sure what story it was telling.
I imagine if I was a teen, I would have really enjoyed it (especially the secondary POV).
I imagine if I was a teen, I would have really enjoyed it (especially the secondary POV).
littlebookmunchkin's review against another edition
1.0
Honestly, this book was not for me and I should have never read it in the first place, but I had to and now I have some opinions. This book was not good. The writing was fine but nothing special. The twist at the end, I die not see coming but it also made the the whole book kind of pointless. How was this a thriller then? The way people treated the drug addict was simply horrible and cruel. This was a person that seriously needed help but instead was treated cruelly by the people closest to him. Throughout this book the author was so damn preachy that I wanted to throw the book against the wall and burn it. I get it she hates capitalism and consumerism. What about some subtlety? She did not have to spell it out 1000 times. We can read between the lines, thank you!
laurah_123's review
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
sooky's review
3.0
The shocking truth we were promised was not nearly as interesting as I thought it would be, and throughout her journey, things happened to Arty in a very smooth and convenient fashion. She never really had any real difficulties with anything, despite having lived in a forest all her life and had no experience in how the world actually worked, other than from books. I did like her as a character tho.
rachael_amber's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
tanahya123's review
adventurous
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5