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The Man in the Woods
Fourteen-year-old Helen Curragh attempts to discover the identity of a man she has seen running from the scene of a car accident.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
9 people are currently reading
129 people want to read
About the author
Rosemary Wells
455 books381 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Rosemary Wells is an American writer and illustrator of children's books. She often uses animal characters to address real human issues. Some of her most well-known characters are Max & Ruby and Timothy from Timothy Goes To School (both were later adapted into Canadian-animated preschool television series, the former’s airing on Nickelodeon (part of the Nick Jr. block) and the latter’s as part of PBS Kids on PBS).
Rosemary Wells is an American writer and illustrator of children's books. She often uses animal characters to address real human issues. Some of her most well-known characters are Max & Ruby and Timothy from Timothy Goes To School (both were later adapted into Canadian-animated preschool television series, the former’s airing on Nickelodeon (part of the Nick Jr. block) and the latter’s as part of PBS Kids on PBS).
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
December 6, 2022
I read this because Rosemary Wells wrote and illustrated “Noisy Nora”, one of my favorite kid’s book. This was written for older kids, about two very smart misfits who are determined to solve a hundred -year-old mystery despite many setbacks and disappointments. It was a bit stilted in places, but I did enjoy it, and it’s references to the Civil War.
February 18, 2017
It was a little too slow for me, and was hard for me to get into.
September 30, 2021
Good read that is entertaining with no smut or violence; a pretty good teenager's read or older party seeking something clean.
May 14, 2024
An excellent mystery. I loved the New Bedford, MA setting and the friendship between Helen and Pinky.
August 12, 2016
I'm not completely sure why I read this, but I do like reading YA mystery/suspense books, so I decided to give it a shot. Yes, this is a YA book from the 80s written by the creator of the Max and Ruby series! The only reason I read it is because it happened to be available on Kindle. Sure they're converting a lot of books to electronic forms now, but sometimes the choices of what they convert are mystifying. While The Man in the Woods was sort of cute, there's no way it can stand up to today's YA. Why they decided to make this an ebook is beyond me.
The Man in the Woods is about 14-year-old high school freshman Helen who happens to witness a crime - someone throws a boulder in the hopes of crashing a truck, but instead causes a mother and young daughter to have a car accident. Helen thinks she sees someone lurking in the woods and runs to follow him. This rash action causes Helen herself to be targeted, and she, along with her new friend Pinky, decide to figure out who this mysterious man is. While on his trail, Helen and Pinky uncover an even older mystery that dates back to the Civil War.
Like I said, this book was cute. It's slightly more suspenseful than, say, a Nancy Drew, but it's extremely tame compared to today's teen mysteries, even the fluffier ones. Despite the fact that this book is about a high schooler, I'd hand this one off to a middle grader. Still, even a lot of middle grade books are more sophisticated than this. It wasn't horrible and I enjoyed reading it well enough, but again, the fact that they decided to convert it to ebook format is mystifying to me. It's just so dated, and at 30 years old, it's not even dated enough to make it interesting - it's just slightly quaint. Like many old mysteries, the characters spend a lot of energy trying to find pay phones or other telephones, and in our cell phone-centered culture, that could turn a reader off right away - especially a young kid who has never lived in a world where cell phones weren't readily available. The mystery itself isn't particularly high stakes - no one dies and when you find out the culprit, it seems really unlikely that he would ever have killed anyone. I've read middle grade mysteries with more action than this!
The story itself has some problems. While I did find the inclusion of a Civil War-era mystery interesting, it only came in about halfway through the book - seemingly out of nowhere. There also isn't a satisfying conclusion for that part of the mystery. It also is only tenuously connected to the main plot, at best. I feel like it could have been worked into the plot in a better way. It reminded me of another book I read as a child, Steal Away Home. That book also concerned a mystery from the Civil War, but it was handled a lot better. To be fair, in that book the main focus of the story is on the Civil War, but perhaps The Man in the Woods has too much going on in it. Once we learn of the Civl War mystery, the mystery of the present seems less interesting - especially once it has concluded (spoiler: .
I will give The Man in the Woods some credit, though. Helen is a very relatable young teen and I liked her liberal political views. The Civil War story was also pretty interesting. And perhaps in the most memorable part of the novel (many editions use this image on the cover) "the man in the woods" sends Helen her lost locket with her mother's eyes poked out. That part was truly creepy. Nothing else in the book ever reached that level again, but I was impressed with that little detail! It seems like the kind of thing that would be included in a Pretty Little Liars novel (ha). So while this wasn't the best book or my favorite ever, I didn't dislike The Man in the Woods. If I could give half stars I'd give it a 2 1/2, but again, it wasn't truly terrible. It's just a dated, relatively innocent teen mystery from the 80s.
The Man in the Woods is about 14-year-old high school freshman Helen who happens to witness a crime - someone throws a boulder in the hopes of crashing a truck, but instead causes a mother and young daughter to have a car accident. Helen thinks she sees someone lurking in the woods and runs to follow him. This rash action causes Helen herself to be targeted, and she, along with her new friend Pinky, decide to figure out who this mysterious man is. While on his trail, Helen and Pinky uncover an even older mystery that dates back to the Civil War.
Like I said, this book was cute. It's slightly more suspenseful than, say, a Nancy Drew, but it's extremely tame compared to today's teen mysteries, even the fluffier ones. Despite the fact that this book is about a high schooler, I'd hand this one off to a middle grader. Still, even a lot of middle grade books are more sophisticated than this. It wasn't horrible and I enjoyed reading it well enough, but again, the fact that they decided to convert it to ebook format is mystifying to me. It's just so dated, and at 30 years old, it's not even dated enough to make it interesting - it's just slightly quaint. Like many old mysteries, the characters spend a lot of energy trying to find pay phones or other telephones, and in our cell phone-centered culture, that could turn a reader off right away - especially a young kid who has never lived in a world where cell phones weren't readily available. The mystery itself isn't particularly high stakes - no one dies and when you find out the culprit, it seems really unlikely that he would ever have killed anyone. I've read middle grade mysteries with more action than this!
The story itself has some problems. While I did find the inclusion of a Civil War-era mystery interesting, it only came in about halfway through the book - seemingly out of nowhere. There also isn't a satisfying conclusion for that part of the mystery. It also is only tenuously connected to the main plot, at best. I feel like it could have been worked into the plot in a better way. It reminded me of another book I read as a child, Steal Away Home. That book also concerned a mystery from the Civil War, but it was handled a lot better. To be fair, in that book the main focus of the story is on the Civil War, but perhaps The Man in the Woods has too much going on in it. Once we learn of the Civl War mystery, the mystery of the present seems less interesting - especially once it has concluded (spoiler: .
I will give The Man in the Woods some credit, though. Helen is a very relatable young teen and I liked her liberal political views. The Civil War story was also pretty interesting. And perhaps in the most memorable part of the novel (many editions use this image on the cover) "the man in the woods" sends Helen her lost locket with her mother's eyes poked out. That part was truly creepy. Nothing else in the book ever reached that level again, but I was impressed with that little detail! It seems like the kind of thing that would be included in a Pretty Little Liars novel (ha). So while this wasn't the best book or my favorite ever, I didn't dislike The Man in the Woods. If I could give half stars I'd give it a 2 1/2, but again, it wasn't truly terrible. It's just a dated, relatively innocent teen mystery from the 80s.
July 18, 2014
Helen witnesses a crime and follows a man into the wood who she thinks committed the crime. She couldn't see the man clearly, but he was whistling. So, when the police arrest someone for the crime, Helen knows it is the wrong person and becomes determined to find the person who really did it.
I've read one other book by Rosemary Wells and liked it, but I thought this one was bit better than the other book I read. The plot was really interesting and kept me guessing. I also liked Helen and Pinky.
But one thing I can tell you is that Rosemary Wells definitely knows how to write extremely irritating adult characters. I encountered this in both books I read by her. Some of the adult characters have some redeeming qualities, but still, I'm not a fan of the adult characters in the two books I read by her.
But I really do like the plot. It was very good and the plot in this is what made me like it more than the first book I read by this author. I'd give it three and a half stars.
I've read one other book by Rosemary Wells and liked it, but I thought this one was bit better than the other book I read. The plot was really interesting and kept me guessing. I also liked Helen and Pinky.
But one thing I can tell you is that Rosemary Wells definitely knows how to write extremely irritating adult characters. I encountered this in both books I read by her. Some of the adult characters have some redeeming qualities, but still, I'm not a fan of the adult characters in the two books I read by her.
But I really do like the plot. It was very good and the plot in this is what made me like it more than the first book I read by this author. I'd give it three and a half stars.
January 3, 2014
Rosemary Wells book "The man in the woods," had great potential to become an amazing book but some parts of it seemed unnecessary. For example when "the Man in the Woods," finds Helen's locket and pokes her mother's eyes out in the picture, I found that that was a little excessive. And too much information. Helen and Pinky's relationship was cute, but unrealistic. Also the ending was sort of just left….. almost as if Wells got tired of writing and just decided to end it?
All in all, Wells' plot was fascinating and it was a pleasure to read but I could only give it 2 out of 5 stars:(
All in all, Wells' plot was fascinating and it was a pleasure to read but I could only give it 2 out of 5 stars:(
July 4, 2013
A good gripping tale of misfits and mystery. The writing style was oddly old-fashioned; at the mention of nuclear power, I revised my estimation from "written in the '50s or earlier" (I kept waiting for a character to say "gee wilkers!" but the closest I got was "jeez louise"). The tone is almost gothic, but without being over-dramatic.
October 29, 2009
Well-written mystery book about a girl who witnesses a crime and struggles through threats and fear to find the truth. I wonder if high school newspapers are really like Rosemary portrays them? Enjoyed the story. Quite a switch from her simple, endearing children's stories.
March 25, 2011
This thriller by Wells, who is a REALLY fine y/a author, begins with creepiness and then gets into a very interesting Civil War-era mystery. No sex or violence, but the sophistication of the book makes it a little more y/a than juvenile-level. I quite liked it.
October 9, 2012
This book was awesome! I was hooked from the very first page. Thirty years ago, when the book was published, there were so many things that were done differently, so it was very nostalgic for me. Other than that, it was just a great mystery.
May 16, 2014
It was fine, though maybe a little simple for today's YA audience. When I downloaded it, I didn't realize it was written in 1984 so maybe that explains it. I also kept seeing Max and Ruby, who I adore, as the characters. Oops!
May 21, 2015
I'm not sure how many times I have read this book, but I have loved it every time. I just realized it is written by Rosemary Wells of Max and Ruby fame! The story contains mystery, history and drama-I'd recommend it to anyone.
March 16, 2013
I like this book because it was well written and because the plot took unexpected turns.
April 24, 2014
I've loved her Max and Ruby books. Little did I know she wrote mystery novels as well! Well done.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews