Each year, I, like many book lovers, eagerly anticipate the release of Barack Obama's summer reading list. The former president's literary taste is always on point—and this year's selects are no exception. In fact, one of his choices, The God of the Woods by Liz Moore, is one of the best books I've read in 2024.
Barack Obama Named This New Novel One of His Favorite Books of the Summer—& I Couldn’t Agree More
‘The God of the Woods’ is sensational
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Published Aug 12, 2024
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cover: riverhead books; background: Carl Court/getty images
Here's the premise: It’s an early morning in August 1975, and a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, the daughter of the family that owns the camp, has gone missing. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared—Barbara’s older brother, Bear, similarly vanished more than a decade ago, never to be found. In Moore’s (Long Bright River) latest, the search for the missing girl uncovers the layered secrets and sends shockwaves through an opulent summer estate, the camp that operates in its shadow and the blue-collar community that serves them both.
Moore's knack for creating fully fleshed out characters is on full display in The God of the Woods; I was particularly drawn to T.J., the camp's tomboy-ish director who has a soft spot for Barbara, and Alice, Barbara and Bear's mother, whose devastation over the disappearance of her son is raw and heart-wrenching. I also appreciated the nostalgia of the camp setting—anyone who spent a summer away from home as a kid will recognize the unique bonds that are formed.
Told from multiple perspectives and chock-full of twists, turns and red herrings, The God of the Woods gripped me for all 496 pages. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to work my way through the rest of Obama's picks. (I have it on good authority Adelle Waldman's Help Wanted isn't to be missed.)
