Jennifer Murgia has been writing ever since she was nine years old. After receiving recognition for her poetry, she went on to use her talents to bring characters to life in fiction novels that are authentic, intriguing, and personal. She currently resides in Pennsylvania with her husband and two children.
Forest of Whispers by Jennifer Murgia
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Forest of Whispers by Jennifer Murgia was a quick read that had me turning the pages trying to figure out what was going to happen next. If you are looking for witch story that ties brings in a bit of the history of the era, you might want to check this one out.
Rune was raised in the forest just outside the village and has always been different. She never knew her mother but she can’t hide the fact from Mathilde, the person who raised her, that she is hearing her mother’s voice whispering things to her. I found Rune to be an interesting character. She is thrown into a situation she wasn’t fully prepared for and ends up having to face some horrible situations. Despite that, she comes out stronger in the end.
Laurentz was a solid character and I liked him. Clearly he had some demons to face and the way his story was tied to Rune’s was done well and I liked how Murgia showed his relationship with his father. There was obviously some anger and blame floating between the two due to the death of Laurentz’s brother and while that was true, I thought that it was interesting how their relationship changed at the end of the story due to their circumstances.
The secondary characters in the book helped move the story along and I liked how Murgia slowly revealed their roles in the overall story. Not only what was happening to Rune in the current time but also the things they did in the past, including their roles/impact in what happened with the girls who died in the forest before. This is the part of the story that links back to Rune’s mother and I can’t say much about it as I don’t want to give anything away but to understand what really is happening, you definitely have to give the story time to be revealed. With that said, I thought the way that Murgia revealed the full story was well done.
Alongside the story, Murgia blends in German history and locations to make the story that much more interesting. By linking the witch hunts of the time and the lore of the Black Forest, I found myself linking this to the historical genre. It also helped in building out the feeling and sense of the time. People were obviously afraid of disease and famine and witches were just one way that people felt they could find someone to blame.
I also thought Murgia also did a good job of switching points of view. It was necessary due to the constraints that Rune had on her and the information she would have been able to find out on her own. The way it was done helped the story flow together for me and was necessary. Overall I found this story to be a quick and enjoyable read.
Thank you to Netgalley and Spencer Hill Press for the review copy!
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