Excellent story of Valerie, who is lost in the Maine woods; Bev, the warden who is searching for her; and Lena, a would-be armchair detective who is helping find her. The story unfolds from multiple points of view, but also in news articles and interviews. I love a mixed-media book!

Valerie was hiking the Appalachian Trail, but toward the end, she didn’t meet up with her husband, who is keeping track of her progress. Her parts of the story are told in endearing letters to her mother. Each woman featured in the story is a powerhouse of strength and personality, which is always wonderful to read.

I loved this book. I had no idea what I was expecting because lost/survivor stories can be rather bland, but I thought this one was great. Definitely worth reading.

Ugh I’m actually very surprised this was a Read with Jenna pick! I thought For sure with that sticker on the cover I’d like it but alas, I was bored. The letters to mom weren’t really believable. The plot was boring, characters weren’t fleshed out enough- maybe there were too many of them. Overall this just didn’t work for me.

“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘴, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵.”

Thank you Simon and Schuster for an advanced readers copy via Netgalley earlier this year!

There are many reasons why I wanted to read this one as I was curious how I would connect with it. I knew I would be able to vividly imagine the settings, the characters, and while there are moments that I did, I also felt we don’t spend as much time in the woods, on the trail, with Valerie, as I was expecting.

It’s told in multiple POVs and formats (news reports, letters, interviews; these are done by a full cast on the audio) but it never feels choppy; in fact, for me, the brief “chapters” makes the pacing feel faster, sort of suspenseful. At the same time it didn’t unfold how I anticipated and perhaps I had lofty expectations that the story itself didn’t really reach. It was good but honestly not all that memorable either. I found the various POVs interesting as I didn’t necessarily see why some were relevant but I suppose it is to show how oftentimes our lives touch and impact others, those we know and don’t, in ways beyond our realization; that we play roles, sometimes significant ones, in each others’ stories, even quietly, behind the scenes.

Overall, am I glad I read it? Yeah. Will I reread? Probably not. Do I like it better than God of the Woods? Yes (don’t @ me okay!) As a side note, the audiobook is done by a full cast! Content includes some profanity, minor mentions of violence, and a character makes a reference to having seen dead bodies due to her job.

A woman goes missing while hiking the grueling Appalachian trail, and rescuers are struggling to find a lead on where she may be. I loved this book for how much I learned about what it takes to hike the AT and the relationships that are built with other hikers while on the trail. I thought the writing was well done however I didn’t quite love the multiple POVs (the armchair detective POV I could have done without) and would have enjoyed more from Valerie’s POV while on the trail. There was also a gentle nod to the burnout of being a healthcare worker during the pandemic which felt extremely on point. Overall, this was more of a character focused mystery, with lots of nature and survival elements that I thoroughly enjoyed. Though I read this on my kindle, I heard that the audiobook has a full cast and is spectacular!

This was a really great summer read! Loved the mysterious vibes without it getting too dark.
I also loved the setting on the Appalachian trail, and it was full of interesting characters.

🌲For my friends who love heartfelt, character-driven stories of adversity and survival.

HEARTWOOD by Amity Gaige

Thanks, @simonandschuster, for the review copy via #NetGalley.

I was excited to read this for many reasons: It’s set in the Maine woods (my home state), it was a @readwithjenna pick, and I was doing a buddy read with a friend. Lesson Learned: I need to read books that excite me as early as possible, before the internet is full of chatter and praise about them. As it was, I was expecting an amazing experience and instead “only” had a great one. Expectations management, am I right?

Synopsis: Valerie, an Appalachian Trail hiker, goes missing in the dense Maine woods. Beverly, a warden and seasoned search and rescue leader, leads the search for her. Meanwhile, Lena becomes an “unexpected armchair detective” from her retirement home in Connecticut.

Here’s what I loved:

Beverly’s character. I loved spending time in her head, feeling her fear while projecting confidence and optimism to her search teams and Valerie’s parents.

I adored Valerie’s portions of the story and her internal dialogue. I understood what made her tick and how she could be both strong and flighty at the same time. I loved her letters to her mother, written while she was missing.

I fell in love with Valerie’s parents, especially her mom. I’ve known mothers like her: strong, capable, always looking outwards at others and seeking to help.

The Maine representation and search and rescue aspects were very good. I kept checking the map to see where the story was taking place. It made me homesick, which is always a good thing.

My only quibble is with Lena’s portion. I felt her piece diluted the overall story. I’m sure I missed something—maybe it was meant to highlight the different faces of motherhood? Her story felt like a whole separate book, and one I didn’t care for as much as the rest.

I loved Gaige’s last novel, Sea Wife, and Heartwood has some similarities to that book. Both books use some epistolary elements, which I always love, and both show a love for nature (Sea Wife for the ocean and Heartwood for the woods). Heartwood is suspenseful given this is a missing persons story, but it’s HIGHLY literary and has a slower pace than your run-of-the-mill missing persons book. THIS IS NOT A THRILLER. Gaige’s writing about the woods is enchanting. She did a beautiful job creating the Maine portion of the AT, making it seem sort of magical, but also showing the danger that lurks there. While Heartwood is about a physically lost person on the surface, what it’s truly about is becoming lost in your own life and within relationships (particularly mother / daughter relationships).

This book was not a good fit for me. The prose was very off putting and I found I had to force myself to keep reading. There is an audience for this type of novel but sadly it was not me.

3.5/5⭐️
I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would. I like that it changes POVs and we get a bit of each character. I liked the ending but it still fell a bit short. I was expecting more from Sparrow and her dynamic with her husband. I liked that they all had weird vibes until the end. So my theories were all wrong lol

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book. I loved this thriller told through many different voices in a great setting. It was easy to read, but very well-written, and kept me compelled to keep going and find out what happened.

This is MY kind of book. When I started, I asked my husband if he'd ever thought about hiking one of the "trails" and even as an avid outdoorsman, he said a clear and concise "No." I've thought about it - more than once. But, I'm allergic to anything green and most things that fly or crawl and between those and the heat, I would make it two days. So, vicarious living it is...and this one was wonderful.

The multifaceted story was woven expertly. You weren't sure if there was foul play. You couldn't determine who the "bad guy" was - as there could be multiple options. You see the desperation of the team, the family, the searchers, the friends, and what appear to be the outliers of the story. It was just a delight to read and one of my favorite kind of books. I can't wait to read more by Gaige!

This book is a slow burn mystery. The main character, Valerie, becomes lost on the Appalachian Trail in the woods of Maine. The boox juxtaposes her chapters of comtemplating her life, writing in her journal to her beloved mother, along with the Game Warden tasked with findiong her, Bev. Bev is no shrinking violet, having to deal with sexism in her male-dominated profession her whole life. She's very good at her job - but when the days stretch on with no sign of Valerie, Bev begins to doubt herself and her abilities. In addition, there are chapters about Lena, a resident at an assisted living facility in Connecticut who has an online relationship with an avid forager - I wondered how this character fit in with the rest of the story. However, Gaige pulls the threads together tightly by the end. I enjoyed the book, but readers should know it's more of a character study than a fast paced thriller/mystery. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

I was expecting more of a traditional mystery/thriller feel based on the synopsis, but Heartwood is definitely in the “literary mystery” category. Not a bad thing, as I’ve read and enjoyed several literary mysteries this year, just took a while to adjust. The book was engaging for the most part, and I liked the combination of interview transcripts, Valerie’s letters, etc. In fact, Valerie’s letters were some of the best parts, as they so vividly captured the survival experience. Aside from some of the twists, Lena’s perspective didn’t add much to the mystery itself, and I wish those twists and conspiracies were incorporated better into the rest of the official investigation. There’s a lot of reflection on the importance of community and human resilience.

What a wonderful, tense, emotional, and compelling novel. I enjoyed the mother daughter stories, the stories of women finding meaning and change late in life, stories of both the destructive and transformative power of nature. I was even okay with the lulls in the middle because I enjoyed living with these characters so much. What an achievement!

This book covers so much more than just searching for a lost hiker. Valerie's poems to her mother, the warden searching for her, the elderly woman in the nursing home. Their stories are just as important as the search for the hiker. Full of emotion and hope. I really enjoyed the book.

I enjoyed HEARTWOOD, though it wasn’t the intense experience that I expected.

The writing is engaging and atmospheric. The scenes with Valerie lost in the mountains were riveting. I wish we’d had more of them.

I loved that Beverly was a strong female investigator, and I appreciated how we saw the effect her job had on her personal life.

I didn’t like Lena’s parts. I felt they detracted rather than enhanced the story.

I mostly listened to the audiobook, which has a full cast of narrators. It’s extremely well done. I also occasionally read sections from my print copy.

*Thanks to Simon Books for the free hardcover, and to Simon Audio for the free audiobook download!*

This was great! Heartwood is described as a slow burn, which is true, but I couldn't put it down!

Heartwood is a multi-POV mystery surrounding the search for a missing hiker, 40-something Valerie Gillis, on the Appalachian Trail in Maine.

POVs include: 1) letters written by Valerie to her mother while lost in the wilderness, 2) Maine State Game Warden, Lt Beverly, who is leading the search, 3) 70-something Lena who is an avid bird watcher living at an assisted living facility in CT, and 4) a variety of phone interviews and emails to the tip line.

This literary mystery was well-written! Thank you for the gifted copy Simon and Schuster!

4.5 stars

What a powerful read! I will be recommending this book to everyone because it was such a great book. I loved the different perspectives from all of the different characters. It definitely gave some heart to the book and it was nice to get to know these characters so intimately.

When I finished this book it had me staring at the wall for a few minutes because it just stuck with me. I will be thinking about this book for a long time.

Heartwood is a structurally complex lost person search told by three distinct women. Valerie Gillis is lost in the woods of Maine. Her story is told through her journal with entries addressed to her mother. Lt. Bev's section is written in the first person. She is the Warden in charge of finding Valerie, struggling with the case despite historically successful searches, in addition to struggling with a lonely personal life and ailing mother. Finally, there is Lena. Her third person (perfect choice for her detachment btw) section reveals her as a neurospicy, foraging, wheelchair-bound, elderly woman only a floor (or so) away from fully assisted living at her retirement community. These women connect in a way that is not overwrought and thus satisfying though the ending left me wanting. I was very pleased with the outcome of almost all of the characters, but a confusingly paced last chapter took me out of the story a bit. Though I liked Lena as a character, I found myself putting the book down when I would get to her chapters. I enjoyed the book overall, and I'm happy to say I've read it.
Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this ARC!

This novel didn’t intrigue or fascinate me. I can see why a lot of readers enjoyed it, but unfortunately I just couldn’t connect with the 2 main characters. I think the writing style was not very strong. I wanted more complexity and I got mediocre instead.