What a story! I really enjoyed this book and found it so unputdownable. I wanted to find out what happened to Sparrow.
I can see why this book is the Read with Jenna pick for April. Readers going to love this multi-pov about a search for the missing hiker on the Appalachian Trail.

Other things I enjoyed
The letters Valerie writes to her mom
The way the story unfolded
The intrigue and wonder on what happened to Valerie
The deeper look at the searchers
The ending

It’s spring, but it’s that part of spring when winter still looks over your shoulder. Nice days come and go with more frequency, but still, they go, as though the cold months are warning you not to get too comfortable. Don’t relax. Not yet.

Late winter was a great time to read Amity Gaige’s latest, HEARTWOOD, out today, a story about a hiker who goes missing off the Maine leg of the Appalachian Trail. The story toggles among three perspectives: missing hiker Valerie Gillis, Maine State Game Warden Bev, and Lena, a birdwatcher and forager who can’t quite settle into life in her retirement community in Connecticut.

Gillis, a nurse, muses at one point in the novel that no one decides to hike the Appalachian Trail because they are happy. Everyone, even the thin and pretty hikers with plenty of energy, she says, cracks after a couple hundred miles, reveals their true selves. Their hangups. Their tragedies.

If this book stayed with Valerie for too long, it would have veered into THE VASTER WILDS (Lauren Groff, 2023) territory, but it doesn’t. (No hate to Groff, loved that book.) While yes, one third of the story line is about survival (and unraveling the mystery of how, exactly, Valerie became lost), the other two voices balance the story. Lt. Bev is grappling with her approaching retirement, as well as her conflicting allegiances to her arduous, male-dominated career, and to her dying mother, who never approved of her masculine job choice in the first place.

And then, of course, there’s Lena. It’s not clear, for a good long while, how Lena connects to Valerie and Lt. Bev’s storylines, which are obvious in their overlap. Lena, in her seventies, is an enthusiastic birder and forager, attempting to persist in both these hobbies while living in a neatly groomed retirement facility. Estranged from her daughter, she turns to internet forums to make friends and discuss the intricacies of wild food. She becomes fixated on Valerie’s case when her dearest internet friend begins spinning conspiracy theories about where Valerie had gone missing. A scientist at heart, Lena falls into the sticky connective tissue that can make these kinds of theories feel bigger, and more real, than they actually are. And also, a bunch of other stuff I can’t tell you because then there would be no point in reading!

This is very much a literary thriller and, if you can stomach conversations about what it might feel like to starve to death (I am weak and I made it through), I really enjoyed this one. Also, for the New England set, Lt. Bev is from Leominster! North Central Mass. (where I used to work as a local reporter, covering Leominster), makes many an appearance. A delightful surprise!

“Heartwood,” by Amity Gaige, Simon & Schuster, 320 pages, April 1, 2025.

Valerie Gillis. 42, an experienced Appalachian Trail hiker, is missing about 200 miles from her final destination. She has been hiking for three months. There’s no cell phone service on that stretch of the trail.

Valerie, a nurse, writes in her journal a series of letters to her mother as she struggles to stay alive. Her trail name is Sparrow. Her husband, Gregory Bouras, reported her missing.

Lt. Beverly Miller, a Maine State Game Warden, leads the search on the ground. She’s been in the business of finding people lost in the woods for 30 years. She and Bob Cross head the incident management team for their district. Warden Cody Ouellette interviews Ruben Serrano, an overweight Black man, who uses the trail name Santo. He hiked with Valerie in Pennsylvania, but he quit his hike in Vermont.

Lena Kulcharski, 76, a birdwatcher in a Connecticut retirement community, becomes an armchair detective. She is talking to someone in a chat room who goes by the online name Terrible Silence. He lives in Bethel, Maine. He thinks he knows what happened to Valerie.

The characters are good and the depictions of conflict between mothers and daughters are realistic. The descriptions of how searches are done fascinating. The novel does drag a bit towards the middle, but it has a good ending.

I rate it four out of five stars.

In accordance with FTC guidelines, the advance reader's edition of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

Gage puts a more literary take on a survival thriller here, and overall I liked this approach. Valerie is in the middle of a months-long hike when she disappears, and the book alternates between Valerie, the warden in charge of the search, and a lady in a retirement home who suddenly feels drawn to follow the case. I definitely was most engaged with Valerie’s parts, and since it is more of a literary story it goes into a lot of background on each character which I didn’t feel was always necessary but overall a solid, quick read.

What I liked about this read, which on its face is not one I would resonate positively with, is that we're not in doubt about Valerie's disappearance. We're reading her letters to her mom as the search for her unfolds. And yet it's a thriller...so how does Amity Gaige pull that off?

Deftly.

Honestly I'm still allergic to the Cult of Mother stuff...you'll have noticed an absence of any part of a fifth star...but the beautiful nature descriptions and the bleeding honesty of the toll that living in times celebrating dehumanizing "values" earned all four remaining stars. Leaving out the mother-daughter mealymouthing would've earned at least another half, just for Valerie's impressive if misused commitment to helping. Everyone, except herself...and how'd that little poison pill get in there. We do see that realization come to her. Her early-story-days burnout from nursing nursing nursing during COVID's worst days means she's in need of time to process and consolidate her new emotional world...that won't include the husband she does't love anymore, but who is her logistical support on this trip....

Beverly the Maine warden tasked with finding Valerie before her week's-worth of supplies runs out is, well, standard. She's a salty salt-of-the-earth supercompetent woman who throws herself into a job she's damned good at...to avoid dealing with her mother's steady decline into death. It's not like this is a groundbreaking idea. It is, however, very relatable; Beverly is rewarded and praised for the good work she does when other work must be neglected to do it. Work she does not want to do. "Women's work." Caring for her mother is...just too hard, given the older woman's dereliction of care for her, and effective devolution of care for Bev's sisters onto her too-young shoulders. Finding strangers who are a lot less competent than she is? Easy; and very much needed in the huge spaces that Maine has never "developed."

Lena is retired, lives a dull life of nothing much except chatting about birds to an unknown-in-meatspace mystery soul after her "useful" existence is done with her. She's sharp; she's savvy; she's got online skills that enable her to help Valerie and Beverly; so she does. I liked her best...I am her, I guess that won't surprise anyone that I think she's a good'un. She's estranged from her only child; she's difficult and spiky; and still can't resist doing something useful in despite of her physical disability. Yup. Thass me. The style of storytelling allows one to follow the developments, even Lena's, in the story's real time. It really worked on me.

How it all fits together is the fun of the read. I won't spoiler it because I am boot-quakingly afraid of the Spoiler Stasi. I'll say that misdirection я Amity. I had a firm opinion about where this was going and, when it got to the Big Reveal, I was correct. It gave me a lovely warm glow of satisfaction.

What makes this good Book Club Fiction™ is this mélange of traits, but most especially the dull mother-daughter conflicts. My own mother was awful; I do my goddamnedest to think around and past her gargoyle-statue-shaped lump in my head. But I've had decades of therapy and most of y'all ain't, so stories told about this feel better to you. I think Jenna Bush Hager picked a great iteration of the undistinguished, indistinguishable mass of Book Club Fiction™ to show y'all.

Buy one to say thank you to a talented author with her finger on The Pulse℠, and a celeb who's Book Club Fiction™ taste is solidly on the side of craft mastery instead of glam glitz and suchlike gubbins.

Not at all mad I read it.

What an absolutely beautiful well written book. Living in the Appalachias this really hits home. Thank you for the opportunity to read this arc.

Heartwood is a suspenseful novel about Valerie Gillis, a 42-year-old hiker who disappears along the Appalachian Trail in Maine. As she battles for survival, writing letters to her mother, the narrative also follows Beverly, a Maine State Game Warden leading the search, and Lena, a 76-year-old birdwatcher turned armchair detective. The story explores themes of survival, human connection to nature, and complex family relationships.

Review:

i have no notes. this novel was astonishingly beautiful, taking us on a journey we never expected to end so bittersweet. did i cry at the end? yah, absolutely. everything felt so finite, yet laced with a tinge of hope. i love bev, lena, and valerie—three strong, flawed women. i love what this novel says about hope, about losing it, searching for it, and how it shifts from woman to woman. i could go on and on, but this was truly a phenomenal read.

Wow! I wished I had not rushed through it because it is that good. A throw back to the remnants of Wild by Cheryl Strayed refreshes the struggles and challenges of hiking she experienced when deciding to do the hike on a whim. Another book if you like this topic is Into the Wild about Chris McCandless by Jon Krakauer.
On a different trail, Valerie decides to hike the Appalachian Trail for 2,000 miles. When she doesn't show up at one of her checkpoints only 200 miles from her destination, a search team is dispatched. The story covers online updates, interviews, tips, and assignments for the team. It also shares the letters she writes to her mother about the elements and struggles she faces.
"The mystery inspires larger questions about the many ways in which we get lost, and how we are found." The documentation in her final moments of the hike are all crucial tips. There are many threats, such as the time lapse between her disappearance, not enough supplies and injuries can all diminish her survival chances.
One of the POVs is Game Warden Beverly who seeks approval from others that she can do the job of finding Valerie, building anticipation and suspense. This character is well-portrayed and likable. Throughout I had mixed emotions about what had happened. I have hiked through the Great Smoky Mountains alone. My time spent in redemption and restoration with a foreboding that I'm not safe. Usually it was after I laid down at night and thought maybe I shouldn't have done that. The book weighs heavily on her personal battles. The need for the hike comes after the peak of COVID where Valerie wore herself down trying to meet the demands of so many sick people, as well as death.
The other POV is Lena, who lives in a retirement community and helps from her home with the search. Both of these characters are well thought out and in depth with their own lives and struggles.
Well-written in the suspense category!
Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this incredible ARC in exchange for my honest review

This gripping literary thriller weaves together the lives of three women: Valerie, a nurse who vanishes while hiking the Appalachian Trail; Lt. Bev, a Maine game warden leading the search for her; and Lena, a 70-year-old nursing home resident who becomes fixated on Valerie’s disappearance through online conversations with a Reddit forager. Though their stories unfold unevenly at times, the novel remains compelling, largely due to the unique yet interconnected experiences of these three fully fleshed out women.

Although the ending is somewhat predictable, the novel’s strength lies in its lyrical writing, exploration of female resilience, and poignant mother-daughter themes. Valerie’s journal entries and poetry, written as she struggles to survive in the wilderness, are particularly moving. Bev and Lena also stand out as richly developed characters, with Lena’s transformation from an isolated woman to a grandmotherly figure adding emotional depth to the story.

Ultimately, this novel keeps you turning the pages, eager to see how these three women’s paths converge. This thoughtful, atmospheric thriller resonates most in its exploration of survival, connection, and the inner lives of women.

I have been on something of a Maine-kick lately. From Stephen King to Richard Russo to Linda Holmes to John Irving, I have found myself drawn over and over to stories set in Maine. So of course I was over the moon to read Heartwood and further fulfill my never-ending need for more Maine stories.

In Heartwood, Valerie, and experienced hiker, goes missing. Her disappearance stirs up work for both local law enforcement and amateur detectives, all looking into what could possible have happened to her. An unexpected story with so much to offer, I loved Heartwood and it was nothing like I would have imagined when I read the premise.

In the wild of the Maine woods, an experienced Appalachian Trail hiker has gone missing. Valerie Gillis, age 42 has vanished 200 miles from her final destination. Alone and lost in the wilderness, Valerie records her thoughts in letters to her mother as she battles the elements and struggles against hopelessness.

Beverly is the determined Maine State Game Warden tasked with finding Valerie, leading the ground search. Lena, is a seventy-six-year-old birdwatcher living in a Connecticut retirement community, who unexpectedly becomes involved in the investigation. The story flips back and forth between the two narratives. The search intensifies and becomes frantic due to some puzzling circumstances. Could there be more behind Valerie’s disappearance than just a case of becoming lost in the woods?

Heartwood is a suspenseful, yet tender story filled with mystery.

A woman whose trail name is Sparrow has flitted off course and is missing somewhere on the Appalachian Trail in Maine, about 200 miles from her destination. A game warden, whose job it is to find missing people, wants to find her. A slightly reclusive online birdwatcher slowly realizes a key piece of information. A fellow hiker who goes by Santo, rambles on and on during an interview because he knew Sparrow.

I haven't named everyone, and honestly, at least two of the characters could just be named Red Herring for all the point they serve in the book.

What do you want out of a book about a hiker lost in the woods? More.

Gaige is probably just not an author for me — many will like this book, but I will remain outside that circle. Steadfastly. Heartwood is exactly what I do not like about the pervasive use of present tense in a plot-driven novel. Reader, I was bored.

Stylistically or structurally, this just isn't a novel I would be likely to enjoy. The present tense for the game warden is one thing — I don't accept that it makes sense, but I comprehend the desire to lean into its gimmicky nature for want of a cinematic unfurling. (Please, let's stop pretending that the written word is the same medium as cinema. It's not and it deserves more respect as its own delivery system for storytelling.)

Also included in the delivery of this story are a couple of examples of epistolary narratives, one is from Sparrow's own hand by way of her journal entries which take the form of her addressing her mother for comfort, particularly during the first days in which she finds herself lost. The other is in the interview transcription for the Santo character. In both of these, but especially with Sparrow's journal entries (her real name is Valerie Gillis), Gaige pretty quickly ignores the conceit of pretending that this would be what someone would actually write down — or in the case of the interview, how someone would actually speak. There is TOO MUCH narrative, too much dialogue, and I find it so incredibly hard to believe anyone would write their experiences in a journal in present tense and with full passages of dialogue. Full stop. No.

But, even in the novel's wrap-up, the choices made for the resolution underscored why I found this novel so boring. To say more would be to spoil the ending, so I'll leave it there — but the ways in which it reached its climax and finale only bothered me further. I'm still shaking my head.

This is a literary suspense novel about a nurse and experienced hiker named Valerie who goes missing on the Appalachian Trail in Maine. Her loved ones, volunteers, and Wardens in the area all come together in the hopes of finding Valerie before it’s too late.

The story is told from the perspectives of Valerie via letters she writes to her mom while lost in the wilderness; Lieutenant Bev who organizes the search parties; and Lena - an elderly armchair sleuth in Connecticut. Lena's arc appears disjointed from the other two at first but it manages to come together in the end. While each of these women grapple with their own unique challenges, they all illustrate themes of loneliness and complex mother-daughter relationships.

The book additionally raises discussion around mental health and government conspiracy theories, which felt either heavy handed or underdeveloped. I also found them distracting from the main search and rescue mission at times. Furthermore, the pacing was slow and less tense than anticipated. Lastly, I thought some of the other characters were written in as filler rather than being substantive to the plot.

I wish I liked this one more as it is well researched, based on a true story, and full of descriptive scenes of the wild and hikers’ experiences. If you’re into literary missing person stories set against a vast natural setting then this one may be for you!

Thank you Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC!

If you are looking for a fast-paced disappearance mystery/thriller this one for you!

This story follows a missing hiker (Valerie) on the Appalachian Trail who never turned up to her midway spot. Most lost hikers get recovered within 24 hours, but time is against Lt. Bev and her search and rescue team. There's interviews with Valerie's husband, Santo- the last hiker to have seen Valerie, and an additional POV from Lena- a 70 year old lady who thinks that Valerie might be her estranged daughter who left her decades ago.

This is a deep character study for parental relationships and survival. My favorite part was how the multiple POVs meshed together at the end (THE TWIST!) and I loved having Valerie's side of things told through journal entries. Very clever writing craft. It is a little over 300 pages and it goes quick!

Absolutely a must read for fans of All Colors of the Dark and The God of the Woods.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Simon Books for the ARC!

Content: very minor language (mostly from Santo's interviews), racial bias

This book takes you on an emotional rollercoaster, and I loved every minute of this hard to put down novel. Valerie is a nurse hiking the Appalachian Trail in Maine and she goes missing 200 miles from her final stop. This story is told from multiple points of view the first is Valerie thru her emotional letters written to her Mom. The 2nd view point is Beverly the Game Warden that is leading the search for Valerie, while dealing with her own family crisis. The final point of view is Lena a woman in a Connecticut retirement home who shows great interest in the case. This book has mystery but also addresses the relationships of Mothers and daughters of all generations. I absolutely loved this quick read and will be recommending it too all my reading friends!

As a hiker, the premise of this novel, along with the epic cover art, immediately called to me—and it did not disappoint. Heartwood is a slow-burn thriller that takes place in the wilds of Maine when hiker, Valerie, goes missing.

Told from multiple engaging POVs, we get a glimpse into nurse Valerie’s motivations for embarking on a solo hike along the Appalachian Trail. When she fails to show up for a scheduled stop to meet her newly estranged husband, Maine Game Warden, Beverly, begins the arduous task of search and rescue.

As a reader I was deeply invested in determining what happened to Valerie. The pacing of the story was never break neck, but I felt consistently compelled to read “just one more chapter” and I was completely satisfied with how to story came together. Beverly was, by far, my favorite character but I definitely enjoyed all of the different points of view—especially those of Valerie’s trail buddies.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to @netgalley and @simonandschuster for the digital ARC. Heartwood publishes tomorrow.

I loved this book! A great combo of heartwarming but also thrilling, if anything I wanted MORE on these characters.

4.25 Stars

This story begins with the disappearance of Valerie Gillis, a flip-flop hiker on the Appalachian Trail, somewhere in the vast wilderness of Maine. Heading the search is Lt. Bev, a Maine Game Warden in her late 50's with a very good success rate for finding lost persons. While a good bit of the story is told from Lt. Bev's POV, we also get entries from Valerie's diary from after she is lost, interview transcripts from Valerie's hiking partner, Santo, and the story of Lena, a resident of a Connecticut assisted living facility.

I really like reading stories of the wilderness, especially those with a wildlife biologist or game warden as a central character. And, I love a multi POV book! So when I saw that this had both, I was all in. The story is well written and the characters well developed, despite there being so many points of view. In fact these multiple narrators often help the reader to learn more about the other story tellers. I was puzzled by the inclusion of some things, but overall this was a really good read, that I highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Heartwood was difficult to out down. The pace just drew me in. The book wis written from different perspectives; the search and rescue lieutenant., the lost hiker through her journal written to her mother, her hiking buddy and finally an older woman who befriends a young man.

All of the characters are flawed and trying to survive physically and mentally. The author portrays each in a believable way.

Great read. Thank you NetGalley.

Another 2025 top read of the year contender!

This slow burn missing person book unfolds between multiple POVs and includes mixed media inserts (news articles, letters, diary entries, press releases, Reddit chats, and witness interviews). When Valerie disappears off of the Appalachian Trail in Maine, so close to her final destination, local Game Warden, Lt. Bev, must lead the search and rescue operation through the thick forests that stretches over 14 heart wrenching days.
Readers are also introduced to Lena, an elderly woman who lives in an assisted living facility in Connecticut. Lena is a forager enthusiast and an active participant in Reddit threads. Gaige weaves together the threads of Valerie, Bev, and Lena’s lives with masterful storytelling, sharp characterization, and beautiful prose. There is a great blend of suspense, suspects, and potential outcomes that kept me up late into the night to finish this read. Heartwood is the type of book I will not forget for years, as I grew to care deeply about each protagonist. Thoroughly researched and with accessible writing, I felt as if I was lost in the woods myself! Heartwood explores themes of grief, life crossroads, survival, familial bonds, friendship, and legacy. Readers who enjoy books with vivid nature descriptions, poignant themes, and remarkable characters will enjoy this new release!