Sci-Fi & Scary

Forest Secrets is a good read. It’s well written, with unique metaphors suited to the setting, and addresses serious issues. Daisy Castillo gets in over her head when a simple jaunt into the forest leads to uncovering a conspiracy. Along the way, she learns that simple things like everyone has sadness. That just because someone gets mad at you doesn’t mean they don’t like you. She also learns about good and bad aspects of logging, protecting the environment, and what endangered species are. This is a kids book, but it is not a simple kids book. It will educate and touch your child’s heart.

I can only imagine self-doubt and sad thoughts that a child must feel when one of their parents decides to not be in their family life any more. When they seem happy to just up and disappear and not look back. It must be horribly stressing for them. Laurie Woodward addresses this issue in Forest Secrets. The main character, Daisy, is still dealing with the pain of her father’s voluntary separation from her and her mother. She doesn’t realize at first that she did nothing wrong. She idolizes her father, and thinks that he’ll be back. That he will come back if she makes things interesting enough for him to come back. Finally, she realizes that she can have adventures for the sake of having adventures, not because she needs to do it to bring her daddy back.

Overall, Forest Secrets is one of those books that I would definitely recommend to classrooms and local libraries. It is not the type of book that enthralls you, but for the right kid, it might make all the difference. Also, Daisy is an adorable, adventurous, kick-butt girl heroine. It’s good to read stories like this.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review.