What Lies in the Woods

“There is a wilderness in little girls.”

This quotation introduces the theme of individuals being more complex than they seem and of appearances not always aligning with reality: Here, a trio of preadolescent girls play out feral fantasies that border on the dangerous. The novel challenges social assumptions that girls and women do not harbor aggressive tendencies and sets the stage for the eventual reveal that Cass deliberately goaded Liv into attacking Naomi.

“After that, it belonged to everyone, and each found a different part to tell again and again, polishing it smooth.”

The intense and voyeuristic public interest that quickly arose around Naomi’s experience in the woods made the event even more traumatic for Naomi and led to confusion and misrepresentation about what happened. If there had been less publicity and pressure, Naomi might not have readily agreed that it was Stahl who attacked her. The quotation uses the metaphor of a rock or gem being worn smooth by repeated handling to illustrate how the shape of the story of what happened in the woods is changed by the involvement of others.

“Soon enough our friendship turned downright feral. Forbid us to see each other and we’d spit and claw and sneak out into the woods until our parents relented.”

Naomi’s memories of the intense childhood bond between herself, Liv, and Cass introduce themes of social class and power into the text. Naomi came from a very different social context than her friends, and there was tension between the parents of Cass and Liv.