The Boy from the Woods

How is fatherhood portrayed in the book? How does the novel differentiate it from motherhood, if at all? What might this indicate about gendered notions around raising children?

How are those in positions of power portrayed within the novel? What contemporary concerns might these portrayals reflect?

The Wilde series is a duology. How does Coben build tension and intrigue leading into the second novel? What plot threads are left unanswered, and how does Coben present these with the promise of resolution in the next novel?

What impact does the choice of Hester and Wilde as narrators have on the novel? How does this shape its themes? How might the novel differ if the teenagers were the narrators?

The Sing Sing Correctional Facility is one of the most well-known prisons in the United States. What does the wrongful imprisonment and framing of a Black man for a wealthy politician indicate about the novel’s stance on the US justice system? Why might Coben have chosen Sing Sing instead of a lesser known or fictional prison?

Who gets to define truth in this novel? How does the presence of the horseshoe theory of politics play into the novel’s portrayal of truth?

Wilde finds himself as an outsider in many places within the novel. How does his outsider status tie back to his foundling status? What might his use of the nickname “Wilde” into adulthood imply about his self-perception?

How do the various teenagers in the novel deal with the loss of innocence as they are dragged into criminal and adult affairs? What might the novel be indicating about the process of growing up by putting these children through these experiences?