Map Monday #27

Hello and welcome to ‘Map Monday’. This was inspired by the current pandemic and lockdowns and the inability to travel. I will share one book each week with you that is set somewhere different to where I live. I’ll chat a bit about the book and throw some interesting facts out there about the place. I hope you enjoy travelling through books with me…

This week I’ve picked ‘The Boy From The Woods’ by Harlan Coben …which is set in New Jersey.

Book Synopsis:

Thirty years ago, Wilde was found as a boy living feral in the woods, with no memory of his past. Now an adult, he still doesn’t know where he comes from, and another child has gone missing.

No one seems to take Naomi Pine’s disappearance seriously, not even her father-with one exception. Hester Crimstein, a television criminal attorney, knows through her grandson that Naomi was relentlessly bullied at school. Hester asks Wilde-with whom she shares a tragic connection-to use his unique skills to help find Naomi.

Wilde can’t ignore an outcast in trouble, but in order to find Naomi he must venture back into the community where he has never fit in, a place where the powerful are protected even when they harbor secrets that could destroy the lives of millions . . . secrets that Wilde must uncover before it’s too late.

Facts about New Jersey:

• New Jersey is a state in the USA
• It is the fifth-smallest state based on land area, but with close to 9.3 million residents
• Around 180 million years ago, during the Jurassic Period, New Jersey bordered North Africa. The pressure of the collision between North America and Africa gave rise to the Appalachian Mountains. Around 18,000 years ago, the Ice Age resulted in glaciers that reached New Jersey. As the glaciers retreated, they left behind Lake Passaic, as well as many rivers, swamps, and gorges
• New Jersey was one of the Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution
• New Jersey is called the Garden State because it became famous in the 18th century for the fertility of its land. It is now also among the most urbanized and crowded of states
• Lakes and ponds cover about 300 square miles of the state’s surface
• Lambert Castle in New Jersey is Home to the State’s “Spoon Museum” containing over 5,400 spoons
• New Jersey’s population reflects the immigration patterns of the 19th and 20th centuries, including Germans and Slavs, Russian and European Jews, Irish, and Italians. Those categorized as white constitute more than2/3rds of the population
• Italian Americans are the state’s largest ethnic group
• New Jersey has a large and prestigious research sector, with one of the country’s highest numbers of engineers and scientists per capita
• They have state Dinosaur, The Hadrosaurus