What the Woods Took

What the Woods Took was a wild ride, a book about loyalty, friendship, self-discovery, survival, and dealing with personal issues, but a horror novel? Not really. I thought the author did a great job at describing the scenes in the wilderness and the difficulties of surviving when left alone as well as the trauma with which these teens were dealing. There were a lot of sensitive topics that were discussed and they were dealt with sensitivity and care. However well done the character development and growth though, I did think the actual horror element wasn't quite as developed.

First, the characters. Sheridan was actually my favourite character and I thought her development arc was the strongest of all of them. She grew from this show more petulant, angry person to someone who cared deeply about others and who was willing to look within herself and understand why she was behaving the way she was. The other characters had similar growth and honestly, I was impressed with the character development. I was personally invested in all their journeys and looked forward to learning more about their lives. I will admit to some frustration as I didn't learn as much as I would have liked about Ollie's relationship with his father or about Aidan's relationship with his mother and why exactly why the two of them were there. When I discussed this book with a couple of friends who had read it, I was amazed at who we all connected with as everyone thought a different character had better character development. This just shows the scope of the author's skill that she can reach different people with her book.

I did enjoy the story and wondered what would happen to the teens when they were left stranded. Honestly, getting lost in forest settings comes second to haunted houses for me in the horror genre as there is so much possibility for awful things to happen. And while we have some monsters, I don't think the author took the story far enough as there was a lot of focus on personal growth and trauma over the monster story line. Things could have been so much worse, but somehow they were able to read maps, get food, etc... and survive quite well. This coming from a bunch of teens who have barely set foot in a wilderness setting, well, as someone who has trekked a lot of wilderness, this doesn't come off that well. The author did try to show the teens were out of their league in one sense, but in the other they were splitting up and finding each other, no problem, in dense forest, with little experience. Um, no.

Verdict
What the Woods Took did surprise me with its insightful treatment of trauma and the growth of the characters what really fascinating. I truly appreciated the author's way of handling a lot of the situations that arose and thought they were done very well. I didn't think the horror element of the book was that strong, and I certainly didn't believe that five teens who had no experience with backpacking through rough terrain would survive the way they did in this book. Too many liberties with survival skills that are not learned that easily, from someone who has backpacked many wilderness areas. I will definitely read another book by this author as I enjoyed the writing style and liked the overall story. show less

3.5 rounded up
This was a good premise with a great variety of characters. I have always been interested in those "scared straight" teen wilderness boot camp type of programs because I think the concept is just so wildly unbelievable it shocks me anyone actually thought it was working. I also love stories like Lord of the Flies where young people are left to survive on their own for whatever reason. So needless to say that this story sounded amazing to me when I heard about it. You've got five teens all from different backgrounds, all there for different reasons taken from their homes at night and driven to the woods to be left with two "counselors" that are barely adults themselves and so full of toxic positivity it's sickening. What show more could go wrong? HAHAHAHA! Not only do we get the teens and their drama which is interesting, but I think we could have gotten a little more of it. You get sort of basic stories as to why their parents want them "fixed" but it sort of felt like the author was holding back and I think it would have made it easier to connect & care about the kids if we knew more. Like Aiden, I really could have a whole story on him alone. Throughout their experience, they hike everyday to their next campsite and sleep outside, which to me, sounds like absolute hell. Very quickly though, things start happening in the woods and the counselors disappear leaving the kids alone to figure out where they're supposed to go and how to find help. From there things get pretty creepy and intense. I do think there were parts of the story that could have been shorter since they weren't interesting nor did they add anything. Overall I liked it, it was fun, though that kind of feels weird to say about something like this. There was some great character development and I do think a lot of YA readers will see some great representation when they read this. show less

What the Woods Took by Courtney Gould
Genre: Horror • YA • LGBTQ+
Pages : 336
(3.5/5)

Quick Summary (No Spoilers)

Devin Green wakes in the middle of the night to find two men abducting her from her room. Her foster parents knew. Signed off on it. Planned it.

She’s driven deep into the Idaho wilderness, where she’s dropped off with a group of equally confused teens. The explanation? They’ve been enrolled in an experimental wilderness therapy program meant to fix their self-destructive behavior during a 50-day survival trek.

But the woods feel wrong.

Faces appear between the trees.
Visions flicker where nothing should be.
And when the counselors disappear, the program stops feeling like therapy and starts feeling like a fight to show more survive.
The deeper the group travels into the forest, the clearer it becomes that the monsters in the woods might not be the only danger.😦

My Thoughts💭

What I enjoyed:
The premise grabbed me immediately. Troubled teens dumped into the woods for “therapy” tense and layering in something supernatural /horror made it even better. The atmosphere felt like sitting in a dark theater watching a creepy movie unfold. The suspense and eerie moments kept me curious about what would happen next all the while giving me creepy chills.

What I was not feeling and reason's I only gave it a 3 1/2 star rating, well I’m still a bit confused about ||how the mimics/monsters actually replaced or got rid of some of the characters||. That part felt a little unclear and left me with questions.

The pacing was solid. It starts a bit slow while setting everything up, but the intrigue kept me invested and the author was good in keeping the tension steadily building.

Characters 🧍🧍

Best liked for me :
**Ollie** — he stood by his convictions and had a quiet strength that made him really easy to root for. 💪💪

Other things I enjoyed ... The teens felt messy and complicated in ways that made them believable and like yea I could see this in a movie and not be a plot hole for me.

Without spoiling anything… The Hannah scene was a moment that was *genuinely chilling* in that classic horror-movie way where you’re sitting there like: “…well that is absolutely not okay.”

Thought-provoking 🧠
Dark 🖤
Action-packed ⚔️
Spooky 👻

Plus a heavy dose of creepy forest energy 🌲

I Recommend It 📢 for readers who enjoy:
• Thriller and horror fans
• Survival stories
• Creepy wilderness settings
• YA horror with darker themes

goodreads has it as a cross between Yellowjackets meets Girl, Interrupted, I haven't seen either so I couldn't say that is true but I can say it hit the thriller mark for me enough to recommend, LOL show less

"What the Woods Took" is a YA eldritch horror novel following Devin and 4 other teens that have been enrolled in a wilderness therapy program. Devin, Ollie, Sheridan, Aiden, and Hannah each have a troubled past that their guardians wanted to fix by sending them to his program. While the teens explore what things they have done and why, the forest seems to also be listening. After completing their first milestone, they become separated from their counselors, Liv and Ethan, and find themselves stranded in a strange forest. All five have to face their own fears, pasts, doubts, and nightmares as they fight to trust each other and stay alive against the horrors in the wood.

This audiobook was narrated by Lindsey Dorcus. She did a really good show more job with infusing the story with emotion. Her cadence was well timed and didn't feel choppy or disjointed. Each character had a distinct voice and I knew who was speaking only partway through the book without needing the prompts (i.e. "said Ethan" or "Devin answered" etc.). Her voice didn't get carried away during the hectic scenes, she was always steady throughout without sounding disinterested. I am curious to know which other books she has narrated.

I'm in a cottage-core horror era and I have loved finding books that fit this niche. "What the Woods Took" is an eldritch horror that checked all of these boxes. Seeing these creatures bring up the people and things the teens feared most triggered my empathy and had me curious as to what the monsters would show me if I had been in this same situation. Each of the teens were unique and the author took the time to give each of them a distinct personality and flaws that could be slowly worked on throughout the novel. I really liked what each brought to the table and felt they were well written and not two dimensional.

One thing I was a bit sad that it didn't talk much about was how detrimental wilderness therapy was/is to those that do go through it. Obviously, these teens were put to the test with all that they faced. However, real teens have truly suffered in these programs and this instead was just a unique setting to get them all out into the woods.

Anyone that loves a solid YA horror novel surrounding unique creatures in a wood should absolutely read this book. It has LGBTQ representation, enemies-to-lovers slow burn, eldritch horrors, and an intense survival scenario.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for allowing me to read/listen to this novel early! show less

I should probably not have read this the week I'm supposed to go camping.

Send off a group of troubled teens on a "wilderness therapy" program and mix in some supernatural weirdness with a dash of queer romance.

I am not a big horror fan, but I always enjoy Courtney Gould's books. While this isn't my favorite of Gould's books, it was an interesting adventure. I liked the setting a lot. I liked Ollie. There are things that don't really make a lot of sense, though. Like how did the counselors or whomever set up food drops without falling victim to the same thing this group did? Overall, I wish I liked it more than I did, but I'm not mad I read it.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

Five troubled teens in a behavioral therapy program in the woods with two counselors that really have no business running it; what could possibly go wrong? Throughout the experience, each character’s lives come to light and is used against them in one way or another. As the woods grow more and more sinister, survival is the only name of the game.
Gould delivers a well written, mysteriously disturbing tale of what could go wrong in this situation. The characters and plot work together seamlessly and the test of inner strength is realized to create a full circle. A touch of the paranormal in this one, but it works!
*I received an arc from the publisher through NetGalley for an honest review

This reminded me a lot of the old horror movie The Thing. I loved it! I really enjoy Gould's storytelling. She draws me in.

*I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.*