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3.01 AVERAGE
3.01 AVERAGE
Ah, Stephanie Perkins - how I love your books! Her series was the first romance series I read and loved back in high school, and I've especially enjoyed her pivot to teen horror - a genre that has been entirely overlooked since the '90s. I enjoyed There's Someone Inside Your House, but I feel like Perkins has really expanded upon her grasp of horror writing this time, with a much creepier story that had me freaked out at night after putting it down - I feel like this one partially works better because if it's closer focus on horror, instead of also including romance as in TSIYH. Neena and Josie are believable protagonists that I related to as someone who also experienced that dread of what life after high school held, and their friendship struggles added that extra tension to the story to elevate it past a basic outdoors spook fest. The pacing can be a bit wonky, but just stick with it, because the last half is set up beautifully by the slow open of the first. I don't want to give away too much to what the big scare of this story is, because half of the fun is the ambiguity of what exactly is following them in the woods....but let's just say it's hard to really creep me out, and the end of this book? OH, it definitely did. Will I ever be able to go back to the Pisgah Forest after this? We'll see!
dark
tense
The Woods are Always Watching by Stephanie Perkins is about Neena and Josie, 2 girls about to go off to collages on opposite ends of the country who decide to have one last get together before Neena leaves for LA.
They decide to have one last trip together before leaving and decide to go camping and hiking in the Appalachian mountains rather than bonding the trip makes both girls miserable.
The girls begin to realize they aren’t alone
In the woods and begin a fight for survival.
My Thoughts: Overall this book was just okay for me. I found some parts hard to believe and it was very slow in the beginning and took about halfway through for things to pick up.
I really wanted to like this, but it was terrible. I actually hoped for the characters to get eaten by a bear.
The two main characters were boring and annoying. The first half of the book was just them sniping at each other, and they were HILARIOUSLY unprepared for their trip.
The action was good (once you finally got there) but not worth the wait. Skip this.
The two main characters were boring and annoying. The first half of the book was just them sniping at each other, and they were HILARIOUSLY unprepared for their trip.
The action was good (once you finally got there) but not worth the wait. Skip this.
Utterly unremarkable in every way. Every beat of this story, every character motivation--you have seen before in a forgettable horror movie.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
This book was definitely horrifying from a real-life perspective. I now have no desire to go hiking or camping anytime soon, thanks Steph Perkins.
The good things about this book: the suspense, the realistic dangers of the outdoors & men in general, and the tension between Josie & Neena about their separate futures.
The bad things: deus ex machina-ish at the end (trying to avoid spoilers) and this book's un-reread-ability. I appreciated the scary read but there's nothing in the pages that makes me want to go back for another round.
3/5 Stars.
The good things about this book: the suspense, the realistic dangers of the outdoors & men in general, and the tension between Josie & Neena about their separate futures.
The bad things: deus ex machina-ish at the end (trying to avoid spoilers) and this book's un-reread-ability. I appreciated the scary read but there's nothing in the pages that makes me want to go back for another round.
3/5 Stars.
I gave it two stars because I actually finished it but I have many complaints. 1) The first 100 or so pages are literally nothing but hiking and bickering. 2) The threat in the woods feels rushed and the tiny bit of backstory we are treated to isn't enough and comes on in the weirdest ways. 3) There's no explanation as to why they do this. 4) Josie would have succumbed to her injuries almost immediately. 5) There is no real ending. I enjoyed Stephanie Perkins romance series (which normally im not into) but I'm not excited about her foray into horror.