Reviews with content warning for Suicide - What the Woods Took

Devin Green is a foster child in Portland, Oregon. One night, she's taken from her foster parents' home and placed in the care of REVIVE, a troubled teen wilderness therapy group. She tries several times to run, but knows she has no other option. She meets Ollie on the way there, and Aidan, Hannah, and Sheridan at the woods. Coaches Ethan and Liv are supposed to be their guardians for this 50 day long expedition, but only a few days in, they both go missing. Strange things happen while the kids try to navigate the woods using their limited skills, and eventually Coach Liv reappears... but something is wrong, very wrong.

I requested this book from NetGalley originally because I thought it would be a fun thriller with some mental health elements intertwined. I was highly surprised when there were creatures and monsters in the forest. And I was hooked. The novel was very easy to read, and although there were several characters who shared the spotlight, it was easy to tell them apart and get into their own personal stories. They all came from different backgrounds, and showed that no matter where you come from, life can be horrible for a young adult with mental illness.

I'm not usually a big fan of YA novels, but the characters were older in this book, and I was able to connect with them pretty well. They did things teenagers would do, and I think having the coaches disappear mid-book helped solidify that.

The troubled teen industry is a very real thing, and I've heard so many horror stories that don't involve monsters. Courtney Gould was able to construct a novel on a real topic that provided a spotlight to these horrible wilderness programs, while also delving into the issues involving teen mental health.

Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read this advanced review copy. All opinions are my own.

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whatkatyread87's review

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adventurous hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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soobooksalot's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

What The Woods Took went into the unexpected.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press for my eARC for review!
Teenagers Devin, Ollie, Sheridan, Hannah, and Aiden have been labelled as "troubled". They have been forceably sent to the Revive Teen Rehabilitation Program to hike, camp, and survive their way to better life choices.
I was expecting a straightforward plot with an inside look at the TTI and wildnerness programs for struggling youth.
What The Woods Took started out that way, but veered in a whole other direction.
The Idaho forests have an eerie, unnatural quality to them - void even of animal sounds. Sights from the teen's past traumas emerge from the shadows. I was constantly second-guessing as to who - or what - could be trusted.
This was my first read from author Courtney Gould, and I easily enjoyed her writing style and the elements incorporated.
Released Dec. 10.

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tinynightingales's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"What the Woods Took" is like if "Where the Wild Things Are" was a nightmare. Devin is a foster kid who is used to fending for herself. She has spent her entire life acting out and being sent from broken home to broken home, but when she is stolen from her bed and thrust into a Wilderness Explorer program for troubled teens, she's sure she has hit rock bottom. Armed with nothing, but her vicious words and a powerful right hook, she is determined to survive this program if only in spite of the system that chewed her up and spat her out, even if she has to suffer through horrible group mates, non-stop hiking, and gross food options. However, Devin soon finds that there is something about the forest that feels inexplicably strange. When the group leaders go missing Devin discovers that the forest is more dangerous than she ever could have imagined.

This book includes:
- troubled teens in a behavioral wilderness program
- nightmares come to life
- generational curses and broken spirits
- camaraderie
- LGBT protagonist
- TW mentioned but not on page: child abuse, drug abuse, depression, suicide

This book is WOW. I typically don't reach for thrillers or horror, but I am so glad I took a chance on "What the Woods Took." This book dives into nightmares both real and imagined. It has a compelling atmosphere of paranoia, dread, and anguish that entranced me and had me staying up late just to keep reading. The story has so much depth, to a degree I don't often expect from YA. If you're the type of reader who loves to be surprised and appreciates a good amount of suspense, I can't recommend this book enough.

I received this eBook as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Courtney Gould, and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to review this book. This review has been posted to GoodReads check out my profile https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/62314863 and it will be posted to my bookstagram account https://www.instagram.com/tinynightingales/ and booktok https://www.tiktok.com/@tinynightingales?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

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queeerlybeloved's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

BIG THANKS TO COURTNEY GOULD AND HER GIVEAWAY FOR A PHYSICAL ARC OF THIS BOOK ❤️❤️❤️
i'm a loser and got this literally in april but didn't read it until now HAHAHA but god i'm so glad i started the month with it!!

it follows Devin, Ollie, Sheridan, and others through a wilderness therapy program gone wrong. at first, Ollie is the only "likeable" character to the readers' eye. but i secretly loved both Devin and Sheridan because i knew exactly what the tone was supposed to be and that they were supposed to be antagonistic and emotional and raw!! and boy did they fit those characteristics perfectly. love my girls ❤️

the story completely drew me in; i didn't want to put it down!! i would've happily not slept and finished it had i not had to work today. i love a story with so many twists and turns that keeps me on the edge of my seat. i'm also never one to see a twist coming so i was SHOCKED WHEN

IT WAS HANNAH??? also damn!!! mimics!!! that's not fucking terrifying or anything.

i couldn't imagine coming across anything like what the kids came across.

ALSO I SAW

DEVIN AND SHERIDAN

COMING A MILE AWAY. I WAS GIGGLING AND KICKING MY FEET. I LOVE GAY PEOPLE.

anyway, i absolutely loved it. i can't WAIT for y'all to read it. it comes out in 8 days so keep your eyes open!!!!
thanks again, Courtney ❤️

ALSO; i included some content warnings below BUT it's a horror novel, so some of them come with the territory! be sure you know what you're doing into.

Content Warnings

seriouslynerdy's review

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I was able to read this before release thanks to NetGalley!

I want to start off by saying I LOVED this book, it was right up my ally with horror/ psychological thriller vibes. This is a YA based book if you read this book and think these kids act immature or it’s juveniles themes (it’s a ya book of course its going to have juvenile themes) but the YA aspect does not take away the horror of this book for me it made it more intense thinking of 13-17 year old taken away to stay in the woods for 50 days is terrifying in itself and what lies beyond as they continue their journey just add to the horror.

This book is going to be in my top 5 reads of 2024 and I cannot wait for it to be released to re-read it it’s a physical book and annotate it and go back finding hidden horrors that I missed while hyper-focused of these kids survival. I could not read this book at night because living near the woods I was freaked out so this was strictly read during daylight hours, if you can read horror books at night then sleep soundly I am also scared of you.

This is a slow paced book about 5 teenagers Devin, Aiden, Hannah, Sheridan and Ollie who all only have one thing in common they were all sent to stay in the woods for 50 days under the the supervision of two leaders who are going to “change” the teenagers before they leave the woods. Things don’t go as planned but everyone who leaves the woods is changed forever, maybe for the better or maybe for the worst. This book showcase every bump you're scared of in the night, every shadow in the woods that have a face but you shake it off because that’s absurd, every fear you’ve kept buried because you're not scared to admit the truth to others but the truth to yourself.

This book is a dual POV between Ollie and Devin. Ollie who is easy to love, easy to like and you want to protect him from the darkness. Devin is harder to like she’s rough, she’s full of anger, she is the protector not the girl who needs protecting.

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