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joliebean's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
caidyn's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-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
4.5
Wow, a fantastic read. At first I thought it'd be too much like Natalie C. Parker's Come Out, Come out. But this was entirely different and just as chilling.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Blood
Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual assault
Minor: Drug use
horrorandscience's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
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
4.0
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Drug abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse and Suicide
sonyagale's review
challenging
dark
sad
tense
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
This book may be a little triggering for some, but it was absolutely fantastic and very well worth reading about the hard topics covered. It didn’t exactly go into much detail but there is a lot of mention of abuse, drug use, etc. that has a lot to do with the main plot of the book. That doesn’t give away anything by the way, just wanted to mention it!
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
bookishmillennial's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
WHEW, this took me on a JOURNEY! This is actually the first book I've read by Courtney Gould and I am now set on reading her backlist because I am really impressed. My booksta/booktok friend Laurel (https://www.instagram.com/laurelreads17/) first recommended this author to me, so I gotta give her a lil shoutout :)
Devin is taken from her foster home to a wilderness therapy camp with two super young camp counselors Ethan & Laura, (they're like ~21, barely older than these teens) and a few other kids: Aiden, Sheridan, Hannah, Ollie. The teenagers are all clearly unimpressed by this program and can't wait for it to be over (it's a 50 day hike through the woods, this is truly absurd and what kills me is that these programs really do exist). After crossing a river, Ethan & Laura are nowhere to be found the following morning, leaving these kids to fare on their own & decide to either wait for their counselors to return, to seek out help, or to simply continue on with the trail, since they know it will end after 50 days if they follow their map. As if this isn't a hard enough decision, the kids feel like they are being watched by something in the woods.
This book was SO creepy. I should not have read it by myself at night, and yet, I'm happy I did lol. It set the tone for Gould's incredibly atmospheric and eerie forest setting, and I was left at the edge of my seat for the entirety of the novel. I also absolutely loved getting to know each of the characters. I really enjoy interpersonal conflict in any story, but especially high-stakes conflict in a horror novel because you get to see how people respond to danger, and how they react and aim to resolve conflicts in groups or 1:1 settings. It makes it even more interesting when they're practically strangers and are forced to rely on each other purely for survival.
As a rape survivor myself, I could tell from the beginning that Devin was fighting demons deeper than the others knew about, and I really felt for her when she finally told Sheridan about it. I recognize this was painful for her to revisit those memories, but what a tiny bit of relief she could feel in finally disclosing this to someone, after years of having to carry it all by herself. Devin's journey was not easy, but I'm so proud of her.
The monsters were very well done; I was so thoroughly entertained by their motivations in wanting to become human and to leave the forest. The forest was their domain, where they remained the most powerful, and yet, they yearned to have a human experience? I know we're supposed to hate these monsters for wreaking havoc on these literal children, but the sensitive sweetie pie in me is like, 'omg????? all this to be human? I'm so grateful to be human and living on this garbage floating rock in space! monsters would KILL to have MY life. that's unreal?!?!?!?'
I also just loved this parallel to the kids, because they were mostly sent to this wilderness therapy camp to otherwise "get their shit together" by their parents/foster parents. However, when you're faced with the possibility of actually losing your life or someone taking it, you're forced to reconcile with the fact that uhhh actually yeah, I DO WANT MY LIFE AND I WILL FIGHT FOR IT! I'm not condoning wilderness therapy camps; I'm just saying it was powerful how these kids named that they DID want to live, and they worked together to get out of that forest so they could begin the next chapter of their lives. No matter what these kids have done in the past, they deserved another chance to try again.
The ending made me happy as far as the kids who got out alive, and it was so easy to root for them, even as the messy, angry, angsty kids they acted like (because underneath that, I knew they just needed to feel seen/valued/listened to. They're allowed to be imperfect humans too.)
I undoubtedly enjoyed this and would highly recommend it!
WHEW, this took me on a JOURNEY! This is actually the first book I've read by Courtney Gould and I am now set on reading her backlist because I am really impressed. My booksta/booktok friend Laurel (https://www.instagram.com/laurelreads17/) first recommended this author to me, so I gotta give her a lil shoutout :)
Devin is taken from her foster home to a wilderness therapy camp with two super young camp counselors Ethan & Laura, (they're like ~21, barely older than these teens) and a few other kids: Aiden, Sheridan, Hannah, Ollie. The teenagers are all clearly unimpressed by this program and can't wait for it to be over (it's a 50 day hike through the woods, this is truly absurd and what kills me is that these programs really do exist). After crossing a river, Ethan & Laura are nowhere to be found the following morning, leaving these kids to fare on their own & decide to either wait for their counselors to return, to seek out help, or to simply continue on with the trail, since they know it will end after 50 days if they follow their map. As if this isn't a hard enough decision, the kids feel like they are being watched by something in the woods.
This book was SO creepy. I should not have read it by myself at night, and yet, I'm happy I did lol. It set the tone for Gould's incredibly atmospheric and eerie forest setting, and I was left at the edge of my seat for the entirety of the novel. I also absolutely loved getting to know each of the characters. I really enjoy interpersonal conflict in any story, but especially high-stakes conflict in a horror novel because you get to see how people respond to danger, and how they react and aim to resolve conflicts in groups or 1:1 settings. It makes it even more interesting when they're practically strangers and are forced to rely on each other purely for survival.
I also just loved this parallel to the kids, because they were mostly sent to this wilderness therapy camp to otherwise "get their shit together" by their parents/foster parents. However, when you're faced with the possibility of actually losing your life or someone taking it, you're forced to reconcile with the fact that uhhh actually yeah, I DO WANT MY LIFE AND I WILL FIGHT FOR IT! I'm not condoning wilderness therapy camps; I'm just saying it was powerful how these kids named that they DID want to live, and they worked together to get out of that forest so they could begin the next chapter of their lives. No matter what these kids have done in the past, they deserved another chance to try again.
The ending made me happy as far as the kids who got out alive, and it was so easy to root for them, even as the messy, angry, angsty kids they acted like (because underneath that, I knew they just needed to feel seen/valued/listened to. They're allowed to be imperfect humans too.)
I undoubtedly enjoyed this and would highly recommend it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Child abuse, Drug abuse, and Sexual assault
bookeduntil's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
queeerlybeloved's review
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 WHENIT 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 SAWDEVIN 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.
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
ALSO I SAW
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
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Gaslighting
skye_era_books's review against another edition
challenging
dark
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
4.5
This book was fucked up in the best way. It kept me intrigued the entire time, I literally could not stop listening. All I knew about this book before reading was that it was about a wilderness therapy program, which is already horrifying, but add in mimics in the woods? fucking terrifying and one of my worst nightmares. But I loved seeing how the characters ended up coming together, to the point that it almost felt like a coming of age story. In a way, it was beautiful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, and Suicide attempt