A review by seriouslynerdy
What the Woods Took by Courtney Gould

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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