What the Woods Took by Courtney Gould is a young adult horror novel following a group of trouble teens in a wilderness therapy program who find themselves facing monsters in a forest eager to take their place. With a great premise, What the Woods Took had the chance to be a great YA novel but I felt missed the mark in the end.
Devin Green wakes in the middle of the night to find two men in her bedroom. No stranger to a fight, she calls to her foster parents for help, but it soon becomes clear this is a planned abduction—one everyone but Devin signed up for. She’s shoved in a van and driven deep into the Idaho woods, where she’s dropped off with a cohort of equally confused teens. Finally, two camp counselors inform them that they’ve all been enrolled in an experimental therapy program. If the campers can learn to change their self-destructive ways—and survive a fifty-days hike through the wilderness—they’ll come out the other side as better versions of themselves. Or so the counselors say.
Devin is immediately determined to escape. She’s also determined to ignore Sheridan, the cruel-mouthed, lavender-haired bully who mocks every group exercise. But there’s something strange about these woods—inhuman faces appearing between the trees, visions of people who shouldn’t be there flashing in the leaves—and when the campers wake up to find both counselors missing, therapy becomes the least of their problems. Stranded and left to fend for themselves, the teens quickly realize they’ll have to trust each other if they want to survive. But what lies in the woods may not be as dangerous as what the campers are hiding from each other—and if the monsters have their way, no one will leave the woods alive.
What the Woods Took was an easy to read with and very accessible. However, I found the level of scariness fell short of what I was hoping for in a horror novel. While the book falls into the Young Adult horror category, I have read my fair share of YA horror novels that push the boundaries to give us a bit more. Monsters lurking in the woods is inherently creepy, I just felt that the fear factor could have been heightened to create a more intense reading experience.
Gould does nail character development in What the Woods Took. Despite some pacing issues to kick the book off, the author excels at crafting complex and relatable characters that we can invest in. Each teen in the wilderness therapy program has their own struggles and growth throughout the narrative, adding depth to the overall plot.
Unfortunately, I found that What the Woods Took takes too long to build momentum and get to the heart of its story. The slower start made it difficult to fully engage in the story and connect with the characters on a deeper level. While some may appreciate the gradual buildup, I personally prefer stories that dive right into action and suspense.
While we didn’t find the scariness of What the Woods Took to be present enough, the book does explore powerful motifs of identity, survival, and facing inner demons which adds layers to the story and gives us plenty to ponder beyond just surface-level scares. Gould’s ability to weave these themes into her storytelling adds complexity to what could have been a straightforward horror tale.
While What the Woods Took didn’t quite hit all the marks for me as I was seeking more of a boundary-pushing horror and fast-paced storytelling, it still offers an intriguing premise and well-developed characters worth exploring. This book does bode well for those looking for a young adult horror that doesn’t leave you hiding under the covers and explores some pretty important themes.
What the Woods Took hits bookstores everywhere on December 10, 2024 from Wednesday Books. You can pre-order the audiobook, narrated by Lindsey Dorcus, on Libro.fm!
