<b>wilderness camps based off behavior issues and “fixing” adolescents have always interested me in a way i can’t explain, and courtney gould put such an interesting spin on it.</b>

the plot itself is already terrifying, imagined being kidnapped and shipped off to nowhere… just to discover that this is the least of your issues! i love love loved this so much!!!!

we have monsters, we have a diverse group of characters-dual-pov between our main characters devin & ollie (who yes, have completely different voices which i also very much enjoyed), romance, found family, betrayal, deaths… all in the middle of a forest. what else could u ask for?

this was a roller-coaster ride of a read and one readers will very much enjoy. unique in its writing, and emotional at its core, what the wood takes is definitely taking it on my fav books of 2024!

<b>5 stars!</b>
★ ★ ★ ★ ★/☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

<b><i>thank you netgalley & st. martin’s press for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!!!</b></i>

What The Woods Took by Courtney Gould
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
eARC from NetGalley
Estimated Publish Date: Dec. 10, 2024


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What The Woods Took is about a group of wayward teens who are forced into Wilderness Therapy. Unfortunately for these teens, this is the least of their worries. We follow Devin, whose anger gets the best of her increasingly frequently, sending her from foster home to foster home, and Ollie, a boy caught in a mess of his own, both sent to the wilderness by their guardians to deal with their problematic behavior along with three others. Strange and unsettling things begin to happen while they trek through the woods, and though they thought getting along and surviving the chipper and frequently problematic behavior of their “coaches” would be hard, they have no idea how much they will have to do to survive.
Though, at times, the characters can border on unlikeable, I always cheered for them to make it through and be the people they wanted to be, and watching them all figure out who they are and what they want was an honor. My only real wish that I feel would have made this experience better, was a bit more information about the creatures in the woods. Though that may just be me wanting to know the workings of things. While this book is creepy and unsettling (and had me jumping at the rustling leaves outside my window) it is ultimately a journey of growth, healing, and the impact we can have on each other. I can’t wait to sit down this winter in front of a fire and experience it all again.

In “What the Woods Took”, Courtney Gould tells a story of a teen wilderness therapy gone quite possibly as bad as it could go. It has a good pace right from the beginning, but once you cross the river, the pace quickens. It left me on the edge of my seat and looking over my shoulder.

A group of teens are kidnapped from their beds and dropped off in the wilderness for fifty days of therapy intended to rehabilitate their behavior. Suddenly, both counselors leading the camp go missing, the teens must rely on each other to survive. But something else is in the woods and it is dying to escape.

Rating: 4.5/5
Spice: 0/5

Tropes:
The Monster Within
Troubled Teens
Found Family

Triggers:
Behavior Therapy Program
Mention of Child SA
Mention of Su!c!de

My Thoughts:
Wow. Just Wow. Not only does this book shed light on the atrocities of wilderness behavioral therapy, but takes it up a level by adding in terrifying monsters in the woods. The description of the mimics and how they worked to psychologically take over the teens was enough to keep me engrossed in the book all while sending chills up my spine. I was dreaming about this book and even creeped out reading this in the dark!
I respect this author so much for adding a note at the beginning of the book about wilderness behavioral therapy and the exploitation of children in these programs. Even though this book is fiction, these programs do actually exist. You can visit gouldbooks.com/wtwtinfo to learn how to fight against this injustice and abu$e of children.

I love survival stories, and this is a great one. The characters are fully fleshed out, and the big bad is...big and bad. Loved that the romance felt very natural and not shoved in among the real story. The final ending seems a bit unrealistic, but offers a happy ending all the same. The differing POVs really helped get inside the characters heads. Enjoyed this one!

Devin has bounced between foster homes leaving destruction in her wake. It shouldn't be a surprise, but she is shocked when she is taken in the middle of the night to troubled teen program in the wilderness.

It's a wilderness therapy program and Devin is stuck with a group of troubled teens. The story is quite good, but about halfway through it TAKES OFF into supernatural territory and I had to turn on my nightlight. Because there is something creepy about these woods. They are too quiet, too dark, totally deserted.

Join Devin with her motley crew and see if they can get out alive!
#stmartinspress #whatthewoodstook #courtneygould

This was an interesting read! Devin is staying with foster family when kidnapped from her bed and taken to a wilderness camp where the counselors throw them in the woods to fend for themselves. But it’s not all it seems when people start disappearing. It’s always hard to mention more on books like this because I do t want to spoil it give too much away! I like to go into books like this blind! But it was really good and interesting kept my attention the entire time.

4.25/5 Stars

"What the Woods Took" is a suspenseful and eerie story that keeps you intrigued from beginning to end. Devin Green wakes to two men removing her from her foster home for a wilderness "therapy" program. On route she meets Ollie and they form a tentative friendship. Along with three other "campers" and two "counselors" they begin their wilderness journey.

Alternating points of view, we get to see how things go from bad to worse from Devin and Ollie's perspectives. This creates a haunting atmosphere as our campers are left without counselors and things are not quite what they seem. All our campers want is to get back to safety.

Their journeys allow them to start to tear down walls and build up relationships with one another. Their shared goals both bring them together and threaten to tear them apart. What ensues is a deeply rich story which leaves you wondering how trauma impacts us all.

If you love books that leave you deep in thoughts for days I highly recommend you pick this book up. These characters have wormed their ways into my thoughts and have left me wondering. Thank you to the publisher for providing an advance copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was truly gripping and terrifying. Don't read this one alone in the dark! I was so pulled in by this story.

I really wanted to like this one - I was intrigued from the first page and loved Devin and Ollie's characters! Unfortunately, once they got to camp, the story started to drag; I found myself skipping ahead at some parts. When it did pick up, it went more paranormal/sci-fi than what I thought would be more of a thriller/murder mystery ending. I do think it may appeal to quite a few of my students, but it wasn't for me.

Courtney Gould is ICONIC. Everything she's ever written is stunningly brilliant and this is truly no exception.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.

Get ready for an exciting roller-coaster ride! It's an amazing, fantastic read. You are going to love it@ i could not put it down!

Highly recommend!

This was a very well written and emotional book. I just struggled really badly getting into it and often had to put it down and come back. I think it should be recommended with caution as there is content that could be triggering. It wasn’t my personal favorite, but I would recommend it.

This series does a great job not only showing the trauma of wilderness therapy and how it hurts kids, but also makes you scared to ever go camping or hiking again. Perfect horror novel, now I need to go turn the light on.

“What The Woods Took” was my first book by this author and definitely not my last. The plot itself was fun and creative, horror and supernatural themes with a lost in the woods trope. Funnily enough this book actually made me want to spend MORE time in the woods away from the real world, healing and reflecting on life.

There is a nice touch of emotions, mental health and personal character development to go along with the horror themes.

The plot follows 5 teens who are sent by their parents on a wilderness retreat to “rehabilitate their behaviours”. The book is categorized as a YA however the only YA component for me was the ages of the characters. The book was well written, entertaining and had enough details and creepy excitement to make it thoroughly enjoyable as an adult reader.

When the group wakes up to find their two guides missing they quickly have to come up with a plan on how to survive in the middle of nowhere with dwindling resources on their own. Combine the stress with running into monstrous creatures called “mimics” they find themselves fighting for their lives whilst figuring out who amongst them can be trusted.

The POV is divided between Ollie and Devon. I enjoyed the mix between male and female perspectives and also loved watching their friendship and relationships with the others blossom. This book had me in the feels at multiple points especially a heart breaking turn of events for Ollie.

I loved seeing each character figure out their traumas and overcome their flaws and toxic traits. I enjoyed the ending, even though you know events where real there is that 1% of your brain that questions the reality of their experience.

If you enjoy outdoorsy horror, summer camp vibes, creatures of the woods, folklore, teens being left unsupervised and stranded in nature tropes then I highly recommend this read!

Thank you to Courtney Gould, St Martin’s Press for the EARC!

Publish date: December 10th 2024

WOW! Its been a while when I have read a book and did NOT see the twist coming.

This book starts off kind of slow, with 5 kids entering a "survival school" because of issues at home. I got to admit this was boring. I was just about to give up on it, when the counselors went missing.

I won't spoil it, but oh my goodness, this book became my favorite addiction. I could NOT put it down! As soon as the counselors went missing and the group split up, my eyes were racing across the page.

This is a horror book, a survival book, a coming of age book, and once you get past the first week of hiking, an EXTRAORDINARY BOOK!

"What the Woods Took" is a young adult horror novel by Courtney Gould. A group of "troubled" teens have been sent to Camp REVIVE in the middle of nowhere for wilderness training to break them out of their bad habits. Everybody has been sent there for a different reason. The two characters we meet first, Devin and Ollie, were forcibly taken from their homes and transported to the camp. They are going to hike and camp in the woods together for 50 days. When their two counselors go missing, things start to get weird and really creepy. The story went in a more supernatural direction than I expected, but it was still enjoyable. Recommended for YA collections where horror is popular.

Unfortunately, due to the lack of response from St. Martin's Press for the racist, Islamophobic, and queerphobic comments made by one of their employees I cannot review this title.I tried holding off on sending this "review" to give SMP time to do the right thing in response to this boycott, but I can't have this continuing to hurt my feedback ratio when it's out of my control.

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for this ARC of What the Woods Took. I have always been super interested in settings taking place in the woods, so much to explore and uncover in an atmosphere not tainted by man. Devin is awoken in the middle of the night to men taking her from her foster home and putting her in a van on her way to a camp for troubled teens called REVIVE. She along with five other teens and two counselors set out to find productive ways to cope and handle their issues. I really expect this book to go the way that it did, but boy did I really enjoy the turn it took. Devin and the others awake one morning to their counselors gone, their things still there but no sign of them. They must band together to not only navigate the woods to get to the pickup point but something lurks in the woods that feeds off their trauma and their willingness to survive is tested. Gould does a great job in developing her characters, you feel love and hate and want redemption for them. The book is scary not only for the unknown in the woods but the unknown in oneself. I will definitely read anything published by Gould for as long as she wants to treat us with her stories.

What the Woods Took by Courtney Gould is a hauntingly atmospheric novel that delves into dark secrets and supernatural intrigue. Gould’s evocative writing and suspenseful plot create an engaging and chilling reading experience that keeps readers on edge. The book’s richly developed setting and mysterious narrative make it a standout in the genre.