Thank you to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for sending me an eARC of this book! All opinions are my own.

1/5

CW: On page injury, gunshot wounds, gore, loss of a limb, kidnapping, mention of rape, mention of necrophilia, mention of child abuse and neglect, pedophilia

To celebrate the end of high school, Josie and Neena decide to embark on a backpacking trip in the Pisgah National Forest. However, when the girls begin to fight, they become distracted and find themselves in increasingly dangerous situations.

I'm not really sure how I feel about this book. It was entertaining enough for me to finish and was overall a quick read, but I found myself bored a lot of the time. The premise is great and I typically love horror/thrillers in wooded settings, however, this one just didn't do it for me.

For starters, we didn't actually get any action until about 50% in. Even then, it was slow and anticlimactic. I was a bit bored for the majority of the book and things only really picked up in the last 15% when the situation was beginning to resolve itself. It seems like Perkins was trying to build a lot of tension in this first half, but I didn't really feel any of it. I was never scared while reading, nor did I ever feel like we were building up to a big event or twist. A lot of the tension that the author attempts to build comes from Neena and Josie fighting for literally no reason. It seems like neither of them actually wanted to go hiking and the hike put them in a bad mood overall, leading them to start bickering. This didn't really add anything to the plot though. All I felt was annoyance at how fickle and fragile this friendship was (when apparently they had been best friends for years?). Overall, the book was pretty uneventful until that 50-75% mark.

Also, why on earth did these two girls who have seemingly never even gone hiking in a small park decide it was a good idea to go backpacking in a national forest? I mean, they didn't even know how to make s'mores. How did they get to the point of figuring out to make a fire for the s'mores, but not know how to make s'mores? This just annoyed me during the book, idk LOL. At one point they heard thunder and this was the conversation:

"What do we do?"
"I don't know"

Well you better find out!

I understand that they were both 18 and their parents theoretically couldn't keep them from going...but come on. When I was 18, my parents wouldn't have let me go backpacking without an experienced camper/hiker with me. Especially not in a national forest where there have been MULTIPLE unsolved murders? Just because your big brother is an avid hiker and has equipment does not mean that he can give you some instructions (that you FORGOT) and you're good to go on a 3 day hike in heavily wooded trails in a national forest.

A lot of the book just simply wasn't believable. While this is a work of fiction, it seems like it is trying to read like realistic horror or true crime. It just doesn't work out like that.

There are a couple of things that really bothered me about this:

1. The delivery of our antagonist's backstory and the backstory themselves...if that's even what it was? I'm not sure if it was just an inner monologue from Neena and Josie making assumptions about their life, or if was actually a description of their childhood. There are points where our main characters are fighting with the antagonist and we go into these very odd descriptors of experiences that led to them becoming a killer. Those descriptions kind of implied that kids who are abused or experience trauma will wind up becoming criminals, which oversimplifies violent criminals and the path that leads somebody to commit a violent crime. These backstory was maybe a page long (reading on my kindle, so I can't be sure) and felt very out of place, so I would have preferred there to just be none at all.

2. We also have a few lines where they throw out the idea that the antagonist is homeless because they are smelly/crazy/a criminal? Homelessness ≠ bad hygiene. Homelessness ≠ being a criminal.

3. We have a lot of very sensitive topics being thrown around (rape, necrophilia, pedophilia) and I don't think they're dealt with very well. It feels like all of these topics are being thrown in for a shock factor and there is no effort made to have a broader discussion about them.

I feel like the author could have developed a much more fleshed out backstory for the antagonist. The feeding into stereotypes could have been easily avoided. The book wasn't that long, so there was definitely room/time to flesh out the antagonist more.

Overall, I don't think I would recommend this to others.

Josie and Neena are best friends that are headed off to different colleges. Josie who’ll be stuck in their small town, still working for K-Mart, and Neena who gets the opportunity to go to another state. As a last hurrah they decide to go backpacking and camping. But the wilderness has a way to make even the best of friends fight.. it also brings on a silence that can be creepy when you’re busy not talking to each other. When Josie gets injured, it’s on Neena to find her way back for help. Is it something dangerous lurking in the woods or something far more sinister. Can they survive?!

This was a bloody horror, as in true Stephanie Perkins writing. Stephanie has a way of making the rawness of survival come to light. Make you feel the terror and pain the characters are going through. You never know how you’re going to act when you’re put in these scary situations, but the motto of “I will survive” was strong in this story and so was the friendship. And man that ending!! I need to more than just that..

I really wanted to love this and I somewhat did, but it was just really really cringey at times and the ending made me really mad.

What is this about? Short version: two best friends are about to go to college thousands of miles apart, so they do a last minute hike/camp weekend. All by themselves hiking a huge mountain, and they've never been hiking or camping before. Things start to go wrong and there is someone watching them in the woods.

Now the premise of this is amazing and I was expecting a creepy thriller. The first half of this book is two teenage girls bickering about pointless things. Not to mention why? So the first chapter they're best friends but after that they can't stand each other. The things they argued about were just so foolish to me especially being in the woods. Once I got past the first half I really did end up on the edge of my seat and the graphic scenes about injuries had my stomach super queasy.

I am a huge fan of camp thrillers/hiking thrillers and this one once again let me know why I don't go camping. Ever. The last half of this was so fast paced with SO much going on I read 150 pages and didn't even realize the book had ended! I had to go back and reread because I couldn't believe it was just done.

While I think the thrilling aspect was phenomenal and truly has me petrified to go camping or hiking, the ending just didn't do it. I needed a real resolution and I need even a short epilogue. I don't want to give anything away, but it just so abruptly ended that I got a bad taste in my mouth. This is one of those thrillers that you definitely need a closed ending and things wrapped up.

While this isn't my favorite YA thriller, it did have sections that were 5 stars for me. As a whole it had a lot of unwanted sections and some that needed to be really expanded.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Penguin Teen for a gifted eArc of this book.

I am sorry to say that I did not enjoy this one. The writing was solid however nothing happens in the first half of this book except that you grow to greatly dislike both main characters. There really isn’t any reason for them to be alone on a camping trip of this magnitude when they have family members who are supposedly “experienced hikers“.

I really thought that the Second half of the book was too over the top. I can suspend disbelief but there was no way that the one character was able to go through everything she went through and have the book end the way that it did. I also wish there were less 1970’s Deliverance style stereotypes happening.

As someone who hikes and camps often, this book was just too unrealistic. The characters weren't interesting. The story was predictable and in some cases just didn't even make sense. I wouldn't call it a horror book at all. I'd barley stick it in the Thriller category. I'd maybe say it's a survival story, but the whole first half of the book was just the two girls being stupid while trying to hike. Not even regular teen stupid like drinking and sex, but just plain unprepared never really bothered to learn how to do anything stupid. Most of the book was just plain boring. I was expecting a lot more from this author.

I'm sorry, I hate writing "bad" reviews, but this book just couldn't be classified as anything better. So disappointing.

This is the first book I read by Stephanie Perkins. I always enjoy a good spooky read and the title and synopsis alone really got my interest picqued for this novel. The story follows two best friends Josie and Neena who are about to split up for the first time in their life. Neena is going away to California to college and the Josie is staying back at home. Before they separate they decide to go on a trip and camp in the woods. Right from the beginning and you can see even with all their practice Josie and Neena are not skilled campers at all which is an immediate red flag.

While they go on their nature journey the two grapple with feelings of having to be separated and know that they’ll not be able to spend time with each other like before. It also puts a strain on their relationship as they start to nitpick each other about water or carrying supplies. But the reader knows from the very start of their trip that something’s just not quite right.

As the trip becomes more intense their friendship is so strained that they grasp at straws to see if can even be repaired at this point. This book reminds me of all reasons I personally don’t like camping in the woods but I could appreciate the beauty of their surroundings of nature but also was aware that something could go bad in an instant. The unfamiliar terrain of the setting creates an eerie feel to the whole book. You know something is supposed to happen but aren’t sure when.

Reading The Woods Were Always Watching was similar to watching a horror film that takes place in the woods. The book was very formulaic and there was nothing about it that made it stand out among other horror stories of the same nature. It was very predictable and I think the heavier focus on the novel was the friendship aspect between Josie and Neena and dealing with change and story survival. I actually felt a little bit underwhelmed by this book and I was hoping it would be a bit better but I feel like the most climactic part was the last very last chunk of the book.

All in all, this was just an okay read for me. I think there are some aspects of this book on that could have been done differently on the horror scale of things. But it still manages to be a suspenseful read with a very spooky atmosphere.

Josie and Neena have been best friends for all of high school, but with graduation looming, and Neena planning to move across the country for college, they want to do something special to celebrate and cement their friendship. Neither of them have ever been into camping, but a hiking/camping trip in the nearby woods sounds like the perfect thing. They'll enjoy nature, build tents together, and eat smores. Unfortunately, the trip gets off to a rocky start, with the tension in their friendship coming to a breaking point, but neither one wants to be the one to suggest going home. They should have gone home. Because the woods are full of predators, and Josie and Neena have just become something's prey.

I was surprised by how suspenseful this book was. I read the whole thing in one sitting because I couldn't bear the thought of putting it down and leaving Josie and Neena hanging. Stephanie Perkins definitely kept the tension high, and the suspense thrilling. However the book also took time to focus on the internal tension as well, as Josie and Neena navigate their changing friendship, and their own insecurities. The internal and external played so well together, and I was truly invested in and rooting for both girls the whole time.
There is some definite disturbing content in here, so I'd look into content warnings before going in. The ones that were noticeable for me would be implications/references to sexual assault, as well as graphic violence and injury.
Overall this was a gripping, intense, and satisfying read.

If you consume true crime cases with a morbid fascination like yours truly, then I’m sure you’re aware of several things. One of those things is simply this: women live in a more dangerous world than men. This was a book that played upon that fact with chilling clarity, taking direct inspiration from the horror/thriller films many of us know and love.

Josie and Neena are best friends, who decided on a three-day hiking/camping trip as a sort of “last hurrah” before Neena moves across the country for college. Immediately they start complaining because neither of them have ever been camping before! I also have never been camping before but if you think that I’m going on a camping trip with one other person for three days on a relatively secluded path, you are sorely mistaken. Let’s go bungee jumping instead. Anyways, the stress of insects and hiking and all that fun stuff eventually leads them to high tensions between the two girls. It was also a bit weird how they would each have random individual flashbacks to give you information on the other girl. On the other hand, I did really love how Neena’s experience as the daughter of immigrants from Indian didn’t feel forced at all!

I was actually slightly scared to read this because it has low ratings on Goodreads, but this ended up being pretty fun. I will say that going in with lower expectations made me feel better about the novel as a whole, because the first half of the book is medium-paced. There’s strange pop culture references, a bunch of bickering, and more telling than showing. However, Perkins does a fantastic job of building the tension in the background, so by the time things really start rolling you’re already submerged in the oppressive atmosphere of the dark, twisty woods. It’s surprisingly brilliant how effortless she makes bringing the scenes to life look. Between that and the relatively entertaining drama, I was content to just anticipate the big turn for the worse.

all that being said, once this started going, it went QUICK.

Excuse my lack of eloquent writing but HOLY CRAP. I finished this book in a single day* and it was an absolute whirlwind in the second half. The amount of sudden brutality, thrilling chases, and terrifying situations is definitely on par with several horror films. Men are scary. Two girls alone in the woods with men? GOODBYE. Perkins doesn’t disguise the emotional stress that women really go through doing simple things because bad things happen for seemingly no reason.

*that’s good for me now. back in the day, i could read lile 5 books a week and not bat an eye. ahh, those were the young, carefree days of 8.

Also, the way certain characters had their backstory revealed? Uh…no thanks. I understand that there’s a limited amount of ways to reveal these sorts of things without falling into cliches but it did pull me out of the immersion of the story. While the actual execution of the thriller parts were well-written, I have to admit that the ending did not impress me. This is a book that I think would benefit from an epilogue, especially considering how it ties you so closely to the characters, their friendship, and their future.

Overall, this was actually a really intense, thrilling ride. Yes, a lot of it was unrealistic, overdramatic, and unnecessary. But the tension and atmosphere kept me going until the very end. I’d give this a 3.5/5 stars.

I have a thing for wilderness survival stories – I admit it – and when you add in a tempting synopsis that has words like “waking nightmare” and “as evil watches from the shadows’, well, that’s just catnip to my little kitty soul. I think a big part of this is because I live in an area surrounded by National Forest – I spend a lot of time walking through the trails and I’d be lying if I said this sort of situation hasn’t crossed my mind before while I was 2 miles out in the woods. Alone. So, yeah, yikes!

Two girls, Neena and Josie will soon be separated by college – Neena off to California while Josie is stuck home in North Carolina. Neena decides they need to do something that will help them bond, something adventurous and outside their normal activities. With a little prodding, Neena talks Josie into a three-day hike in the Pisgah National Forest, and even though neither has been hiking before, they’re not letting this stop them. Besides, Josie’s brother, Win, has all the gear and will help them plot out the perfect course. Everything goes a bit sideways right from the start as the girls begin to bicker and tempers begin to simmer. They soon realize that this hiking trip is going to be more challenging than they thought but they could’ve never dreamt the turn it would take.

I listened to the majority of this book and it is a nail-biter; intense, chilling and atmospheric as it leads to the horror that you know is just around every bend and corner. Beautifully plotted with characters that I quickly became invested in; this is one thrilling adventure story that I won’t soon forget.

Narration: Reena Dutt narrates and she does a phenomenal job! She moved seamlessly through the chapters and gave life to the characters! I look forward to more of her work.

My thanks to @PenguinTeen for this DRC and to @PRHAudio for the ALC!

Will be posted on alisoninbookland.com on 8/30
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The Woods Are Always Watching was the perfect blend of survival story and thriller for me. The basic survival story was fascinating. I hate the outdoors. I would die off pretty quick in these types of books but always find them interesting to read.

The first half of the story was believable enough. Neena and Josie are two smart girls. They’re bright but not necessarily ‘outdoor bright’. It fits the characters perfectly. Josie knows a bit but Neena doesn’t know the outdoors. The blend of the two characters make the story seem very relatable and easy to picture myself in this situation. Knowing what to do vs the actual reality of what needs to be done are two vastly different things.

It’s a cheesy break but I did enjoy the break from the survival half of the story into the thriller story. It’s a great way to ramp up the terror. Nature (and being alone) is pretty freaking terrifying. Add in the not-so-pleasant reminder that animals aren’t the only thing to be terrified of? It made for a heart pounding read. My anxiety was on high alert for most of the book.

I thought Perkins did a good job of making Neena and Josie into real girls. I love a good thriller book. Mainly for the adrenaline and the ride. The characters aren’t always fully developed but that’s not why I’m reading the book. Having been a teenage girl having to say goodbye to friends because of college and the mild resentment that comes from that, I felt for Josie and Neena. That little window into their lives made me see them as real people.

The book is paced well and you’re not going to want to put it down. It’s easy to read and the story flowed well.

Perfect for someone wanting a quick read.

Stephanie Perkins’ first foray into horror novels, “There’s Someone Inside Your House”, has been turned into a Netflix series and her second, “The Woods Are Always Watching” could definitely follow suit!
Neena and Josie are best friends who bonded over their outsider status in high school, both abandoned by their old friend groups. Now, the two are facing a future without each other, as Neena travels to the West Coast for school. Desperate for a last-minute bonding trip together, Neena and Josie decide to go camping through the trails of the Pisgah National Forest. However, the trip was not as exciting as they anticipated, and the terrain is far rougher and steeper than they expected. But then Neena hears a sound in the forest and they get more excitement than they bargained for as Jodie and Neena fight to escape the woods alive.
“The Woods are Always Watching” starts off similar to Cheryl Strayed’s “Wild”, where the young, inexperienced girls hike an unknown trail together with some brand new camping supplies and only each other for company. But it all goes pear-shaped, very fast, and the teens are soon fighting for survival.
Both Neena and Josie are the kind of quirky, eccentric teenage protagonists that become instantly relatable. The two are desperate to save their relationship, faced with their impending separation. Of course, the friendship is also extremely honest and real, as the two teens quickly start to bicker and feud when left to their own devices in the woods. Right from page one, I cheered for both Neena and Josie, and wanted them to succeed, not only in saving their lives but also in salvaging their friendship.
The novel is not written in chapters, but instead in large sections, with the titles “Together” and “Apart”, to signify when the girls are traveling separately and, well, together. The largest section, “Together”, at the beginning, is nearly half of the book, and it details Neena and Josie’s initial trek into the forest. The sections are clearly labeled, and the narration alternates between Neena and Josie (also clearly labeled), so it is easy to follow.
Even those non-campers (like me) will get into this novel right away. The descriptive settings set an eerie tone, and I waited on pins and needles, knowing that something bad was coming. The anticipation was well worth it, when Willie and Lyman become known to the girls and a whole new battle wages. The ending hits with a punch, and I was left completely exhausted (in a good way) yet satisfied.
Well-told, with strong characters and a chilling setting, “The Woods are Always Watching” will have you looking over your shoulder and listening for those things that go “bump” in the night. Definitely a good campfire story- although I strongly recommend not reading this novel on a camping trip!

One of my MOST HIGHLY ANTICIPATED reads of the year!

Thank you sooo much to @penguinteen for sending me a digital advanced copy of the book because I couldn’t wait one moment longer to read it, especially after the postponement last year - & then I devoured it right away.

If you ever wanted a reason to NOT go hiking or camping in the woods, LOOK NO FURTHER. Josie & Neena, two inexperienced young hikers (as in, first hike ever), take off into the mountains for a three day hike & when one of them is gravely injured, they realize they are not alone out there, & despite their fears of bears or other animals, they are being pursued by very HUMAN predators, & the fight for their lives begins.

This is one of those books that as I was reading all I could think was, “OMG OMG. Holy shit. Holyyyy shiiit NOOOO!” I was yelling at the characters trying to save them the whole way through & on the edge of my seat. Right from the beginning when I started getting bad feelings (to be fair, I'm the reader, I know something bad is going to happen--I've read the synopsis), I was mentally screaming at them to just turn around. Go to a hotel and get some junk food and watch movies for three days and then just tell people you went hiking, no one will know, and then nothing bad will happen.

I really enjoyed the friendship between the girls and how much they persevere and despite their relative inexperience, adjust to using their resources in an emergency situation. I also liked that even though they were out in nature--which can be terrifying--the enemy in this case was a human enemy--which is the most terrifying.

This was a heart pounding read, downright gruesome at times, and I really liked it. I think Steph Perkins has found her calling in the category of creepy, and I hope she sticks with it.

*Thank you to Penguin Books, Stephanie Perkins and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Previously published at https://www.mysteryandsuspense.com/the-woods-are-always-watching/

Josie and Neena have been best friends since middle school. In the upcoming weeks, they will be going their separate ways – Neena will be going away to college in California and Josie will be going to a local college and continuing to work at K-mart.

Though neither have them been hiking, they decide to take a last-minute trip through the woods to bond one last time. Armed with maps, water, food, a tent, and very heavy backpacks, they begin their journey but sadly, things go downhill fast. They soon realize that they are shockingly unprepared for what awaits them. When Josie falls down what appears to be a sinkhole, she breaks her leg in several places, and Neena has no choice but to leave her and find help. While Josie lies bleeding in the sinkhole, Neena realizes she has forgotten her inhaler in the backpack she left with Josie. Torn between going back and getting her inhaler and going to find help, she chooses to continue to go down the mountain and take her chances.

Stephanie Perkins has done an amazing job describing the backgrounds of the two teenagers and why they make the choices they do. Josie’s father died suddenly a few years back and she has chosen to lean on her brother and Neena to make choices for her, including driving, which she refuses to do. Neena comes from an Indian family and is the classic overachiever. When the two start to argue and disagree on their next moves, the reader sees issues coming between the two of them that have never been solved. Neena wants Josie to take a stand on “something”, while Josie is content to have Neena lead the way. They definitely act like teenagers and are age appropriate.

Make no mistake that The Woods Are Always Watching is a horror story. Almost too frightening for what I considered a middle school book. The girls are stalked by two rednecks who have gone on a killing spree in the woods Josie and Neena are hiking in. There is mention of rape, necrophilia and murder. Both girls are hunted separately and one girl is shot at and injured. The suspense is wonderful, and while the book is short, Perkins has managed to write a satisfying story of horror, suspense and also, friendship. As I was reading it, I couldn’t imagine what was going to happen next. That is the kind of book I love to read.

This book was super creepy. I loved the premise of going hiking in the woods and essentially being hunted by an unknown presence. I highly recommend this one if you loved Stephanie's other thriller.

Holy freaking suspense!

I loved There’s Someone Inside Your House so I was really looking forward to this one and it did not disappoint.

I was so anxious the first almost half of the book knowing something awful was coming at some point. Pretty sure my heart rate was elevated the whole time reading this 🤣

I loved that even though this book was a killer-in-the-woods trope, it was also much more than that. It really touched on unsafe it can feel to be a women in the world.

This book also had a wonderful element of friendship.

I've been a fan of Stephanie Perkins for YEARS. I'm ecstatic that there's another book by Stephanie that's coming soon. I heard this is going to be a Netflix adaptation soon so I'm excited for this. This is focused on Neena's and Josie's friendship which was really nice to see for a change.This is a fast-paced chilling read.

Stay out of the woods. I repeat, stay. Out. Of the. Woods. Bears, serial killers, ghosts, no a/c or running water—why does anyone even bother.

This is my first book by Stephanie Perkins and I could not put it down. I read the first 80% in one day, I had to know what happened.

Neena and Josie aren’t woodsy, or outdoorsy, or lovers of nature, but they decide they need to spend three days hiking and camping in the woods as a last hurrah before they go their separate ways for college. The girls are smart and sassy and tough and I loved them. They had chutzpah in spades and could absolutely stand toe to toe with some tough ass final girls. I can’t reveal too much about the storyline because I don’t want to spoil anything, but this one will definitely have your heart racing. I also loved all the smart commentary about toxic masculinity throughout the novel. Perkins definitely understands the f*ck politeness mantra.

“It was the reason why slain villains in horror movies always popped back up, still alive—because there would always be another man waiting to cause harm. It would never end. The girls would never truly be safe.”

Two friends decide to go hiking as part of a final goodbye before going their separate ways to college, and end up trapped. Neena and Josie became friends in high school when their other friends dumped them. Now, they are feeling that friendship fray as they prepare to go their separate ways for the future. To celebrate their graduation, they decide to do one last thing together -a 3-day hike in the Pisgah National Forest. Neither of of them are really hikers, so what could possibly go wrong? Soon the girls are lost and fighting...and then an unexpected injury happens, a stranger shows up and things take a very dark turn...

I loved Perkins' first book, "There's Someone Inside Your House" and it's finally going to be made into a movie! This one is not going to be a favorite of mine. The first half dragged, with a lot of bickering, and was hard to get into, then it picks up for a solid scary ending half, a la "Wrong Turn" series. I also really didn't care for the insight into the bad guys. But the story did pick up, and was left with a decent creepy ending.

Full disclosure: I love Stephanie Perkins and everything she writes!! I was extremely excited to get an arc for this book and it did not let me down!

This book was creepy and we don't even get to the full thriller creeps until over half way through. The real meat and potatoes of this story is the friendship of Neena and Josie. We see their relationship go through many phases in the three days we are in this story and I felt all of the emotions with it.

I really enjoyed the layout of this book. I was expecting it to be more like Stephanie's last thriller, <i> There's Someone Inside Your House </i> with all the murder and very clear whodunit layout but it was it's own story and held it's own with the creepy vibes. The entire story takes place during a three day hike and camping trip with some flashbacks thrown in here and there. I loved this! I know some people may get bored with their hike but I thought the attention to detail and the girls journey was brilliant. We really get to see the toll that hiking is doing on their mental health and how it brings out thoughts and feelings they may have been holding onto and not telling each other. The first half of this book is truly about friendship and the hard times friends go through when one of the pair is about to move away.

I thought the dialogue flowed nicely and the flashbacks were placed in decent spots to help propell the story along. I also enjoyed the dual POV and how it showed each girls thoughts about their friendship and life as a whole.

As for the actual creepy bits, woa. I won't say much because spoilers, but I was completely spooked and will never go hiking or camping again...not that I do that much...at all.. anyway, but still!

Again, I love Stephanie Perkins and all her writing so it's no surprise I enjoyed this but it is genuinely creepy and does the whole only following two people for the bulk of the book while in the woods really well.

This was a really fun read for the summertime! It didn't blow me away by any means, but it did get me a few times with tension and fear, which is all I can ever ask for from horror novels. I think this is a great novel for people who want to try out horror as a genre too. It's not too intense- at least in my opinion.