I enjoyed Perkins' first foray into contemporary horror with THERE'S SOMEONE INSIDE YOUR HOUSE. It felt a little closer to a mystery/thriller for me, which is probably why it worked. The whole "teen thrasher movie" vibe was fun and I was eager to read her next. After reading this, I am definitely ready for her to get back into contemporary romance.

The story centers around Meena and Josie, two best friends who decide to take a 20 mile backpacking trip in the woods before one of them leaves for college in California. The first half of the book is just them bickering and having issues as they hike, try to set up camp, and sleep in the woods. The story picks up a lot and was pretty addicting in the second half. 

Josie falls and injures herself, which forces the two of them to separate while Meena runs to get help. They're a full day into their journey at this point so she has quite a ways to go. When they encounter some less-than-helpful fellow "hikers" in the forest, things get worse for them. This was definitely more horror than thriller, with some pretty terrible gore happening. I should have seen it coming obviously but it just felt yuckier than her previous horror novel. 

I didn't really enjoy that this was mostly two girls walking through the woods and fighting for the first half - it was a little boring and I missed having a full cast of characters like I would usually read about. The ending was heavily foreshadowed, actually, but was very unrealistic and odd. I didn't DISLIKE it but it was definitely unbelievable. Overall, not my favorite of her two horror books. I will definitely not ever go for an overnight camping trip in the woods either.

I’m a city person. I am used to the sounds of traffic punctuated by the occasional siren. I get seriously creeped out when I leave the city and have to endure creaky houses and clanking pipes and strange rustling in the bushes. So reading The Woods Are Always Watching was an unnerving experience for me.

Best friends Neena and Josie have just graduated from high school and are a bit on edge already. Josie is staying near home for college, while Neena is heading to California. Josie thinks Neena is excited (and lucky) while Leena is actually terrified.

For some reason, these two inexperienced hikers decide to do an overnight backpacking trip in a national forest near them. They borrow gear from Josie’s brother, get a little advice and head off with some Doritos and a dream. (The mom in me was screaming inside as I watched this play out.) They won’t have cell service for much of their trip. Of course.

They start off and already things are a mess. Their packs are too heavy. They are tired and thirsty right away and aren’t conserving their water. Then Josie and Neena run into a young couple on the trail who jokes to them about mysterious stuff happening at the campground they are headed to. Of course they must be kidding. *cue nervous laughter*

They have the sense they are being watched and then … everything turns to a disaster.

My favorite part of the story was the level of description of the hike and the setting. I could feel the sun, hear the mosquitos buzzing, feel the blister that was developing on my ankle. There are plot-driven stories and character-driven stories but honestly, to me, the star of the show was the setting.

Stephanie Perkins does not stint on the horrifying stuff. There were a couple of scenes that were … a lot of gore.

To me, the story was its strongest when the girls were separated and each had to dig deep, but also to re-evaluate their friendship and their feelings about the other.

I don’t read much horror, so I can’t compare this to many other titles. But this held my attention and I read it in almost a single sitting. Fast-paced and definitely creepy, The Woods Are Always Watching does a good job of portraying the dangers of nature and the sinister things that can also lurk out there.

Two angsty teen-age girls go into the woods on a three day trip. 35% into the book they are still squabbling with each other and grumbling about life in general. Nothing else is really happening. I couldn't relate, or even like, the girls and gave up on the story. I assume it gets creepy at some point, but I didn't want to wait around any longer.

I will not be posting a review on the socials for this book.

I confess to severe camping phobia. This consists of an ugly interweaving of arkoudophobia [fear of bears] and foniosophobia [fear of serial killers]. Until the Yosemite Killer in 1999, it was just the first; then the fear of brutal killers stalking campsites leaped in. I am overanxious even about family members camping, and as for me: Never and no way, no how. Give me a building and locked windows and doors!


I determined to read THE WOODS ARE ALWAYS WATCHING after reading author Stephanie Perkins' excellent (and scary) THERE'S SOMEONE IN YOUR HOUSE. I somehow failed to realize THE WOODS ARE ALWAYS WATCHING would jump on my every acknowledged and unacknowledged camping fear. Nor did I think about the additional anxieties of reading late at night, all alone. I may never sleep again.


On the positive: Stephanie Perkins has a gifted turn of phrase and a special talent for imagery evoking all the senses, so that her novels become literary and transcendent. She also delivers the Horror. Readers who enjoyed THE TROOP will find much to admire here.


Meanwhile, sleepless nights provide so many more hours to read.

Stephanie Perkins is best known for the bestselling Anna and the French Kiss trilogy published between 2010 and 2014, however in 2017 she made a fascinating diversion into YA horror with There's Someone Inside Your House. This was an excellent slasher high school read which we have featured on Ginger Nuts in the past and is currently being developed by Netflix. Stephanie is a fine addition to the YA horror scene, and I was delighted to hear she was sticking with horror with The Woods Are Always Watching. Like its predecessor, this latest novel is a non-supernatural story novel with a plot which is more akin to adult horror, rather than YA. If this were an adult novel it would undoubtedly fit into the ‘Hillbilly Horror’ subgenre, something we do not see much of within YA. It really was a book of two halves, the first slowly sets the scene with clever and convincing character development and the second half ramps up the horror, which includes some truly bone-crunching scenes, with real menace and gore, much of which would not have been out of place in an eighties backwater horror movie where the victims are picked off one by one.

This does not exactly happen in The Woods Are Always Watching as there are only two major characters, Neema and Josie who are going on a three-day hike deep into the woods of the Pisgah National Forest, which is part of the Appalachian mountain range which stretches through many American states, with the action taking place in North Carolina. The girls are inexperienced walkers and are looking for an exciting trip to mark finishing high school. However, in the background there is tension as one of the pair will be leaving to attend college and this is the last opportunity for the two high school outsiders to bond. Things do not pan out that way and the characters, who are obviously not the outdoor type, struggle with the terrain and begin to find problems with each other. The two halves truly were widely different, and I struggled to decide who to pitch this novel at: the first part was harmless teen survival fun, the second features the threat of rape, murder and very cliched killers, characters which could have been lifted straight out of a thousand ‘Hillbilly Horror’ films. However, the girls fight for survival was very realistic and, if anything, Perkins was maybe too cruel on one of the characters. Riveting stuff and young teens who tackle this must surely be ready to make the jump to adult horror. AGE RANGE 13+