In the book Wilderness Reform by Matt query and Harrison query we meet Benjamin Thibodeau who lives Southern Louisiana I want to say he lives in Lafitte but it was also spelled as Lafayette which is also a place in Louisiana so I DK. Just know Ben is a coon ass and has the accent to prove it in an attempt to get him and his eight-year-old brother weighed out of the abusive trailer of his aunt Roxy he breaks into camps and eventually gets arrested for robbing a convenience store with the air gun and this is how he comes to meet Reed and finds himself at the reform camp in Montana. Ben he has a high aptitude for reading people and despite being 13 has a good grasp on human behavior but the guy Reed Whose positivity seems authentic still gives been mixed emotions. When he arrives at Bear Springs Academy in the big hall he sees a bunch of boys his age from seemingly every walk of life but little does Ben know by the time it’s over some will be as close as brothers and some will be deadly enemies. Ben has no idea that he would have to go all the way to Montana to come in contact with a Ruger Rue. Unfortunately the story is much more complex and deadlier and it’s one that started long ago in the wild west. This book was so good I do wish we would’ve had more of Ben’s backstory but that isn’t something that ruins the story I found the characters were flushed out enough to get a good grasp on everything that happened and that was happening. If you are into adventure horror the new found the perfect book it really was an awesome awesome read the summary is way more than I can put in this review just know if you like isolated locations a great group of guys to root for then you definitely need to read this book. I absolutely loved it! I enjoyed it so much I went and downloaded their other book old country and cannot wait to read it. I want to thank atria books for my free Ark copy via NetGalley please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Really enjoyed this one! I was worried it would be more of a human horrors book with the setting of the reform camp. But luckily while child abuse is absolutely mentioned, there’s not a ton of graphic abuse or anything.

It’s a slow burn but I felt the pacing was well done and the buildup to the end really allowed the tension to grow. I enjoyed all the main boys and found the story to be well written and enjoyable. I do wish the folklore aspect had been delved into a bit more, but that’s more because it caught my interest more than anything else.

Thank you Netgalley & Atria Books for the preview read.

Wilderness Reform was Dark and Evil.

Ben, a troubled teen is sent to a reform camp as opposed to juvi. There he bonds with his cabin mates, who are there for similar reasons. They discover that the camp counsellors are something other than counsellors.

Love the cover of this book.
And think it would make a good movie.

This was an okay read. Took for ever to actually get good. Slow start, slow middle, then the climax of the story happened quick and ended quick too. There was too much unnecessary story line that made the book really hard to get into. This was one where I truly wanted to skip to the end just to get it over with. Im sure many people out there love the kind ofslow burn build up of books, but thats just not for me. Once I got to the end, the book got really good! Just hoped there would have been more of the end throughout the book.

Ben is from a troubled family and lands himself in a reform program that promises to set boys right. At 13, he has an uncanny sense of people and begins to network with other kids that have been sent by judges and fed up family members to the camp. All the while, Ben is realizing that there is much more to the camp and potentially a paranormal/evil presence.

Ben will need his witts and the help of the boys he has befriended to make it out alive because the alternative is truly hell.

It's a slow burn, but the last quarter makes it all worth it!
#atria #wildernessreform #mattquery #harrisonquery

Wilderness Reform by Matt Query and Harrison Query
Pub date: July 2, 2024

I love a good survival story and this, a coming-of-age survival horror, hit home for me. There’s something about the unlikeliest of kids bravely pulling together in the face of the unthinkable that just pulls at my heart and keeps me invested.

Ben is 13 years old and along with his little brother, he’s in the care of his abusive aunt. He’s caught stealing in an attempt to get enough money to get himself and his brother away from her but instead finds himself at a wilderness camp for troubled boys. Ben is intuitive, he’s had to be to survive his childhood, and what he intuits from the counselors there is a whole lot of bad and he’s not far off. There’s something deeply wrong with the counselors there but just how wrong will open up a nightmare of horror for Ben and his bunkmates.

This is an adventure filled escapade that I sped through! Again, I love the survival adventure but the addition of hidden evil lying under the surface of the story was the cat nip that kept me going.

This is the perfect blend of thrilling terror combined with a paranormal element and an absolutely fantastic cast of characters! Loved it!

My thanks to Atria books for this gifted DRC!

Wow! Huge creep factor here! I really enjoyed this writing style. Nice fresh take in the thriller genre. Lots of tension and twists! And so many secrets to unravel.
Thank you NetGalley, Matt Query, Harrison Query and Atria Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Netgalley:Wilderness Report, Matthew Query, Harrison Query, Simon & Schuster. Emily Bestler, Sr. V-P & Ed. inn Chief

It's nighttime in Southern Louisiana and thirteen-year-old Ben is on a mission. Since the overdose-death of their addict-mother, Ben and eight-year old Wade have been in the custody of their aunt, who cares only for her monthly check..Ben is robbing a liquor store, the proceeds to fund a safe place for the brothers to live. Alarms as loud as church bells ring in his head, but Ben's brief sojourn into crime is short-lived. He is arrested.


Ben's nightmare begins, The next morning a group of uniformed men inform his aunt the boy will receive three months at a camp for wayward youth in Northeastern Montana, the Bear Springs Academy. Ben's discomfort increases when he meets the head counselor, Reid. The counselor exudes a strange energy, determined to win his new charge over, Both attracted and repulsed by Reid, Ben approaches the camp with curiosity and dread, increasingly confused by Reid's bizarre behavior. A tale that begins with a failed robbery becomes, instead, an excursion rife with the unknown, a boy caught in the jaws of the otherworldly, horror growing with the passage of each new revelation, each new lession.

Seemingly cooperative, Ben soon absorbs the daily rigors of the academy, filing away troubling incongruities, strange sounds in the dark of night, the jovial nature of the counselors under Reid's direction, the grotesque visions. Slowly, Ben grows closer to his three cabin-mates, sharing his suspicions of Reid's bizarre behavior, the eerie sounds that fill the night and the disturbing creatures the boys dare not believe.

Building slowly on Ben's misadventures with the law in Louisiana and embrace of the Montana wilderness, menace becomes pervasive, a blend of fear and threat where the ancient past converges with terrifying visions. Faces and bodies transform, four desperate boys repulsed by impossible, sickening distortions. Ben's fears of the powerful Reid cast him into a hell of the unknown, where life and death clash in a blood-soaked battle for survival, caught in a violent conflagration of the paranormal. Cosmic justice is unleashed, a roiling, fiery winner take all melee.

Wilderness Report begins with an intriguing premise ,gradually injecting an aura of danger, a subtle background that contrasts the rush of achievement and the ultimate conquest of the wild, with the final, promise of a '"sole experience" upon graduation. This strange tale delivers curiosity and revulsion in equal measure. Ben's urgency to uncover Reid's secrets fueling a simmering rebellion. The paranormal is all-consuming. a bloody conflagration destroying everything in its path, the four boys howling in battle, all for one and one for all. where past meets present, a rollercoaster of the impossible. Bear Springs Academy is a circus of horrors, not at all what I expected, nor what I would choose. The paranormal is not for me. I fell down the rabbit hole, cringing all the way. I do not like green eggs and ham. Luan Gaines/ 2024.

If you’re a fan of the slow burn thriller, you’ll love this book. Unfortunately, I am not. I think the plot is compelling and the characters are well developed, but the story dragged on a bit too much for me.

Wilderness Reform has many great qualities, but I’m just picky when it comes to the pacing of stories, so, from me, this rates 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3.

Thank you, NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced copy.

Hmmm. I think the description of this book is pretty misleading. "General Fiction," "Mystery & Thriller?" Sort of. Maybe "Paranormal Coming-of-Age Adventure Shoot-em-Up." I just couldn't buy into any of this. I actually sort of appreciated the first 1/3 of the book, but for me it went downhill fast. The main character Ben was extremely unsympathetic for me, regardless of his background. Thirteen years old with the understanding and insight into human nature and behavior? Umm, no way. A group of kids becoming seasoned outdoorsmen and killer marksmen in a month or two? Nope. I was reminded of the film "From Dusk Till Dawn" a little, with how the book took a major, unexpected turn into unforeseen territory.

I wasn't able to suspend disbelief, but for those who can, I guess there are plenty of things to enjoy here. Plus, the cover is really good.

I received a complimentary copy of the novel from the publisher and NetGalley, and my review is being given freely.

Really, really good book. Strange, but really good! Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this in an exchange of an honest review!!

I absolutely love this cover. I was super excited to read a book that was a mystery in the wilderness. It was a good story, but it was a slow burn. By the end, the action picked up. It's not my typical read, but it was still enjoyable.

Thirteen-year-old Ben finds himself sent to a remote reform program for troubled teens by a juvenile court judge. Upon arrival at the camp, nestled on the edge of the vast wilderness of northwestern Montana, he immediately senses something amiss about the overly friendly and upbeat counselors, detecting an undercurrent of menace.

Throughout his stay, Ben encounters other boys with similar upbringings and life scars. As the real danger surrounding them becomes increasingly apparent, a small group of them must unite to confront it. Through warnings from previous campers and Ben's own experiences, a gripping horror story unfolds. Ben emerges as a compelling protagonist, fiercely intelligent and unflinching in facing uncomfortable truths. The narrative builds tension steadily, with non-stop action once the true nature of the camp is revealed.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read this book.

Thirteen year-old Ben Thibodoux was caught robbing a convenience store. So, when he wakes one morning in his aunt's trailer, an aunt who is abusive to him and his younger brother, to find he's being kidnapped/sent off to a wilderness reform program, he's not entirely surprised, just terribly worried about his little brother. But things aren't quite as he expected at the remote camp in Montana. It's incredibly beautiful and the hikes and backpacking trips and activities are actually kind of fun. Except there's something very weird about the staff, and especially Reid, the guy in charge. And not just weird, but dangerously weird.

This was actually a LOT of fun to read. I can see why a LOT of other reviewers are calling it a "slow burn," and I sort of agree. I thought it was more like it was dragged out, with long descriptions about Ben's observations and thoughts, sometimes to the point of being a bit tedious. I still enjoyed it so much and could hardly put it down that I'd say it's more of a 4.5 stars than 4, but will round down because of that dragging. There's also a LOT of profanity (understandably, given it's a bunch of really rough kids) and by the end a lot of violence - although it doesn't come across as gratuitously gory. Still, just a fun read. (Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital review copy.)

I'm so sad to say this, but I just could not get into this book. I made it to 20% and found myself skipping portions because it was just SO wordy. I LOVED Old Country and I was really looking forward to Wilderness Reform. I think my expectations were just too high for the Query's second novel. If you like a VERY slow burn with ALOT of descriptive paragraphs, this one is for you. Take my review with a grain of salt because it seems like others enjoyed this one. I look forward to what the Query's write in the future.

Thank you to Netgalley & Atria Books, Atria/Emily Bestler Books for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was captivated by this one. Ben, age 13, lives in Louisiana with his little brother and an aunt, who is guilty of child abuse, and keeps the children only for the money. Ben resorts to petty theft in order to save money to survive after he and his brother Wade, run away, but he is caught and sent to a reform camp in the Montana wilderness. Ben is a remarkably perceptive person, and is very soon aware that he is in a bad place. He and three of his friends in his cabin group plan an escape. The book is part adventure, part survival story, part coming of age, and a bit of science fiction. I would also recommend it for older teens. I received this as an arc from NetGalley and am under no impression for a positive review.

Matt and Harrison Query came out of nowhere, and released one of the better horror novels I’ve ever read, that being their debut, Old Country. I liked the book so much that I bought a brand new copy after originally borrowing it from the library, then picked a digital copy up during a sale. It’s one I’ll definitely read again.

Above lays the reason why I was so excited to see a new book by the Querys appear on NetGalley, and requested it immediately. I had some things to finish up first, but couldn’t wait to start it upon being approved and receiving a digital ARC.

Their latest effort is called Wilderness Reform, and it’s another venture into the dark and dangerous. It’s also another title that deals with wilderness, in a greater capacity than even Old Country did.

After robbing some folks’ cabins down in the Louisiana swamps, new teenager Ben Thibodeaux decides to hold up a convenience store with a fake gun. Following this attempt, and his subsequent flight from the premises, he’s caught by police and is looking at time in juvenile detention. Then, something comes up that will forever change his life and destiny.

That something is a program called Bear Springs Academy, which is based in the wild mountains of rural Montana. Ben is sentenced there by the judge, and his abusive aunt, whom he and his younger brother unfortunately live with. The men come and get him, pay for him to fly back with them and provide food, shelter and discipline based programming free of charge, through a scholarship.

Despite being defiant, Ben — who’s much smarter than almost anyone else his age, or older — ends up going and becomes a new member of the Bear Springs Academy summer group. He knows one kid from back home who attended it, and has seen how polite and uninspired that boy became afterwards, leaving his unruly and self-destructive behaviour in the mountains.

However, Ben quickly susses out that something is up with this wilderness survival camp, and its counsellors. At least, he thinks there is. What, exactly, is unclear.

That’s all I’ll say about this plot, out of respect for spoilers. You won’t want to know any more before reading Wilderness Reform, which is something you should do. Although it isn’t as good as Old Country, it’s a rather good book and is certainly above average. I think I expected too much because of how much I loved their debut, which wasn’t fair to this sophomore effort.

For the most part, the writing is quite good, just like it was before. However, some passages are a bit too descriptive, and you should know that this is a slow burn. A worthy one nonetheless.

Those wishing to find another quality horror book should certainly read through Wilderness Reform by Matt & Harrison Query when it’s available. That, and Old Country, if they haven’t done so already. You won’t be disappointed!

I’ll surely end up picking a copy up, for my own personal collection.

This review is based on an early, uncorrected, copy of the book, which we were provided by NetGalley and its publisher. Receiving a free review copy did not sway our opinion.

Oh, this was an amazing adventure!

It’s dark and dangerous, yet holds so much hope for our damaged boys in this world.

Ben and his friends were amazing – Ben was Iconic – and the evil they face was unique and terrifying.

From the first page, I was completely enthralled and deep into the author’s world.

I loved this one!

• ARC via Publisher

Well, that was kind of creepy.

Wilderness Reform is definitely a slow, slow burn, but it all leads up to a fantastic ending! It did lose me a little with all of the fishing and camping and hiking and archery talk (I “camp” only in a very loose sense of the word – both plumbing and electricity are involved) and I felt like it could have been a little shorter (by cutting out some of the aforementioned outdoorsy scenes that don't seem to progress the plot much), but overall it was an enjoyable read that kept me turning the pages.

The main characters are all young teens, but the story never felt YA-ish. In fact, I kept forgetting that the characters are only barely teenagers, because they all act much, much older. I suppose it makes sense considering their backgrounds – a crappy childhood will make you grow up fast, for sure – but Ben doesn't talk like any thirteen-year-old I've ever known. That's not necessarily a bad thing (if I want YA, I'll seek out an actual YA book), but I do think it takes some suspension of disbelief in order to accept that Ben is only thirteen.

I really enjoyed the inclusion of Aztec mythology into the story and thought it added an interesting twist to the usual “bad things in the woods” trope. I have no idea if the myth mentioned in this book is an actual Aztecan myth or if it was completely made up by the authors, but it certainly makes for a super creepy Big Bad (and minions)!

I also appreciated the humanity that the authors brought to the characters. Juvenile offenders (and offenders in general, really) are so often thought of as “bad seeds,” but this book really provides a realistic picture of why an otherwise decent person might turn to crime to survive. Ben and his friends have had tough lives and have made some terrible decisions, but they have a lot of good in them, too. Ben's obvious love for his little brother is especially endearing.

My overall rating: 3.65 stars, rounded up. You probably need to be a patient reader to enjoy this one – and a little interest in the outdoors wouldn't hurt, either – but overall it's a suspenseful read that will likely make you never want to send your kid off to summer camp again.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review.

First off, that cover! Am I right? It's fantastic! I had high hopes for Wilderness Reform. I thought it was going to be a slam dunk for me. It’s set in the wilderness, is a horror book, and the synopsis drew me in.

Troubled teens are sent to a wilderness camp to learn teamwork, survival skills, discipline, and to respect authority. Thirteen-year-old Ben is sent to the camp by a judge and quickly notices that everyone is happy and upbeat. But even with all the happiness and smiles, Ben can feel something sinister simmering underneath the smiles. He begins to feel and notice that something isn't quite right.


This book was a SLOW BURN. I do not get along with slow burns. Most of the book is about Ben making connections with the other boys in his cabin, taking books out of the library and making astute observations. But again - this was too slow a burn for me. I struggled with this book but was interested enough to keep reading.

Then *BOOM* the ending of the book! The ending I loved. The pace picked up significantly and you know what began to hit the fan! The ending was fantastic! I can't fault it at all, but getting there was so very hard.

Besides the ending, this book was atmospheric with vivid descriptions of the camp, the wilderness, and the characters. The camp being away from civilization provided the trapped feeling that I enjoy in books. But the slowness just didn’t work for me.

I know that many will not have an issue with the pace of this book. I am an outlier. I really wanted to love this all the way through. Early reviewers love this book. Please read their reviews as well.

As I loved the ending, I would be open to reading more books by these authors in the future.

Thank you to Atria Books, Atria/Emily Bestler Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.