I was surprised that I liked this book to be honest, I'm not a huge fan of horror so I was a bit hesitant going into this. I'm glad I gave it a chance though because it was a really great read. I definitely have some patrons in mind when I go to recommend this book at the library!

I really enjoyed the authors writing. This book was phenomenal. I could not put it down. I enjoyed the characters pov and growth. But this story had me hooked from the start. Will be reading more of hers

This book truly had me on the edge of my seat. There was so much more to it than meets the eye. The supernatural horror mixed with the real horror of the troubled teen industry was as heartbreaking as it was fascinating. Highly recommend for anyone who is a fan of forest horror or for anyone that regularly goes down Tiktok rabbit holes about wilderness camps.

What the Woods Took by Courtney Gould is a decent young adult novel. I’ll preface the review by saying I haven’t read YA novels in a while, and this was a good novel to get back into the genre.
The book begins with five teens who are carrying their own baggage that led them to be unceremoniously dumped in REVIVE, a wilderness therapy program. What starts off as an unwelcome and involuntary intervention for personal development turns into a fight for survival in the wilderness. These kids end up battling personal demons and external demons that take on forms to screw with their minds.
The novel gets more into the backstory of Devin, Sheridan, Ollie, and Hannah. Aidan’s history and troubles could have been delved into more. This was further solidified in my mind because when writing the review, I accidentally wrote Aidan’s name as Aaron. And this was after I finished the book the night before! It felt a little Lord of the Flies with the way aspersions were thrown against each other because they don’t know who or what to believe. Especially when the adults that were supposed to guide them through this therapy are not able to do so. Regardless you root for the survival of the troubled teens.
Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC.

This was a creepy and unsettling journey through the forest. The idea of wilderness therapy has always been an appealing to me and this book solidified that. Full of troubled angsty teens and creepy critters. This was a perfect read for fans about what lurks in the dark.

This was a surprising book, though I shouldn’t have been since I have read books by Courtney Gould in the past. But as I do with many arcs (thank you St. Martins Press) I went into this book blind.

The pacing was a little weird. The book was pretty slow in the beginning but then when things started happening they really came at you and the book started the move a lot faster. Not to saw that the beginning was boring, it was just a lot of me wondering if this is all that the book was. But like as I said, once the plot picked up I was *invested*.

I really appreciated the character arcs too. There’s a lot of growth and while it isn’t always linear it’s there and it added another element of suspense to the story.

Overall this was the perfect spooky read for a camping trip in the woods. My real life atmosphere definitely added to my enjoyment of this book.

dangggg. i’m honestly deeply impressed by this book. i was not planning on finishing it in 24 hours but that is indeed what i did. i think the pacing was perfect, the character growth was super strong, and the spooky elements SPOOKED me. i’m honestly surprised there hasn’t been more fiction about wilderness therapy. even without the supernatural horror elements this would have been intriguing. this book is incredibly immersive and captivating. i would LOVE to see this turned into a film or mini series. i’ll definitely check out more by this author.

thank you netgalley, glad i didn’t have to wait until December to read this!!!

tbh this book isn’t entirely what i was expecting. i thought it would be more horror when it ended up being more of a character study. that’s not to say that’s a bad thing. in fact, i really enjoyed seeing all the characters grow as they faced challenges after challenges. it did have some supernatural horror elements but they were more on the back burner compared to the real life horrors experienced by the campers. there were many scenes where i felt stressed for them in the woods. i really liked the idea of mimics and how they target there intended victims; nice and creepy. i wish we got more information about them and their history and goals.

it did take a while to get into the story as the first bit was basically just Devin and Sheridan bickering over and over and being unlikable characters, but that does add to their growth later on.

I'll admit: I was hesitant about this one. While I really enjoyed Courtney Gould's incredibly strong debut The Dead and the Dark, her sophomore novel Where Echoes Die felt like a slog to get through. I am so, so glad I took a chance on this, her third YA horror novel, because honestly I think it might be her best work yet—and further proof of just how unbelievably gifted an author she is.

The premise of this book is timely, and chilling right off the bat: five teens surrendered to the much-criticized (and rightly) "troubled teen" industry are brought to a "wilderness therapy" camp. Under the guidance of two "coaches" barely older than themselves, they are led on a fifty-day hike through a remote wilderness that's meant to make them into better people—or, at the very least, people that their parents can tolerate. This "camp" is seen as a last resort for parents who feel they have lost control of their children, but, as the novel demonstrates, people's definitions of "lost control" vary widely: one of the teens has a cruel, controlling father who sent her to wilderness therapy after a single mistake. The why of how each of the five teens landed here is treated as secondary to the brutality of their new reality, especially when that reality takes on a chilling edge: the "coaches" disappear without a trace, and it becomes increasingly clear that the teens are not alone in the wilderness.

I think I was already primed to love this because I'm a sucker for a spooky story in the woods, but Gould is just so damn gifted at turning our fears and anxieties—about ourselves, about our futures, and about the people around us—into monsters. (The real kind, that go bump in the night.) This book had moments that were genuinely frightening, some very clever and interesting monsters, and a cast of characters—led by POV characters Devin, whose foster parents turned her over to the camp, and Ollie, who lives with a cruel and emotionally distant father—that are raw, angry, and authentic. It was so easy to empathize with these kids, even Sheridan, who I was certain I would hate for the entirety of the book due to her awful behavior at the beginning. I also appreciated how Gould isn't afraid to criticize the way that we, as adults, often see teens and their complex feelings and traumas an inconvenience. Like I say: she is so damn smart, and her writing, on a technical level, is elegant in a way that I personally think is a cut above much of YA.

I can't give specific details because that would be getting into spoiler territory, but there's a scene toward the end of this book that had me, a notorious hard-ass who seldom cries at books, fully in tears on the train. This book absolutely gutted me in so many ways and I'm THRILLED that I gave a talented author a second chance after a book I didn't personally vibe with.

A group of wayward teens, strangers to each other, are dropped off in the woods with 2 counselors for wilderness therapy. They have a fifty day hike ahead of them, surviving in the remote woods and having therapy. At the end, they should be better off than before and able to rejoin their families as more productive members of society. But things go wrong pretty quickly. Devin and Sheridan are at each others throats. Then the adult counselors go missing. Next, the kids are seeing weird faces in the trees and seeing people that shouldn’t be there. It’s up to them to figure out what’s going on and how to survive.

Well written and scary!

I was able to read this before release thanks to NetGalley!

I want to start off by saying I LOVED this book, it was right up my ally with horror/ psychological thriller vibes. This is a YA based book if you read this book and think these kids act immature or it’s juveniles themes (it’s a ya book of course its going to have juvenile themes) but the YA aspect does not take away the horror of this book for me it made it more intense thinking of 13-17 year old taken away to stay in the woods for 50 days is terrifying in itself and what lies beyond as they continue their journey just add to the horror.

This book is going to be in my top 5 reads of 2024 and I cannot wait for it to be released to re-read it it’s a physical book and annotate it and go back finding hidden horrors that I missed while hyper-focused of these kids survival. I could not read this book at night because living near the woods I was freaked out so this was strictly read during daylight hours, if you can read horror books at night then sleep soundly I am also scared of you.


This is a slow paced book about 5 teenagers Devin, Aiden, Hannah, Sheridan and Ollie who all only have one thing in common they were all sent to stay in the woods for 50 days under the the supervision of two leaders who are going to “change” the teenagers before they leave the woods. Things don’t go as planned but everyone who leaves the woods is changed forever, maybe for the better or maybe for the worst. This book showcase every bump you're scared of in the night, every shadow in the woods that have a face but you shake it off because that’s absurd, every fear you’ve kept buried because you're not scared to admit the truth to others but the truth to yourself.

This book is a dual POV between Ollie and Devin. Ollie who is easy to love, easy to like and you want to protect him from the darkness. Devin is harder to like she’s rough, she’s full of anger, she is the protector not the girl who needs protecting.




Trigger warnings: Sexual Assault flashback, dying grandma, dead sister, religion trauma

This YA paranormal mystery/thriller was the second novel I read by this author. I loved her debut novel The Dead and the Dark. I was hoping this one would be just as exciting. The author did not disappoint. It was creepy and haunting. It was emotional and loving. It was so much more than I expected and I loved it from start to finish.

The characters are so complex and diverse you could not help but become invested in their lives and root for them to survive their nightmarish ordeal. There was such depth to this story, especially on an emotional level that will endear you to these characters even more after what they went through.

Similar to The Dead and the Dark, this is a story of survival and love and the love of a found family. If you enjoyed her previous novel you will likely enjoy this one as well.

This was a very well written story and highly recommended for all types of readers.

Holding out on my review until the terms of the Readers for Accountability boycott are met. Once met, I can submit my review for the publisher.

3.5-4 stars. The atmosphere, characters, and pacing all came together to make a fun spooky book that wasn’t too intense. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

This book was quite a creepy read. I agree with the description; it felt very Yellowjackets meets Girl, Interrupted. The setting was well done and immersed me in this forest. The characters were flawed, some morally gray, and I liked going on this journey with them as they discovered what they were truly made of and the kind of people they could be. Excellent character arcs. I had never heard of such wilderness camps so finding out they exist in the real world and this is loosely based on them was quite unsettling.

The writing was beautiful, which seems to be something I can come to expect from Gould. While it did take a while for the story to get going, and for the supernatural aspect to show itself (around 30%, I believe), the characters and setting made this slow burn of a story worth the wait. I highly recommend reading it if you love stories set in the woods and/or enjoy creepy and sinister stories.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this book.

Oh wow!!!!!! This was a first for me by this author but will not be my last! Such a good story!

Courtney Gould is an absolute must buy. Her previous books have been consistently top ten for me over the years. Her talent for stories about young women battling inner and literal demons is next level. Her words transport me to another dimension where characters overcome dark troubles. Her latest work yet again tackles topics relevant to the journey many young people face today. Gould is able to merge that with fantastical and otherworldly elements in a way that very few authors are able to elicit in a realistic or meaningful way.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books and and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

A group of five “troubled teens” are sent by their various guardians to a wilderness therapy camp. Well into the hike, in the middle of the woods the counselors mysteriously disappear. Then the teens start seeing terrifying things in the woods from their past. It brings to mind the question “Would you rather meet a strange person in the woods or a bear?”

This surprised me in the best possible way. Such an emotional rollercoaster It had so much depth for the characters and I ended up caring deeply for what happened to them. This story had such a creepy storyline that I literally got chills reading some scenes. Then it became so heart wrenching that I got teary-eyed and had to pause for a breather.

It was so well written that once I started I hated when I had to put it down. When I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it.

There are some triggering aspects of this book so if you're sensitive to this then I recommend checking them before reading. If that's not something that bothers you then I recommend going in blind because it makes the impact hit so much harder when you get there.

This is such a compelling book and I highly recommend this!

Thank you Netgalley and St Martin's Press for allowing me to read this book early for an honest review.

Courtney Gould continues to impress with another atmospheric spooky tale! I honestly just love the vibes in Gould's work, there's something comforting in the way the she writes she just hits me in the feels every time. Teen me would've obsessed over her books and characters, but grown me can appreciate them critically from the distance of age.

The kids in this story are just that - kids. They may act tough and most have been through it and experienced more of the bad side of life than kids should but at the end of the day they are a bunch of kids and that really comes out, I think. Some people might find that difficult because it does mean the characters can be annoying at times, but I think Gould does well to make them feel real and multi-dimensional. We spend a lot of time with them and even Aidan and Sheridan, the two most annoying, grew on me in the end.

Without giving too much away, I will say I was surprised by the supernatural twist to this one, which was nice as I'm usually pretty good at predicting what's going to happen. Gould managed to surprise me a couple times but I think that's partially because her books are good at getting me to read so deeply I forget I'm even reading. I woke up this morning just intending to get a few chapters in and fully finished the book, with more than half left lol

While What the Woods Took isn't my favorite of Gould's novels, it's still great form and a chilling, tense story. All I wish is that there was more on the commentary of these survival camps troubled teens get sent to. It felt more surface-level, and the beginning was especially tense with it, and it feels like Gould wanted to get more into it, almost got more into it, but then would pull away. I think the only reason I'm giving this four stars is because I was hoping it might go as hard as Camp Damascus did, which was another novel with a similar-ish premise that really knocked it out the park. Don't get me wrong though - I recommend both, highly!

Courtney Gould reminds me a cross between Darcy Coats and Alix E. Harrow, for teens. I recommend browsing YouTube for an appropriately themed ambient video when reading her, as it will really enhance the fantastic atmosphere she always manages to craft in her stories.

Loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Calling all Yellowjackets fans this one’s for you. This book is about of group of teens in a wilderness therapy camp who end up abandoned in the woods with an evil presence. The group of characters we have are all fascinating in different ways and the different povs help the reader stay engaged with the story. Sometimes I find it hard to follow books that are in third person and follow many different characters but this one was easy to keep ahold of and i don’t think the story would have worked otherwise. I loved Devins pov the most but all of them were very entertaining. I also loved Ollie’s character growth throughout the novel and wished I could give him a hug. I do think Sheridans arc was a little predictable but that’s not always a bad thing. I also throughly enjoyed the romance side plot intertwined throughout the book. The whole monster plot was never fully explained but I think that was kind of the point. They were a very creative way to explore how intrusive thoughts work in my opinion. I would recommend this to all of the Yellowjackets fans and anyone who is looking for a kind of spooky young adult book. I can’t wait for this to be released and for everyone to get their hands on it.