A group of "troubled teens" are forced into a wilderness rehab trip....and even the counsellors get more than they bargained for.

This is a great YA horror book, with memorable characters, rich atmosphere, and really creepy moments. The woods and the monsters within them come to life, the tense stillness the teens hear fills your own home if you're reading in a quiet space. There's a queer enemies-to-lovers storyline in one of the two POVs, and even the characters who don't make it through the woods get to grow. This was my first book by this author, and I'd happily seek out more the next time I"m looking to get spooked.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
Courtney Gould has become a new favorite YA horror author, and I was excited for her next book, What the Woods Took. This excitement grew when I realized the story revolved around the Breaking Code Silence and the Troubled Teen Industry, which I learned about thanks to the advocacy of people like Paris Hilton. While the book isn’t my favorite work of Courtney Gould’s, I appreciate what she has done with this concept.
The characters are, as you’d expect, messy and very flawed. Devin is the primary focus, and she can be rather frustrating to follow. But I also understand where she’s coming from, given the situation she’s in. Ollie is the other main POV character, and while somewhat less memorable, she has some great moments too. And overall, the primary cast is entertaining to follow as they clash and bond, and even begin to fall in love.
My one complaint is that the pacing is rather slow in the first half, and the horror elements are rather understated in the first half. However, it’s definitely worth sticking with, as the story amps up in the latter half. It all came together in a fairly satisfying way by the end.

4.5/5☆

Wow. I read this book in a single day, and it knocked me over with its tale. Courtney did an amazing job writing this harsh story of 5 teens in a wilderness program gone wrong, a delightful dip into a fantastical creature feature, and the damage families can do to each other. I definitely want to look more into what else she has written now.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I am a Courtney Gould Stan and I was so excited to be able to read this book. This was filled with moments where I felt like shaking the characters but there was plenty of growth as well. I love a good monster horror and this felt like The Thing set in the woods. We get two revolving POVs between Devin and Ollie; two teens who are sent into a wilderness behavioral program. There are 3 other kids there who have plenty of issues to work out, as well as 2 counselors.

These books are always full of “are they monsters or are they humans” and I love the mind games. I had my ideas on who was bad but the way it ended up was still a little bittersweet. I would need so much therapy after all this. The way these kids were able to adapt and grow would probably be way more than someone my age could do in that situation. They kind of just brushed it off and ran with it. The body horror is very minimal if you’re not into that. There are talks about tough topics and I would look at some trigger warnings. So happy Courtney is still going strong for sapphic YA horror and I can’t wait to read more!

I really love the way that Courtney Gould writes. This is my third book by her and I've enjoyed it just as much as the first two. The story and characters are so compelling and well-crafted. I was hooked--I really felt brought into the setting and it felt like I was right there with them as they navigated everything. Gah, so good! I cannot wait to read more from Gould, she's really a voice to watch in the writing world because she is absolutely a masterful writer. I am so excited that I got to read this early, and I'm eagerly awaiting the inevitable announcement for her next work.

Being sent to a wilderness therapy camp as a teenager is hard enough. Never mind having to fight for your life - literally - in the forest. Devin Green has not had the easiest time over the past decade. She's been kicked out of school(s) and moved from one foster home to another, and now, she's being abducted in the middle of the night to be dropped off in the middle of nowhere. Over the next 50 days, Devin and her equally confused peers will hike through the wilderness to come out a better person. Devin's immediate thought is to escape. Not to go home, necessarily, but just to not be HERE. Soon, she realizes there's nowhere to go and the woods may be the true danger here. After her two counselors disappear, Devin and the rest of the group must rely on each other to make it out safely. And more importantly, alive. Unfortunately, the woods are also filled will monsters that "mimic" their loved ones and will do whatever it takes to overcome and become one of the teens. How can they rely on each other if the person standing next to them may no longer be their true self? Will they make it out of the woods or will they succumb to not only the elements but whatever is hiding in the woods?

I have had Courtney Gould's books on my TBR for a looong time and I am so glad I was able to review this book! I was immediately hooked and could not put this one down. Although it is billed as YA, it certainly does not read that way. You often felt like you were right there with the "campers," experiencing the same visions they were and fighting the mimics yourself. I enjoyed how atmospheric this book was! I did feel that the ending fell a little flat, but overall the book was an excellent read! I would highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys a mildly paranormal story that will leave you looking over your shoulder at every strange noise.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books and NetGalley for an electronic advanced readers copy of this novel.

Devin grew up in foster care and seems to always be in trouble. She seems to have found a decent foster home with people who seemingly care about her. That all comes to nothing in the middle of the night when she wakes up to find 2 men in her room, who have come to take her away some sort of wilderness conversion camp in an attempt to make her more docile. She tries to fight it but ends up being thrown into a van along with another teenager, Ollie. They end up in a forest along with other troubled teens, the worst of which is Sheridan, a girl who seems to be mean just to get a rise out of people.

Distrustful of their situation and their wilderness journey, things take a turn for the worst when their guides disappear and weird things start happening.

What the Wood Took by Courtney Gould, is a suspenseful and well written novel. I don't want to give away any spoilers, but it kept my attention and interest throughout, even when the weird things happen (I don't want to give away any spoilers, so I'll keep it at that).

This was an interesting and taut thriller exploring what happens when “wilderness therapy” goes terribly wrong for five troubled teens deep in the backwoods of Idaho. Like, supernaturally wrong. Because why have actual therapy when you can get funneled into the troubled teen industry, which strands you out in the middle of nowhere with inexperienced guides, and after they disappear, mysterious monsters that want you dead for some reason? The industry is bad enough on its own, but throw in the monsters that can somehow read your mind in order to use faces from your life to torment you into giving up, the whole ordeal is a nightmare of the highest order.

I will say that this makes for an excellent setup for character building. The characters, especially Devin and Ollie, our two POV characters, grow quite a bit in strength and resilience throughout the book, given the tremendous obstacles they have to overcome, both with the monsters and with other group members. I found it interesting, and interestingly symbolic, that these conflicts were essentially the characters being forced to face their inner demons.

I do have a couple of quibbles with the book, though. I would have liked to see more in-depth information revealed about the monsters (other than some brief journal entries from the 1970s and one scene in the present), such as how and why they were tormenting these characters, and how and why they even existed in that place at all. I’m the kind of reader who finds that level of detail more compelling; I like to know how it all works. Also, despite this book featuring the troubled teen industry, and the author even mentioning in the note at the beginning that that’s the point of the book, it didn’t seem to explore this quite as much as I might have liked. I believe it could, and should, have been balanced with the supernatural elements a bit better.

All that being said, however, I did like this book. It’s definitely good for people like me who enjoy the supernatural, along with messy queer people.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I enjoyed this novel - especially the parts that focused on the five teens. I liked how they worked together, and grew and matured during their experience in the woods. Once the monsters came into play, I became less interested. I understand that the monsters were each teen’s own demon they had to face, if you will, but it felt too out there to me. There just seemed to be a lot of unanswered questions, too.

I really enjoyed this book. We follow a group of teens who are sent to a wilderness retreat behavior modification camp. Once they get deep into the woods though, they start to feel like something is watching them, and creepy things happen. I felt like the beginning was so strong. I was hooked from the start. I actually really liked the build up to everything where we are following the group just hiking through the woods and learning a little about each character's backstory. I enjoyed the direction the book went, although it wasn't quite what I expected. I felt like this was pretty nicely paced, and it was a really quick read. I did have a few issues however. The first is that this behavior wilderness camp thing was so unprepared to actually deal with these kids. Five kids, whose parents thought they were bad enough to send them to this camp, get dropped off with 2 adults who seem to have absolutely no experience with de-escalating a child. I'm still confused about how the kids didn't just walk away from the "coaches." They seemed so clueless. My other big issue is how we learned about the things in the woods. The way that information was revealed to us felt just so convenient and unbelievable. Slightly less of an issue for me was the love story subplot. I didn't think it was necessary, and I think I would have preferred if those characters came out of the book as really close friends, or wait or have them get together after everything happens. I just thought it was strange to be making out by a lake while all of their friends are literally fighting for their lives. Overall though, I enjoyed the book a lot. This is definitely the type of story that I tend to gravitate to, and I had a pretty fun time reading it.

I was really excited when I started this book- "Wilderness Therapy" camps have always been a morbid curiosity of mine and I love wilderness horror, so this book seemed like the perfect fit. This one starts out really strong- with the scene of Devin getting taken from her foster home and then the journey to and start of this 50 wilderness hike. I was actually really enjoying the group dynamic and the story- and when the counselors disappear the potential for this story was sky high, however things quickly deteriorated for me here. The pacing slows to that of molasses. The constant splitting up of the group does absolutely nothing but drag out the plot. I got really bored despite the moments of action and creepiness. I often found my mind wandering and wondering when this one was going to end.

Things I liked:
Setting- isolated, lost
The journal- I wish there had been more of this included, actually
The creatures- really creepy
The character development

Things I didn't like:
This book was SO LONG, too long.
The ending dragged on unnecessarily
The romance- why does every book ever have to have a romance? ugh.
Sheridan- her character grated me the entire time (the audio narrator's choice of voice exacerbated this and *almost* led to me DNFing

I’m a huge fan of The Dead and The Dark and I wondered if this book would blow me away just like Courtney Gould’s other books but I didn’t have to worry too much about that because What The Woods Took has a creepy and disturbing setting in the forest coupled with a supernatural thrill factor that was off the charts! I was hooked on this story from the first page and I’m not ashamed to admit that I binged read every word until I got to the end. I was heavily invested in the enemies to lovers romance between Devin and Sheridan because it felt natural and not forced. Plus, I really enjoyed the character growth and development of all the teens in the woods (Devin, Sheridan, Ollie, Hannah and Aidan). I loved every word of this riveting story and have I mentioned how much I love this awesome book cover?

A huge thank you to Netgalley, Courtney Gould and Wednesday Books for allowing me to read and review this engrossing story.

gripping and intense, filled with drama and interesting main characters, and set in a fairly creepy way. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Courtney Gold smashes books out of the park. What the Woods Took was an excellently written book. The characters captured my heart, the mysterious mimics had my heart pounding, and I loved the survival of the group. I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait for her next! Gold is now one of my favourite authors.

Devin Green is abducted by 2 men in the middle of the night from her foster home. They throw her in a van and take her to the woods in the middle of nowhere. Her and a group of troubled teens are part of an experiment. They have to hike the creepy woods and camp for 50 days along with several counselors. Instead of problems getting better they just get worse as problems arise and they fight for their lives.
This was an eerie story that had me glued to the pages. It was full of interesting characters.
Thanks NetGalley and St. Martins Press for this eARC that will be released December 10, 2024!

5 teenagers are dropped off in the woods for an experimental therapy program. Two counselors explain why they're there. If the campers can learn to change their self-destructive ways—and survive a fifty-days hike through the wilderness—they’ll come out the other side as better versions of themselves. But then the counselors disappear and the teens are left to fend for themselves. Also, there's something in these woods...

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for this e-arc.*

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for access to this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

3.5 stars
Courtney Gould is back with another queer horror romance for the YA genre. I enjoyed my read because of the interesting premise, relatable characters, and page-turning plot. The story begins with a heart-pounding moment, when one of our protagonists Devin Green wakes up to find men in her room and her foster parents saying little of where they are taking her. Soon, Devin and a group of other teens will learn they have been sent to some type of experimental therapy group. Quickly, they will learn something even more sinister awaits all of them in the woods.

This is the author's third novel and I have been privileged to read and read them all. Although her sophomore novel Where Echoes Die remains my absolute 5-star favourite, WTWT carries a terrifying atmosphere that kept me hooked and guessing. It felt reminiscent of the horror films of the 90s that my friends and I devoured.


Highly recommended for horror fans young and old.

Expected Publication Date 10/12/24
Goodreads Review Date 30/11/24

Thank you Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and Courtney Gould for providing me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
Around 3 years ago I received an ecopy of the Dead and the Dark and became an instant Courtney Gould stan. I even bought a hardcover copy to add to my shelf. This summer my daughter went to her first electronic free, sleep away camp and I packed my hard copy in her bag. When I picked her up 8 days later we had our first exciting, fast paced book conversation that will stay in my biblio heart forever.

With that review Courtney did it again!

If you were drawn into the horror that is Netflix’s The Program, imagine colliding that with the eerie survivalist vibes of YellowJackets and the relationship based tensions of the Wilds. What the Woods Took feels like all of my favourite things wrapped up in a haunting atmospheric novel.

Gould takes risks with the paranormal genre. A genre that often veers into unbelievable and dare I say - cheesy, but you won't find any of that here. Gould writes with care and nuance that makes it feel grounded and oftentimes gut-wrenching. She has mastered blending super natural with real human emotion. So if you are a fan of stories that explore surviving trauma in a respectful and non exploitative manner then this is a read for you.

3/5 Stars. A solid middle of the road read for me, not amazing, but not bad by any means. I didn't like it as much as Gould's last book, Where Echoes Die, but I still enjoyed it. The creatures were very creepy, the characters felt mostly believable, but I feel like there was overall a lack of atmosphere that, if fleshed out more, could have made this a 4+ star book for me (I love creepy forests, but this one was pretty mid atmospherically). Overall, I think this would be a good book to introduce teens to the horror genre, but it didn't give enough of what I was looking for to make it worth more than one read for me personally.

What the Woods Took follows a group of troubled teens forced into wilderness therapy. The plot sounded fascinating to me, but as I was reading, 20% of the way into the book I had to check what genre this was considered, much to my surprise it was horror..?

It wasn’t until almost HALFWAY through the book that we’re introduced to these monsters that imitate people in your life to lure you in and take over your body. Another interesting concept, but boy it took a long time to get there.

From there it boiled down to a stuck in the woods YA horror with semi threatening monsters, that basically left the group alone for most of the time. The found family between the group of teens was sweet, albeit a little quick, but hey, trauma bonding!