Teenager Devin has plenty of problems. She’s fighting, she’s argumentative, she’s been kicked out of several schools … Her foster family is at their wits end, and so they do the unthinkable: they sign her up for some very special therapy, which kicks off when a pair of thugs arrive in the middle of the night to drag her out of her bed and carry her to a van. There, she is transported hours away in the company of another victim. Try as she might, she cannot escape. The van ride ends at woodlands in the middle of nowhere where she discovers she’s been entered into the REVIVE program. For the next fifty days, she will have to survive in untamed lands with a pair of guides and a gaggle of equally troubled teens.

Ollie was picked up before Devin. He too has a troubled homelife, though a far less violent one than Devin has. His Dad does not want to see eye-to-eye with him and ultimately sees Ollie as nothing better than an argumentative, lazy disappointment. Perhaps this therapy will make his homelife better … If he survives.

The next fifty days will not be a walk in the park. The kids will have guides helping them along and keeping an eye on them, but they will ultimately be responsible for working together, preparing foodstuffs, and following the trail to the extraction point. According to the two guides/coaches Ethan and Liz, the trip will build their young charges esteem, help them learn survival skills, and help them reconsider their life choices to this point …

However, none of the kids volunteered to participate … and they have no vested interest in working together. So, while Hannah from Sacramento can yearn for approval, Aiden from Bozeman Montana can briefly self-isolate, Sheridan from Seattle can choose to drag her feet without reprisal. If that was the only issue they faced, then Devin or Ollie might be able to just wait out the fifty days … but these woods are strange. Animal sounds are few and far between and something strange stalks the land. It can wear familiar faces, it can whisper hideous truths and uglier though convincing lies, and it can lure the unknowing away from the protective herd.

And when Ethan and Liz vanish, leaving the youths alone, how will they hope to survive in a wilderness none of them is particularly prepared for and against a weird adversary that knows more about them than they do about it? Courtney Gould blends survival horror and creature features in the suspenseful YA thriller, What the Woods Took.

The woods have an established place in terror tales. There’s no easier way to isolate a group of characters than to launch them into a wild place, perhaps idyllic in daylight hours but nevertheless harboring all manner of challenges and dangers. Slashers, demonic horrors, and the walking dead have all appeared in such locations, tormenting a dwindling cast until the inevitable showdown between the desperate forces of normality and intrusive monstrosity.

Courtney Gould takes a whack at this locale and horror concept, adding on a whole other layer of unease, plumbing the depths of questionable therapies and programs that parents have subjected their trouble kids to in years past. Specifically, Gould targets a mode of “adventure therapy” knowns as wilderness therapy. That model is held up as useful by its champions for building confidence and self-reliance, teambuilding, and other positive behaviors. It’s a kind of one stop rehab for mental health, addiction, and behavioral disorders. However, it has come under fire over the years by those teens who were subjected to the therapy as being far more negative than the self-generated press suggests through allegations of abuse and neglect. Gould certainly sides with the victims who have told their stories and presented their cases. The treatment here is executed by non-licensed therapists, well meaning folks who don’t know how to really do the work of licensed professionals, who volunteer confidential information in unwelcome company, and who ultimately lead their charges into troubles.

Added to these mundane challenges are a very real weird menace lurking in the woods.

At first, we are uncertain if they are merely psychological projections. The characters are each unreliable in their own ways, products of disfunction and societal letdowns. But as Devin, Ollie and the others continue facing their external challenges and internal demons, we soon discover the evil is a very real threat after all. Like a weird mix of the tulpa myth and the shape changing alien from The Thing (1982), the mimic draws a lot from the people it encounters. Like Pennywise from Stephen King’s It, the menace knows what scares or disturbs its prey, and it has no compunctions about exploiting that information for its own ends. Make no mistake: This is not a mindless horror. It has an agenda and rules that it must operate by. Readers learning those rules and agenda while the characters do is a large part of the fun of Gould’s book. It’s an unsettling story, sure, and the stalking presence is memorably eerie, but What the Woods Took is also a neat puzzle story as we wonder about the monster in the dark and then wonder how many other strange things might be out there …

The writing style is compelling, inviting readers to continue turning pages long after the bedtime cut off. While the narrative is far from subtle in its disgust with REVIVE and similar companies offering wilderness therapy opportunities, the attentiveness to making all the characters interesting individuals is there, too. Ethan and Liz are not straw man arguments, they mean well but are clearly out of their depth. The teens are each worthy of empathy and sympathy, even though they might not seem that way initially. Many characters have journeys here and arcs to fulfill. While the point of view is restricted to Devin or Ollie throughout, the others do not feel like mere helper NPCs. They all have some growing and developing to do, though some of that development reaches a premature conclusion thanks to character death.

As we might expect from a YA novel, Gould’s book has its biggest sympathies with its teen characters. None of these characters is perfect. They all have some real, personal obstacles to overcome (and a few they have not yet even recognized) and the narrative gives the characters room to do so. While Devin and Sheridan might butt heads, leaping to judgments about each other and sometimes coming to blows, the narrative itself does not choose sides or demonize one or the other character. Gould’s book is unflinching in appreciating how nobody is perfect and we are all products of bad choices and sometimes untrustworthy and inexplicable psychologies. This breadth makes the victories the characters win all the more enjoyable to read about.

What the Woods Took is a wild, dark-themed adventure. While Gould includes some measured and welcome attacks on the wilderness therapy process, this is couched in a survival horror yarn about a group of kids facing the unknown and relying upon their own strengths to get through the experience. Along the way, they develop empathy for one another, a better understanding of themselves, and an appreciation for mortality. Opportunities for love and loss, hope and despair, as well as learning not only how to trust but the difficult balance of give and take await them. Gould’s book is a terrific and thoughtful exploration of young adults stuck in a rotten situation surviving (or not) based on their own skills, strengths, and weaknesses.

This was my second favorite queer wilderness therapy horror book I read in 2024 (which is saying something, considering how many came out this year). The unique creature design was refreshing and did a great job mirroring the characters' various arcs while also being genuinely terrifying. Also, I would die for Sheridan and I see way too much of myself in Devin.

My thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books/St. Martins Publishing for the ARC of "What the Woods Took" in exchange for an honest review.
Scary. Heartbreaking. Breathless. Gasp-inducing. And an incisive examination of five troubled, broken young souls, thrown into unimaginable horror.
"What the Woods Took' manages to pack all of this into one page-turning package. After a relatively slow start, author Courtney Gould pits her five distressed teen characters against a terrifying mixture of every sci-fi-horror movie trope you've ever shivered through.
Devin, Sheridan, Ollie, Aiden and Hannah, all given up on by exasperated parents and guardians, find themselves forcibly dragged into a wilderness survival program in the backwoods of Idaho. The guide-counselors in charge, barely older than their unhappy campers, are tasked with taking the group through a 50 day hike,.......presumably to instill self-reliance, self-worth and lose their bad attitudes.
But things go, as we all knew they would.....horribly awry.
Something's slightly 'off' about this neck of the woods and when their two guides disappear, the group's left to fend for themselves. Even as they squabble and wrestle with their long held inner demons, they become more aware that they're not alone in these woods. And it isn't just their lives at risk. Whatever lurks behind the trees can feed off their identities and darkest, most tortuous memories.
Author Courtney Gould creates perceptive, emotional portraits of her five characters, particularly, the two leads - angry free-with-her-fists Devin and sarcastic, bullying (but terribly vulnerable) Sheridan. The girls at first despise each other on sight and your heart aches for them as their own troubled pasts and current dangers, serve to slowly but surely lowertheir guards with each other.
One of those rare books that takes you on a frightening thrill ride but never forgets that its best special effects don't come from its monsters, but from the humans you come to care about and fear for. I'd recommend buckling up and take the ride.

Finally finished read of What the Woods Took by Courtney Gould!

ARC received from @netgalley and @wednesdaybooks

Release date: 12/10/24 (so close!!)

Seventeen year old me would have LOVED this book so much and I’m lowkey sad 35 year old me is the one who experienced it. I still loved it, don’t get me wrong, I just know my younger self would have devoured it.

Synopsis:
A group of troubled teens are sent to a wilderness therapy program in hopes that they will come out on the other end reformed and healed. For fifty days they will survive in the woods with two counselors barely older than them, a backpack, and a tarp as their shelter. Less than halfway through the trip, the teens wake up alone, their counselors nowhere to be found. Alone without their guides, the teens can’t help but feel the woods are not as empty as they first believed.

My thoughts:
I really enjoyed this book. It was dark and atmospheric, emotional and gritty. The characters’ experiences felt real and heartbreaking. It’s a perfect winter read for claustrophobic and eerie vibes.

@gayowyn nailed it in my humble opinion.

The quick cut: A group of teens in a new wilderness therapy program find their lives in danger when the adult counselors disappear and a danger emerges.

A real review:
Thank you to Wednesday Books for providing the arc for an honest review.

Untreated trauma has a way of destabilizing an individual. Rather than being able to live up to their potential, the tragedies of the past keep them from living well. For this group of teens, that's not their only issue when a wilderness therapy program goes off the rails.

Devin is a foster kid whose never felt wanted. So when her most recent foster family has her picked up in the middle of the night, she's worried what that means. In this case, it's a 50 day wilderness therapy program called THRIVE. Will the woods help her deal with her troubled past? Or will it create new traumas to tackle?

This book finds a really clever way to take the traumas that each teen is silently dealing with and forced them to come face to face with them. It's a really smart writing device that the author used and was the perfect way to push the plot forward. I'm too many of these books, the mental health component becomes a secondary focus and that doesn't happen here.

Devin and Ollie take turns providing perspective, which is important since the group gets split up a few times. Between the two though, you get to know Devin as a character much better.

Devin is consistently itching for a fight, especially when she can justify it as standing up to a bully. The truth is that it's a symptom of a much deeper issue though and until she's addressed what happened in the past to make her that way, it will only continue occurring. She's a likeable character as you get to know her. It also makes you realize that pretty much anyone is capable of more than they know.

A fun wilderness based book with trauma at the focus.

My rating: 5 out of 5

What the Woods Took is a novel that starts out conventionally enough - a book about a group of five teens taken to a wilderness rehab facility by a pair of counselors, to deal with their various issues. The novel focuses largely on Devin, a nearly 18 year-old who has been in the foster care system for years, and is about to age out, but also on the others teens present: Ollie, Sheridan, Heather, and Aidan, who, at 14, is the youngest of the group. The first week goes along as expected, with the reactions you'd expect to teens in such a situation - withdrawal, anger, sniping at one another, and so on. But they reach day 10 - a milestone in the planned 50 day trip - and their counselors mysteriously disappear. After that, things get stranger than your average wilderness survival program.

This novel deals with some mature themes - substance abuse, suicide, child sexual abuse, emotional abuse - all things that could cause parents to send their children to a program such as this. As the teens deal first with the program itself, and then with the issues caused by their vanished counselors, these issues are dealt with in empathetic and compassionate ways. Because of these themes, this novel is recommended for older teens and adults.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a fun spooky YA book. It kept my attention throughout and had some good creepy parts. The horror aspects kind of reminded me of another book (not listed to avoid spoilers), but I enjoyed all the different rep in this one- mental illness, LGTBQ+

This was so spooky and weird. I honestly would not have picked this up if I knew exactly what kind of monster we were dealing with (they freak me out so so bad), but I'm glad I did!
This had great characters that I really enjoyed reading about. Devin and Ollie were both such strong voices and I loved the different ways their brains worked. Especially Ollie, who was so sweet and levelheaded, and it perfectly balanced out how impulsive and rage-y Devin was. I really connected with Devin's character. She has so much pain and rage inside her, and it was really beautiful to watch her comes to terms with the fact that it was okay to be angry, but that she was misplacing her anger.
Sheridan was a very interesting character. At first I really hated her, but then I found myself agreeing with her and eventually I really liked her. I liked that she didn't become less of a bitch, only softened around the edges. Aidan was also a sweetheart, but I do think he read a little younger than 14 (I spent most of the book assuming he was about 12). Hannah was a hard character to pin down, but her scenes with ollie and Aidan were very sweet.
I won't spoil anything, but I will say this book was definitely very creepy to me. If you aren't scared of the particular supernatural creature in this book then I don't think it'll read as horror- more like a spooky atmospheric contemporary. (I just personally am terrified of this specific creature lol).
The sapphic rep in this is great, just like it always is in Courtney's books. I really enjoyed Sheridan and Devin together- it's so clear even from the beginning the they're two sides of the same coin, and I think they just fit so well together.
This book is about survival and the horrors of the troubled teen industry, but it's also about found family and the good that can come from terrible things. As a lover of any book with found family, I immediately found myself rooting for them, and I thought the ending was almost perfect (IYKYK).
I don't want to get too into the plot because honestly anything past the description is kind of a spoiler, but I will say I think it moved really well and was super interesting. It was also the perfect use of dual POV.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Macmillan Audio for the gifted copy of WHAT THE WOODS TOOK by Courtney Gould!

WHAT THE WOODS TOOK is a YA horror novel following a group of teens sent to an intensive wilderness camp and therapy program for their various misdeeds. The book opens with Devin being kidnapped from her foster home in the middle of the night, something she soon realizes her foster parents have signed her up for. She, along with the other teens and their two counselors, are to spend fifty days hiking and roughing it in the wilderness to create good habits and a better future.

The hiking and the lack of supplies seems horrific enough, especially with the addition of a cruel camper named Sheridan who seems determined to be in Devin's face. When the counselors go missing and the teens are left on their owns, they discover there are even bigger horrors in the woods around them.

I will admit that it is the cover of this one that initially caught my eye when I was offered a copy, and I'm glad that it did! I wound up really enjoying my time with this one. I primarily read it on audio, but I was happy to have the eARC as well since there were times I wanted to just sit and binge read in the quiet at night!

There is a lot of setup in the beginning and I was starting to wonder if I had misinterpreted the synopsis. I really wound up appreciating the time we took getting to know the characters and the situation. As someone who works in mental health, I also appreciated that one of the characters pointed out some of the things that were really, really not legal and for sure not above board with this whole 'experimental therapy' process. By the halfway point things really start to take off and go weird and I got even more invested. I think the author did atmosphere well with the woods setting, mixing the horror with the survival vibes.

If you're looking for a fun YA horror with a bit of romance and found family aspects thrown in as well, WHAT THE WOODS TOOK might be for you!

"What the Woods Took" is like if "Where the Wild Things Are" was a nightmare. Devin is a foster kid who is used to fending for herself. She has spent her entire life acting out and being sent from broken home to broken home, but when she is stolen from her bed and thrust into a Wilderness Explorer program for troubled teens, she's sure she has hit rock bottom. Armed with nothing, but her vicious words and a powerful right hook, she is determined to survive this program if only in spite of the system that chewed her up and spat her out, even if she has to suffer through horrible group mates, non-stop hiking, and gross food options. However, Devin soon finds that there is something about the forest that feels inexplicably strange. When the group leaders go missing Devin discovers that the forest is more dangerous than she ever could have imagined.

This book includes:
- troubled teens in a behavioral wilderness program
- nightmares come to life
- generational curses and broken spirits
- camaraderie
- LGBT protagonist
- TW mentioned but not on page: child abuse, drug abuse, depression, suicide

This book is WOW. I typically don't reach for thrillers or horror, but I am so glad I took a chance on "What the Woods Took." This book dives into nightmares both real and imagined. It has a compelling atmosphere of paranoia, dread, and anguish that entranced me and had me staying up late just to keep reading. The story has so much depth, to a degree I don't often expect from YA. If you're the type of reader who loves to be surprised and appreciates a good amount of suspense, I can't recommend this book enough.

I received this eBook as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Courtney Gould, and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to review this book. This review has been posted to GoodReads check out my profile https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/62314863 and it will be posted to my bookstagram account https://www.instagram.com/tinynightingales/ and booktok https://www.tiktok.com/@tinynightingales?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

4⭐️

Devin Green woke up in the middle of the night at her latest foster parent placement to two men standing in her room. She soon finds out that her foster parents signed her up for a wilderness therapy program. She was taken to the woods of Idaho along with a group of other confused teenagers and two counselors. A few days into the program, things started turning weird. The counselors went missing in the middle of the night and the teens start seeing people that couldn't be there. Left to fend for themselves, the teens realize that they have to work together to escape.

I was hesitant about reading this once I realized it was about the troubled teen industry and wilderness therapy, but this ended up being better than I could have expected. I liked the way there was such a variety of what each kid in the program did. I feel like there's never an instance that would warrent sending your kid to wilderness therapy, but some of the teens 'crimes' seemed so out of proportion to others.

I loved how being stranded in the woods gave the vibes of a locked room mystery. The teens having to put aside their differences and learn to trust each other to get out really drove the story. The mimics turning into people the characters wanted to see added to the tension and had me questioning who was real or not. The relationship between Devin and Sheridan was nicely done and proof that even if someone sees us at our worst the can still learn to love us anyway.

Thanks Netgalley and Wednesday Books for providing this ARC to me!

Well, this book quelled any desire to go camping in the woods anytime soon!

When Devin is taken from her bed in the middle of the night and sent off to an experimental wilderness therapy program, she’s ready to fight and run. And it turns out, she and her fellow misfit teens might need those survival instincts more than she thought… because there’s something wrong with these woods.

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘛𝘰𝘰𝘬 is such a great blend of freaky forest horror, with some scenes that leave you with the same feeling of unease as Blair Witch, mixed with a cast of complex characters, each with their own backstory. The deeper they venture into the woods, the further their relationships develop, and the more they realize they might not leave these woods alive.

This book is filled with banter, arguments, mistrust between the teens; like The Breakfast Club but if they were involuntary campers hunted by otherworldy creatures.

What these kids see in the woods is straight from nightmares…

🏕️ There’s Something VERY Wrong with the Woods
🏕️ Misfit Teens on a Wilderness Therapy Hike
🏕️ Constant Undertones of Mistrust & Betrayal
🏕️ LBGTQ+ Rep
🏕️ Mental Illness Rep

I went into this book blind to the actual story and was shocked when things that go bump in the night appeared! What a wonderful surprise and enjoyable read. The characters and setting were developed with heartfelt emotion and anxiety for their more than one bad situation. I would highly recommend this read and plan to look into Courtney Gould's backlist.

“She’s made of every bad thing that has happened to her, just like she is made of every good thing. She’s made of every good thing before the woods and every good thing she found in its unyielding grip. She’s made of Ollie and Aidan and Hannah and Sheridan. Sheridan is made of her too.”

What the Woods Took by Courtney Gould is a book that explores self-growth through hard times. The story follows 5 “troubled” teens who have been sent to a Wilderness Camp in hopes of “fixing” them. Things go wrong a little over a week into the 50 day program when their counselors disappear and they have to rely on what they’ve learned (and each other) if they want to survive. But there are still unanswered questions. What happened to their counsellors? And Why do they keep seeing faces in the woods around them?

Time and time again you see the characters struggle with things that have done or experienced in their past, and you watch as they bring out the best in one another. Gould does an excellent job of portraying these changes through interpersonal interactions and changes in the character’s facial expressions and tone.

I’m not generally a horror fan, and I had a difficult time getting through the set up of the story, but once it really got going, I couldn’t put the book down. I read majority of this in one day. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed the show Yellow Jackets.

I received an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

What the Woods Took is a paranormal thriller and survival novel about a group of teenagers left to fend for themselves at a wilderness therapy camp.

Devin, Ollie, Sheridan, Aiden, and Hannah are teenagers whose parents have sent them to the REVIVE Teen Rehabilitation program for various issues, including drug use, drinking, and rebelliousness. The program involves hiking and sleeping outdoors to help the teens get back on track. But days into the trip, the two adult guides disappear, leaving the teens to face the wilderness on their own. They soon discover that they aren’t alone—monsters lurk behind the trees.

Unfortunately, I didn’t find most of this book gripping, despite the high stakes. The teenagers came across as angsty and annoying, and the one-dimensional depiction of the parents didn’t help (especially Devin, whose cliché series of terrible foster parents felt overdone). While the scenes with the creepy monsters were entertaining, the rest of the story fell a little flat.

A horror novel that is compulsively readable and genuinely creepy, taking a situation that could very well be real life to the next level. The action starts immediately with a teen pulled from her foster home and brought to a “wilderness therapy program.” It’s a thing of nightmares and would make a great Netflix series! I can’t wait for more people to read this. Thanks for the opportunity to read in advance!

Wow! I went into this book blind, and I was not disappointed. Devin, the first teen we meet, is taken from her foster home by two men. She is confused as to why she is being taken somewhere and why her foster parents aren't saying anything. She ends up at a camp with a few other teens and two counselors who are just as young as they are. This is a new form of therapy for difficult teenagers. You can feel something strange about this program from the beginning, and the counselors seem way over their heads. When it comes to dealing with teenagers, there are, of course, going to be issues, and that is true with this group. While most want to complete the program, one teen named Sheridan has difficulty following the rules and getting along with the others. I don't want to reveal too much, but they must all work together to leave the woods alive after they find themselves alone. There's also something strange about the woods; it feels like they are being watched.

Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for the advanced e-arc!!

What the Woods Took is a psychological thriller and horror blend with social commentary about the dangers of teen wilderness therapy. Devin, Hannah, Aidan, Ollie, and Sheridan embark on a journey that will indeed change them for the rest of their lives. There is a subtle start, slowly setting the stage for the horror to come, building relationships and background. There are a few lingering logistical questions I have after finishing, but the story itself is interesting and engaging. The sapphic enemies to lovers romance had some concerning toxic relationship formed through trauma bond vibes, but the found family trope was very well done. Overall reminiscent of a YA version of Yellowjackets.
Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for this ARC to review!

I will read everything Gould writes. What an eerie and emotional tale. The location vibes and everything's attitudes felt so real and haunting.

It’s the middle of the night, and Devin Green is fast asleep when it happens - she wakes up to two strange men in her room, abducting her. When she screams for her foster parents, they just watch her leave, telling her this is for the best. She’s being sent to the REVIVE Teen Rehabilitation Journey after fighting in school, and she’ll spend the next 50 days hiking through the wilderness in the hopes of, well, rehabilitation.

She arrives at a forest in Idaho with Ollie, another teenager abducted from his home. They soon meet Aidan, Hannah and Sheridan, along with their psycho counselors, Coach Ethan and Coach Liv. These young strangers have no choice but to play along; there is nowhere to escape to and nowhere to hide. They begin their hike and start to form tentative friendships, definite rivalries, and a disdain for sleeping outdoors and talking about their feelings. Then one morning, they wake up to find the coaches gone. What do they do now?

That’s when we switch from a young adult book into more of a horror novel. Yes, this book is YA, something I don’t usually read, but this sounded good so I took a chance, and thankfully it wasn’t too immature. These teenagers aren’t alone in the woods, they are surrounding by monsters…and not just the ones they are escaping in their minds. The end of this started to drag a bit, and I’m normally not into monster horror because it can be cheesy, but at least this was slightly different. Overall, I enjoyed this creepy and atmospheric tale! 3.5 stars, rounded up.

(Thank you to Wednesday Books, Courtney Gould and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released on December 10, 2024.)