I requested this book from NetGally for two reasons.

1. The cover was pretty cool, and 2. I'm writing my own book about a monster in the woods and thought this could serve as good research.

What I didn't expect was to like this book as much as I did!

Watching these characters grow and change, watching them open up to one another and make unexpected connections was amazing.

The monsters were incredibly creepy and terrifying - I loved them!

This is definitely a book I'll continue to think about for a while and I'm so glad I read it. Huge thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book!

Devin Green is whisked away into the Idaho Woods. Dropped off with other troubled teens in the middle of nowhere, counselors eventually show up to explain that if they can survive a fifty-day hike through the wilderness, they’ll come out as better versions of themselves. There’s something weird about the woods, and when the counselors dissappear, they’re left to fend for themselves.

This was a quick, mysterious, interesting read. Bonus, queer rep. It explores the cost of becoming someone (or someTHING) new with an atmospheric and creepy vibe. I’ve been meaning to read it for a while, and I’m glad I finally moved it to the top of my list.

I just finished this book and thought it was a pretty good book. I will say though that the creepy horror aspect took a little too long to happen. I was waiting in anticipation for things to kick off. But once the action started to happen, things picked up and I really enjoyed myself. I do agree that fans of yellowjackets will like this book with the "paranormal" aspect to the woods but there is no cannibalism, which is good! I liked the characters and their character development was good. Overall I did like it but parts could have been executed a bit better.



Content warning: death, mentions of past sexual child abuse, mention of past suicide, suicidal thoughts, mentions of drug addiction, vomit, body horro

Yellowjackets meets Girl, Interrupted? Say less, Wednesday Books. I’m sold.

While this ended up being completely different than what I expected, I really enjoyed it. I definitely would’ve enjoyed it more if I read it in high school so it has a lot of appeal to the targeted audience. I’m normally a big romance fan so I was surprised that none of the romantic subplots really worked for me. I actually feel the overall themes would’ve been stronger if the romance was omitted. Slow burns are always my preference but this one wrapped up a bit too quickly and cleanly for my liking. The supernatural elements played so well with the story and I loved each character’s journey with confronting their traumas.

Overall, if you’re a fan of darker YA stories and love a wilderness setting, I recommend!

What I loved
1. All the campers felt fully fleshed out
2.The atmospheric writing that drew me in with this writer's earlier work was back in full force in this work.
3.The ending come together absolutely splendidly
4. strong relationships outside of romance

Who I would recommend this title for
What the Woods Took is the perfect slightly dark read for fans of monster stories looking for a coming of age narrative exploring abuse, trauma and the power of found family.

REVIEW: What the Woods Took 🪵🫣

Author: Courtney Gould
Genre: YA Horror
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📚About the Book: Yellowjackets meets Girl, Interrupted when a group of troubled teens in a wilderness therapy program find themselves stranded in a forest full of monsters eager to take their place.

💭An incredible fever dream of a book. I listened to the audiobook at night and was SO spooked! Totally recommend going in fairly blind. I got the ARC of this thinking it was just a regular YA thriller but the twist it takes was so unexpectedly exciting. I don’t really read horror but definitely enjoy this. It doesn’t get too gory or unbearable - just the right amount of spooky.

✨Read this if you’re interested in young adult horror, teen wilderness therapy programs, enemies to lovers, coming of age stories, a forest setting… and the creatures that live in it.

What the Woods Took by Courtney Gould is a good YA book. It is a well-written examination of the complex struggle a group of "troubled" teenagers endure when enrolled in a wilderness therapy program. 
The kids embark on REVIVE's inaugural venture. They are led by inexperienced coaches barely older than them and run headlong into an insidious supernatural enemy within the woods. 
The emotional and physical toll they undergo is very well described, as well as the environment. It is immersive and, after the initial story setup, quick-paced and engaging. 
The character growth and group dynamics are interesting, and the individual character stories are varied and believable. There is a sapphic subplot with two of the "campers." I like how that develops. 
The book wasn't exactly what I expected. Although I enjoyed it, I feel like a little something was missing, but unfortunately, I cannot help by pointing out what that is. I am not sure. 
This is a dark, suspenseful, complicated journey, and despite the supernatural aspect, relevant, regarding the issues each kid faces and how they deal with them. 
It ends with a ray of hope for our group, but they will certainly feel the "echoes" of this trauma for a long time to come. 
I marinated on this thought-provoking novel long after I finished reading it.
I would like to read more by this author.
#traumabonding #teenagers #wildernesstherapy #monstersinthewoods #drugs #conflict #supernaturalelement #horror #YA #nospice #sapphic 
I received this free ARC from NetGalley. This is my honest opinion.

Courtney Gould delivers a chilling, thought-provoking tale with What the Woods Took, blending survival horror with a deep exploration of identity and trauma. The story kicks off with a harrowing abduction as Devin Green finds herself thrown into an experimental therapy program in the remote Idaho wilderness. What unfolds is a gripping mix of eerie supernatural elements, psychological tension, and character-driven drama.

The novel shines in its atmospheric prose—Gould paints the woods as both hauntingly beautiful and oppressively dangerous, a setting that feels alive with secrets. The group dynamics among the teens are layered and engaging, with Devin’s defiance and resilience standing out, particularly in her interactions with the sharp-tongued and enigmatic Sheridan. The mystery builds with skill as inhuman presences and unsettling visions keep readers questioning what’s real and what’s a manifestation of the campers' inner struggles.

While the pacing occasionally lags during some of the group exercises, the story picks up momentum once the counselors disappear, plunging the teens into a desperate fight for survival. The themes of self-acceptance, transformation, and the cost of hiding your true self add depth to the terror, making the novel more than just a survival story.

What the Woods Took is a vivid, atmospheric blend of psychological thriller and supernatural horror that will leave readers contemplating its emotional and eerie layers long after the final page. Perfect for fans of Wilder Girls or The Grace Year.

This book has twists and turns that left me constantly guessing and looking over my shoulder. At times the visuals in this book truly gave me the creeps. At times I felt I was in the woods with teens as they struggle. Devin, the FMC, annoyed me at first, but her determination to survive won me over in the end. The other characters are well developed and add to the ensemble cast. For troubled teens, these characters, show growth and change in a way that doesn't happen in many books.
My only complaint is that I wish Gould would have slowly introduced the supernatural rather than making sure the readers know very quickly with quite a bit of repetition.

If you like spooky settings, supernatural elements, and characters with incredible determination to survive, then this is a book for you.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the dARC of this work in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

I was provided both an ARC and an ALC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

This may be triggering for some as it mentions some sensitive topics. Nothing is described in detail on the page but this does deal with troubled teens dealing with some heavy issues. Trigger warnings can be found <a href=https://gouldbooks.com/wtwt >here</a> on the author's website. This does get a bit dark and gory, and I had no idea that these therapy camps were a real thing. My family likes to unplug and go tent camping for a week during the summer, and we come back refreshed. We have amenities at hand and it is fun, we can also leave if it gets unsafe. The way this was portrayed sounds terrible for these kids, especially with what they are all dealing with sounds terrible and not fun at all.

This follows several teens who are sent away to a therapy camp after struggling at home. The main story is told from Devin's perspective. She is about to turn 18, and has been in and out of foster care. Her latest family has sent her to this camp as a way to help her after the latest incident at school. She has a violent streak and tends to get into fights. The camp is supposed to help her and the other campers change their self destructive behaviors. The campers immediately pick up on something strange as they stomp through the woods, especially after their enthusiastic counselors disappear. Not sure if their disappearance is a test or an emergency, the press on to the next checkpoint but they all keep seeing things that shouldn't be there. Things really start to get weird from there and the kids have to figure out how to work together and survive their internal monsters and what is lurking in the woods.

I enjoyed this, it was a great story about survival and the demons people face. Sometimes those demons are people and sometimes they are addiction or trauma. I thought the author did a good job portraying each of the teen's personalities and their individual struggles. I also really enjoyed how the relationships developed between all of the kids. Things start out rocked between some of them, but we get a found family vibe by the end, which I really liked. I would have liked more information on the mimics, but as far as a more speculative fiction book goes I think Gould did a good job with the explanation of what their purpose was and how they worked. As a personal preference and as someone who loves sci-fi and fantasy, I like more detailed descriptions of how all that stuff works, but I appreciate that sometimes you don't get all those details in book that is more character focused like this is.

Overall I really liked this. It has a little bit of everything. I really enjoyed the characters and the thriller/horror aspect of the book.

Ahhhhhhhhh!!!! This book was SO good! And SO creepy!! And the monsters! 😱 There was a couple twists and turns which I really enjoyed and I just really felt for Devin. She’s a very troubled teen who got dealt the literal worst cards and it made her essentially a diamond: unbreakable due to so much pressure. Reading this was sad, horrific, very tense, and did I happen to mention creepy?! But wow, what an amazing story about resilience and friendship forged in the most vulnerable moments of your life.

This story starts with a kidnapping essentially. What the Woods Took follows a group of teens and their 2 counsellors in the woods after they are taken from their homes for an experimental wilderness therapy session lasting 50 days. What happens in the woods is quite literally nothing they could have expected!

I was absolutely HERE for the monsters. Without giving away too much (because you need to be sufficiently creeped out by them on your own), I could 100% imagine myself in those woods as a teenager, with those monsters, and completely succumbing to their specific brand of torture. I 1000% would have died in those woods. 🤣
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ʏᴏᴜʟʟ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛʜɪꜱ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
•YA horror
•LGBTQ+
•Wilderness survival
•Mental Health
•creepy monsters

This book was good! I don’t typically read much horror but this story was YA so I was hoping I wouldn’t have to sleep with the light on!

Devin Green wakes in the middle to being abducted…except this was planned and her foster parents are in on it.

She is part of a group of "troubled teens" in a behavioral therapy program who are dropped off in the woods and told they have 50 days to “change their ways” during a hike. This is a very stressful situation - add in a bully too - but what happens when the counselors go missing?

Something isn’t right about these woods….

This book is creepy and heartbreaking and has some great twists! We really dive into each character and what they are going through as they try and survive in the woods. I thought there was some great character growth (especially in an unexpected place.)

There is this sense of tension and that will keep you just on the edge of your seat throughout this story. We see some great friendships form and I loved the sense of found family.

By the end, you might be asking yourself who the real monsters are in this story…

✨What To Expect
🌳YA Queer Horror
🌳Sapphic Story
🌳Enemies to Lovers
🌳Found Family
🌳There’s Something in the Woods

Devin is taken in the middle of the night, but it's not a regular kidnapping. It's one her foster parents signed her up for. With Ollie, another teen in the van, Devin is on her way to a wilderness therapy camp. With 3 other teens and 2 counselors, what could go wrong? But soon Devin, Ollie, Sheridan, Hannah, and Aiden wake up to find their counselors gone. And is lost in the unfamiliar woods really the best place to be?

This book is queer, you say? It's written by Courtney Gould, you say? Enemies to lovers, you say? That's all I need to know. Well, I also need to know who designs her covers because *chef's kiss.* From this book I'm getting The Breakfast Club, but without the weird character-shattering makeover at the end. It puts five unique teens in a place together and gives them the opportunity to get their deepest, darkest secrets out. But there are monsters. You hear the story with Devin and with Ollie. I enjoyed Devin's trek more than Ollie's to be honest, but both are needed for the story. The character development is great, even for Hannah and Aiden, who don't have as much page time as the others.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

This was just ok for me. The creepiness wasn't there, it was more of an emotional roller coaster with this read. I felt for the kids, and they had a nice ARC each, but the whole plot just a bit unbelievable (obviously not looking at the horror elements of it), and the back stories for the kids seemed disjointed. I couldn't understand some of the negative feelings towards the parents, or parents' reasons for taking their kids to this camp. I also didn't feel like these kids would be easy targets for the mimics, as they didn't feel like they've given up on life. I felt like they were opposite, out there to fight whatever is brought onto them. I missed the desperation of their lives/situations.

Overall not for me.

My favorite kind of YA: horror/thriller with queer characters. This book was gritty, full of trauma, drama, and tension. A middle of the night “legal” kidnapping, wilderness survival, trusting strangers to help keep me safe and alive, the disappearance of those who were charged with keeping you safe, chaos ensues. This book is seriously my biggest nightmare put to pages in a book - it was truly giving a confined closed room thriller….but in the wide open wilderness which may personally more terrifying to me!

WOW! This is an amazing survival story! 5 kids and 2 adults enter the woods. The kids are various stages of rebellion and this is a "retreat" they have all, in one way or another, been forcefully pushed into. The goal - 50 days of hiking, talking, and growing.

But they are barely a week into the hiking when the trip goes sideways. The adults disappear and the 5 kids are left wondering what happened and are forced to use the small resources they have and their own wits (and each other) to survive. But maybe something in the woods doesn't want them to.

I was hooked right from the start. The kids being abducted out of their beds and forced into the forest was nightmare enough. When the woods started to get dark and scary, it was amazing to see how the kids stepped up and how each of their unique skills were put to the test. I loved the twists - this read like a horror movie and I loved picturing it all. I wish I'd paused on the cover longer in the midst of the story. NOW I can see who is who on it and I just love it so much more.

This story hooked me from the start and kept me locked on the page to the end. Don't miss this one, it was so good!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Courtney Gould, and St. Martin's Press for providing the ebook. This story was an intense journey from start to finish. A troubled teens program in the woods, spanning an unbelievable amount of days, with twists and turns that never stopped coming. The few survivors will carry the weight of their experiences for the rest of their lives. The personal growth and evolution of their relationships were truly inspiring.

What the Woods Took by Courtney Gould is a haunting and atmospheric novel that weaves mystery and emotion into a compelling story. The eerie small-town setting and the gripping suspense kept me hooked from start to finish. Gould's writing is vivid, pulling you into the woods and the secrets they hold. While some parts felt slower-paced, the emotional depth and strong characters made up for it. A great read for fans of supernatural thrillers!

This is what nightmares are made of!!! I was so scared reading this book I couldn't read it in the dark! I don't think I would have come out alive and now I don't really trust people that go camping

From the moment we met Devin I was hooked. As we met the other teens on this retreat and slowly learned about their backstories, I really started to empathize with them and root for them to make it out of the woods alive.
When they have been in the woods for close to a month, that's when things start to go wrong. Devin feels unseen eyes watching her, and just a feeling of wrongness, then the counselors go missing, and the teens are left to figure things out on their own. This really was the moment where all the kids started coming together as a team, but it's also when things take a turn... and not for the better.

Imagine hiking in the woods when you're already not an outdoorsy person, adding the feeling of someone watching, and an unnatural stillness in the air, the hairs on your neck constantly standing up. Then the things come out of the forest, first trying to coax you to into getting what they want, then trying to take it by force, and at the moment there doesn't seem to be any way out. This is so well written I felt like I was in the woods battling the horrors alongside the teens.
From the relationships between the teens to the horrifying things in the forest I was glued to the pages. Courtney Gould has become an auto-buy author, I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of this and look forward to whatever she comes out with next!