I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this book and I’m so glad I did. The story felt as a natural progression and not forced. I felt for the characters and could relate to the feeling of not knowing where I fit in and what the future holds. The horror element was subtle yet terrifying, not tons of jump scares but built up tension and confusion. I am glad it wasn't introduced too quickly so we got a better feel for the characters themselves and the situation they were in.

I do wish the separation of character views (the two main characters Ollie and Devin) were denoted in a different way but not sure how. Some use separate chapters but this book had sometimes both their views in one chapter which I liked, however I am not sure how the author could have made it more clear.

I enjoyed this book immensely and I want to read more from this author. I have read similar types of stories but this one felt more unique in several ways.

Thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the advanced copy!

What the Woods Took was an incredibly atmospheric survival story that at it's core, became a story of found family. I felt invested in so many of the characters and with the eerie environment, I found myself staying up late multiple nights to learn more about our group and their fight to get out of the woods.

As a certified scaredy-cat, I found myself easily on edge from the intensely real forest and what lies within it, but not *so* scared I couldn't continue through the book, which is a really nice happy medium for me. The horrors of this book created conversations around real, poignant trauma, that while uneasy, felt digestible due to the raw, authentic way they were presented. It was also incredibly refreshing to have LGBT+ representation that was not the source of trauma, but instead elevated the connections between characters and my draw to them.

I have been interested in Courtney Gould's work for a long time and this read is making me go back and pick up her previous work and I am so excited to read more! I definitely recommend picking up a copy of What the Woods Took when it releases on December 10th, 2024!

Something this author does that I love so much is writing angry girls, some absolutely enraged lesbians. I love it so much. What the Woods Took was such an all consuming experience to read! I devoured it so quickly and loved it the entire time! Getting to know Devin, Ollie and the rest of the group felt so natural as the plot developed, and the horror element was superb in its creepiness

My only hesitation is that the book might have showed its hand with the horror element a little two early, or told us a bit too much about them. It was interesting but I think it would have been scarier if it was a more mysterious. Either way, I loved this book so much. The melancholy hopeful ending was perfect!

I started this book really excited to read it. Especially after the title page. But I had the wrong impression this would read like a memoir or real life experience. I did not expect this to be super natural sci-fi. I do wish I would have went into this book with those expectations. But since the premise of this book is true, with teen therapy wilderness programs being a real thing. I thought it was odd to make this super natural and not realistic. It did a good job with some creepiness. But it got to where it dragged on and on, so I was tired of reading about the mimics and ready for it to wrap up. Promising but failed me.

SUCH a good book and one that I cannot wait to reread around Halloween! So spooky, but truly an awesome read! I really loved the relationships between all of the characters, amazing complex and wholesome at the same time. This is one of those books where I wish I had a picture of what the “mimics” look like because my mind conjured up something incredibly creepy and terrifying!

Thank you to NetGalley for the digital arc of this AMAZING book!

A spooky time.

Seeing this being recommended for fans of Yellowjackets, I had really high hopes going in. The start was quite slow, but once we got into the woods and had the first creepy scenes, it was chilling.

I loved the concept of the supernatural monsters, and even if they lost some of their creepiness as the story continued, they still made for a spooky story.

Overall the book was entertaining, but forgettable. I’ve been trying to find the words for this review for some time, and found that I’ve forgotten a lot of the details. At some points of the book, I just wasn’t vibing with it, but it was still a fun read.

The book deals with some heavy subjects, and is based on the very real wilderness camps. So check out trigger warnings if necessary.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Do you like found family? Do you like body horror, trauma bonding, and a pervasive sense of dread and unease that permeates the setting of a book? Did you enjoy Cuckoo by Gretchen Felker-Martin and want something very similar, but much more age appropriate for teens? This is the book for you.

So, I read this in a single sitting. I requested it on a whim because it had a pretty cover and I wanted something similar to Felker-Martin’s Cuckoo, and boy was I in for a treat. The second I began reading What the Woods Took, I knew I was going to binge it in one go; it was just that good. The writing was great, the characters were easy to root for (even Sheridan!), and the horror…goodness, the horror. It was fantastic. If you read Cuckoo and found it a bit too gory and sexual for your tastes, but still crave that body horror and sapphic themes combo, this will be right up your alley. The injury descriptions were kept to a minimal but still managed to get the point across in a way that was grisly but not uncomfortable.

I think I’ll be buying a physical copy of this book when it comes out. I’d love to have it on my shelf.

This book was a TRIP. I think that is is PERFECT for spooky season and will give you all of the spooky vibes, so I do recommend that it be read within a certain season as it really captures the vibes that I was wanting. The mystery was actually pretty solid too. Overall this book was pretty great!

Thank you to Netgalley & the publisher for my early arc copy of this!

I don't even know how to describe my thoughts on this book. It's real, harsh, and haunting. It's also a damn good story. I loved Devin, Ollie, Sheridan, Aidan, and Hannah. The counselors were a bit too odd for me, so I didn't miss them when they disappeared.

Even though the monsters in this story don't exist in physical form in the real world, they exist in our deepest fears. In the darkest parts of our minds that tells us we'll never be good enough, that no matter what we do we'll never succeed or rise above our current circumstances. That makes them more terrifying than any ghost or monster you normally see in these kinds of books. You can't just close the book and have them go away. They're always there. But like Devin and friends realize at the end of the book, it's up to you whether you listen to those voices or ignore them and keep going.

Courtney Gould has her third in a row, awesome book! This woman is such a talented writer and fans of sapphic horror are blessed to be her audience. WTWT is just as unputdownable as her first two books!
Ninety-nine percent of the book takes place in a scary forest with creepy monsters called "mimics". In Gould's first two novels, the settings were such a palpable, heavy character. In WTWT, the woods are key, but take the backstage to the actual characters. Interesting teens that might remind you of someone you already know, but how well do you actually know them?
In case you, like I, thought this book had to do with gay conversion therapy (not sure why I thought that), it does not!
A little romance is thrown in but it's definitely not a large part of the story.

THIS SUMS IT UP OMG:

courtney gould said we will need therapy so i'm hyped

edit: she was right. jesus christ i’m unstable.

What the Woods Took was not what I expected, in a good way. When I first read the synopsis, I was expected something similar to Wild Bird by Wendelin Van Draanen. In a way it was but with some really surprising elements. Gould does an excellent job of developing extremely human characters. Often when I read books about troubled teens they're only show to be "hard" or "tough as steel" with no real emotion until they have some kind of break down at the apex of the story. In WTWT, Gould gives us characters that are kind, unsure, determined, and broken who are just trying to navigate life despite having been dealt a bad hand. I highly recommend checking this one out because it's not what you expect.

It’s taken me a couple days to really wrap my head around how I feel about What the Woods Took. The overall experience of reading the book was enjoyable, but I find myself pining for something that I can’t quite put my finger on. What the Woods Took is a young adult horror novel that chronicles the story of five “troubled” teens in a wilderness behavioral camp who find themselves in a dense forest accompanied by monster who would love nothing more than to take their place. Something akin to Appalachian skinwalkers, the creatures were compelling enough to set my own psyche on edge as I journey through the perils through the trees along with our five main characters.

The overall premise for What the Woods Took was very solid, albeit the first quarter of the book was a bit of a slog, repetitive as the teens found their footing and established a proverbial pecking order amongst themselves. The altercations between one of our primary narrators, Devin, and another troubled teen, Sheridan, were a focal point for a number of the pages and they ended up being very cookie cutter and formulaic. Despite this, however, the novel gained traction once the wilderness guides that were left in charge of the teens go missing, as would be expected.

Once the supernatural aspects of the novel kicked in, it became overall far more enjoyable, for me. Particularly so, because the supernatural aspects seemed to be rooted in actual folklore that regularly warns against trusting the forest. As I mentioned, the entities that the teens find themselves coming to grips with were heavily similar to the Appalachian skinwalkers, only with a watered down touch of calling them mimics, which better suited the Young Adult reader subgenre.

This novel was unique in that it made me equally terrified of going into the woods just as much as I wanted to escape into lush foliage to reflect on my own life, as the teens were encouraged to do up until the guides disappearance. I further enjoyed that the subplot of the book seemed to highlight the real world dangers of wilderness camps that are still utilized in an effort to correct the “behaviorally challenged.” Factor that in with the fact the teens that were sent to the camp really weren’t as deviant as their parental figures wanted us to believe, and you have a satisfying blend of real world and supernatural horror.

Dividing the POV between Devin and Ollie, too, was a good decision and overall contributed to the storytelling as the differing perspectives allowed readers to catch an entire glimpse of the circumstances the teens were facing without receiving a particular bias. The characters, further, felt real and easy to identify with and didn’t fall flat in favor of a focus on the supernatural tone and ambiance.

Overall, I’d say What the Woods Took lived up to the hype, it’s premise and the advertised potential.

What the Woods Took is a creepy, mind-twisting, supernatural thriller that will keep you reading. This is my first book I have read by Courtney Gould and I look forward to reading more of her works!

This story follows a group of teens enrolled in wilderness therapy to get them "back on the right track". A few days in, creepy, unexplainable things start to happen which cause them to question everything they know (or think they know). The author's writing style made it seem like you were there in the woods and I had to put the book down a few times because I started to hear noises in my apartment (i'm a wimp when it comes to creepy, unnerving, scary things).

The author also introduced some romance elements inro the story through two of the female characters. I love how inclusive this author is and enjoyed the LGBTQ+ relationship. It played really well into the story with the creepy, supernatural elements and was a nice, unexpected addition.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest and voluntary review.

2.5
It’s an interesting idea for a story and has some potential. I love YA, but this one did not hit properly, in my opinion.

Thank you for the ARC!

"What the Woods Took" by Courtney Gould was one I had put down a few times and picked up down the road to revisit.
Reflecting, it took a while for the story to get going and I did not connect with the characters as much as I would have liked. I want to be invtested into the story and invested in each character. Overall, it was still a good read, and would recommend to others who love this genre.

I loved this book. It was great. I enjoyed the main character the most. Most relatable. This author is amazing at her writing. I can’t wait for this to come out and own it and read it as much as I want.
Highly recommend 10/10

So, I'll start by saying I wasn't sure what to expect going in, but I was excited to check this out based on premise alone. I can confidently say this is a new favorite book of mine. I was blown away by how much nuance and care was taken to thoroughly build the relationships and emotional landscape of all the characters in this book. What the Woods Took is a chilling survival horror, featuring LGBTQ+ characters, as well as themes of trauma and mental health issues. The main characters, including the dual protagonists Devin and Ollie, are all teens who have been taken against their will to a wilderness therapy program. (If you know about those, you know they are generally terrible enough to be a horror-fest in of themselves.) The horror themes in this story are more supernatural and psychological than anything, and it works very well. Interestingly, the bulk of the story is actually focused on the interpersonal dynamics and the inner emotions of the characters themselves. I was very pleasantly surprised by how relatable, realistic, and painfully human the characters felt throughout the story. Their motivations and their growth are consistent in a way that progresses the story further, and as another reviewer has stated, every friendship and relationship in the story feels thoroughly earned. I feel that kind of solid emotional foundation is what the story really hangs on; the supernaturally scary stuff doesn't start until almost 40% into the book, yet the compelling dialogue and emotions of the characters had me really invested in how they would make it through the woods, and later made the urgency, suspense, and dread all the more tangible. I really felt for each of the characters and found them all to be complex enough to emotionally invest in and to think about later.

Now, for the meat of the horror themes. As the already distressed and emotionally charged teens get deeper into the forest, things begin to go awry. They find themselves alone... except they aren't alone. There are some truly dreadful creatures in the woods- watching, calling, and mimicking their worst nightmares and deepest, darkest secrets. The supernatural monsters in the woods are inherently tied to the mental health and emotional themes of the rest of the story- they essentially represent the darkest and worst inner voices of mental illness, in my opinion. The monsters have a delightfully creepy fairy tale quality of essentially needing "permission" to do their worst- to be let in- and to achieve this, they show the characters their deepest fears and reinforce their most self-destructive and harmful feelings about themselves. They kind of magically amplify all the worst emotions and trauma that the characters carry with them, to break them down; it's fodder for some really intense moments and heartbreaking (but also heartfelt) scenes in the book. I felt like it was a clever use of imagery to create a cryptid creature, pulling vaguely from folklore, to showcase the terror of complex trauma and mental illness.

This is again why it is so great there is such a strong foundation built on the characters; there is a wonderful sense of payoff at the end of the story. They overcome not only their own fears and trauma, but the characters also overcome their emotional and social issues amongst one another to grow, triumph, and re-build better lives for themselves. There is also an enemies-to-lovers aspect with Devin and Sheridan that feels wholesome and natural, even restorative for them- instead of just being another YA trope.



Overall, this book really delighted me. I would absolutely recommend it to anyone looking for queer horror, YA horror, or something with complex psychological themes. I’m very glad to have received a copy from NetGalley & look forward to recommending it to library patrons.

What the Woods Took is my favorite Courtney Gould so far. It feels like a YA Horror classic in the making. At once a criticism of Wilderness Therapy and an epic teen survival horror, What the Woods Took is terrifying and hopeful all at once. I was unable to put this book down, reading late into the night while my skin crawled at the horror that lied in the woods. The characters are tangible and real, which makes the unreality of the situation they are in all the more eery. Gould is only getting better with each release.

"But just like every fight, every loss, every night spent lying awake in the dark, every half-baked escape plan, none of it ever leaves. She's made of every bad thing that has happened to her, just like she's made of every good thing."

Devin's foster parents have just had her abducted for fifty days of nature therapy where, along with several other troubled teens, a nature guide, and a counselor, she'll learn to survive in the wilderness and, hopefully, overcome her personal demons. When the campers wake one morning to find both counselors missing, they realize they'll have to work together to have any hope of getting back to civilization. But something is watching from the woods, and it doesn't want them to leave… I received a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books. Trigger warnings: character death, family/twin death, dead body, cancer, rape/pedophilia, abusive households, severe injury, burns, blood, violence, drugs/dealing, addiction.

I've read other books with a similar premise that didn't go well, so it was only on faith that Gould could do better with this story and my love for The Dead and the Dark that had me picking this up. I'm so glad I did. It's easily one of my favorite novels of the year so far, and Gould remains the uncontested queen of lesbians in YA horror. It's full of wonderfully drawn characters and scenery, and some of the creepiest paranormal elements in recent memory.

I think the first fascinating twist on the nature therapy plot is that half these kids barely qualify as "troubled." Though their issues vary from drug abuse or dealing to fighting, one can't help feeling their parents are the ones who would benefit most from fifty days in the woods to talk about their feelings. I felt for all of them by the end of the book, and I like the way Gould is able to make them sympathetic and three-dimensional. (Which is obviously the end goal, because nobody deserves to suffer this sort of program, teenager or otherwise.) I like how far both Devin and Sheridan in particular come by the end of the book despite their initial hatred for each other. It is, after all, very hard to hate someone when we understand them.

It's the horror elements that really knocked this book out of the park for me though. Gould has a knack for the creative and the uncanny, and there are many spooky, wtf-type scenes while we try to figure out what exactly is stalking the group. I won't go into details to avoid spoilers (and, really, it's better to go into it blank), but they're some of the spookiest, most original "monsters" I've seen. If they have a counterpart, I've never seen it, and the lore seems to be entirely of Gould's own creation. I loved it. I'll be looking for a copy for my bookshelf.

I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.