What the Woods Took / Courtney Gould / Book Review

WHAT THE WOODS TOOK

When Devin Green wakes up to find two strange men in her bedroom, her first instinct is to fight. But nobody is coming to her rescue. Her foster parents just stand by as these men drag her from the house and toss her into the back of their van. That's what they've been paid to do.

Released from the van deep in the Idaho woods, Devin finds herself the unwilling participant in a "wilderness therapy" camp meant to rescue her from her "self-destructive" ways. Along with a group of troubled teens and two counselors, Devin sets off on a hike through the woods that will take just under two months to complete. By the time Devin reaches the end, she'll be a legal adult, and she'll be able to put it all behind her. She's here to survive, nothing more.

But these hikers aren't alone in the woods. And it isn't just bears and coyotes they have to look out for. When the campers wake to find both their counselors gone, they know something's gone terribly wrong. Suddenly, keeping their heads down and making it to the end of this hike is much harder than Devin would have believed.

THOUGHTS

The start to this book was, to put it lightly, terrible. It didn't make any sense, except on a surface level. I was asked to suspend a lot of disbelief, and in a strictly realist novel, I was absolutely not able to. But once we get to the woods, once the monsters start creeping through the shadows, Courtney Gould hit her stride. That's what Gould does best, and it shows clearly here. As soon as monsters were involved, this book took a sharp turn into something much better than the beginning promised, and overall, I think this is Gould's best book to date.

PROS

Tense Dynamic	This group of trouble teens are full of conflicting personalities. And as abrasive as Devin is, she is also absolutely in the right when it comes to her irritation toward her fellow camper Sheridan. An annoying character like Sheridan isn't a good companion at the best of times, and somebody who can't be serious under pressure? No, thanks. That interpersonal conflict only ups the tension here.
Truly Monstrous	There's no beating around the bush with these monsters. They're grotesque. They're deadly. They're haunting. They're psychologically horrific, and they're hideous amalgamations of eldritch fears and horrors. They pull on something primal, something uncanny. They're the type of monsters to give nightmares.
Trust-Building	You know what I really appreciate? Smart characters. Sure, these characters get under each other's skin, but they also have to rely on each other. And they know that. And they also know that nothing in this wood can be trusted. They're not fools. They can see the red flags as clear as the readers, and I appreciate the wary way they approach getting out of these monstrous clutches. And if that means backing someone into a corner and forcing them to show their true colors, so be it. They've got suspicions, and they take those suspicions seriously--which makes the impossibility of their situation all the more stark. They're not making stupid decisions, and yet they're getting into deeper trouble with each step they take.

CONS

I said it above, and I'll say it here. The beginning of this book? It makes no sense. Oh, I know that "wilderness therapy," awful as it may be, is a real thing. It's part of the troubled teen industry that's really just starting to come to light. But the thing about the troubled teen industry is that these "services" cost a lot of money. A foster kid isn't ending up in wilderness therapy. The state isn't footing the bill for that, especially when there isn't a wilderness therapy out there that's state certified. There is so much red tape around a foster kid's life that the idea foster parents could hire a wilderness therapy group to take care of an almost-18-year-old foster kid for a few months is absolutely absurd.	Impossible
Practical concerns aside (like the fact that there's no reasonable way for Devin to end up here), the beginning chapters are also "therapy" heavy. I've put "therapy" in quotes because that's not ultimately what it is, which would make sense since those running wilderness therapy aren't likely to be certified in anything. (Though I do think Gould meant for it to at least be somewhat sound advice from the counselors, in which case it fell quite flat). This section really drags, perhaps because I wasn't buying into the concept. But it really is to the detriment of the book, if only because it takes that much longer to get to the actual monsters.	Therapy Heavy
Practical concerns back in the picture, these kids aren't carrying food with them. They're hardly carrying anything (which makes sense, as they haven't trained for a trek like this). And sure, it's explained that food drops have been left for the group as they hike along, but my question is, how? Like, how did someone manage to leave food in a monster-infested wilderness? They had to enter the monster woods to leave it in the first place, and there obviously were food drops in the infested forest. Who put the food there, and how did that person get back out of the forest to lead the wilderness therapy? I just don't understand why the monsters let that person go. Also, even with practically nothing to carry on their backs, these kids would have some serious blisters. They'd be in serious pain from hiking like this without conditioning, and that's not really mentioned at all. Which irked me. It's another case of the practical concerns with the scenario not being taken into consideration. Even if the monsters are the point, the story really should make sense leading up to the monsters. And this story just doesn't.	Practical Concerns

Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
8/10

Those who enjoyed Jen Ferguson's A Constellation of Minor Bears will like this new wilderness trek... with a monstrous twist. Those who thought the monsters in Sarah Beth Durst's The Lake House were bad will like this forest infested with terrible eldritch horrors.

Details Publisher: Wednesday Books Date: December 10, 2024 Series: N/A Add to Goodreads Buy it HERE

Note: I was provided with an ARC by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions here are my own.