Read With Conina

Gould, Courtney. What the Woods Took. Wednesday Books, 2024. Gr. 9-12.

Devin is used to foster families giving up on her, but she can’t believe her new family would hire men to kidnap and drive her to an experimental therapy program. Now she is stuck hiking through the Idaho woods for fifty days with four other troubled teens. She loathes one girl, Sheridan, but finds solace in a new friend, Ollie. Devin is determined to run away, despite Ollie’s pleading, but that plan is out the door when the teens discover the camp counselors are missing one morning. Now the group must learn to work together to survive on their own; however, once they start seeing faces in the woods, they realize they are not alone after all. The teens aren’t sure what is more frightening — facing their traumas or the monsters in the woods. “The things you’re dealing with… If you two don’t start confronting some of this head on, it’ll eat you alive” (p. 57). On top of surviving, Devin must navigate a budding romance when time alone with Sheridan changes everything. With a third person omniscient point of view, readers are first to learn the characters’ haunting secrets. The tonal shift between hope and distress adds to the looming threat of each cliffhanger, making this a fast-paced read. The distinct personality of each teen enables strong character growth as they each confront their past and decide if the future is worth surviving for. “The woods spent that last month whittling bits and pieces of them away. It forced them to look at all the worst, most rotten parts, stealing away what good there was left” (p. 271). With the themes of resilience and healing, an abundance of paranoia, and an endearing lesbian romance, this thriller holds suspense until the very end.