What the Woods Took follows five teens forced into a wilderness trek masqueraded as a cure to them being “troubled teens”, but when their guides, who are barely older than them, disappear in the night they begin to suspect there’s something wrong in this forest, more so than the bogus promise the “camp” made to their parents. Mind-blowingly timely and terrifying at the same time. I couldn’t stop reading this deliciously dark and queer story. This is one that will have readers up late and checking over their shoulders deep into the night.
What the Woods Took by Courtney Gould, (List Price: $20, Wednesday Books, 9781250340672, December 2024)
Reviewed by Katlin Kerrison, Story on the Square in McDonough, Georgia