What the Woods Took

A Novel

By: Courtney Gould

Narrated by: Lindsey Dorcus

“A visceral, unflinching, and emotionally powerful horror novel...this is Gould at her most poignant and most electric.” –Ava Reid, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Study in Drowning

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.

Devin Green wakes in the middle of the night to find two men in her bedroom. No stranger to a fight, she calls to her foster parents for help, but it soon becomes clear this is a planned abduction—one everyone but Devin signed up for. She’s shoved in a van and driven deep into the Idaho woods, where she’s dropped off with a cohort of equally confused teens. Finally, two camp counselors inform them that they've all been enrolled in an experimental therapy program. If the campers can learn to change their self-destructive ways—and survive a fifty-day hike through the wilderness—they’ll come out the other side as better versions of themselves. Or so the counselors say.

Devin is immediately determined to escape. She’s also determined to ignore Sheridan, the cruel-mouthed, lavender-haired bully who mocks every group exercise. But there’s something strange about these woods—inhuman faces appearing between the trees, visions of people who shouldn't be there flashing in the leaves—and when the campers wake up to find both counselors missing, therapy becomes the least of their problems. Stranded and left to fend for themselves, the teens quickly realize they’ll have to trust each other if they want to survive. But what lies in the woods may not be as dangerous as what the campers are hiding from each other—and if the monsters have their way, no one will leave the woods alive.

Atmospheric and sharp, What the Woods Took is a poignant story of transformation that explores the price of becoming someone—or something—new.

“Unsettling, raw, and absolutely terrifying. Gould tears open the tender, angry heart of teenage friendship and what happens when our loved ones fail us.” -Trang Thanh Tran, New York Times bestselling author of She is a Haunting

A Macmillan Audio production from Wednesday Books.

Critic reviews

Praise for What the Woods Took:

The Nerd Daily, "Get Your Hands On These Anticipated July To December 2024 Book Releases"

Paste Magazine, "Most Anticipated YA of Fall"

"Gould concocts a harrowing story of trauma and metamorphosis.. Depictions of the power of connection and love in the face of hardship ground the otherworldly happenings; the simmering romance between Devin and Sheridan is a standout bright spot." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"A slow-burn supernatural thriller.. creepy and atmospheric." - Booklist

"Gripping plot...Fast paced and atmospheric." - Kirkus

"This is pitch-perfect survival horror with heart, with purpose beyond scares, and it still delivers a hell of a fright. An absolute must-read." - Alison Ames, author of It Looks Like Us

"A spooky, intimately woven page-turner that effortlessly balances complex monster horror with tender character dynamics."- Ryan Douglass, New York Times bestselling author of The Taking of Jake Livingston

“Haunting and cuttingly tender, What The Woods Took has it all: slippery twists, satisfying scares, and a breathless sapphic romance.” — Ann Fraistat, author of What We Harvest and A Place For Vanishing

“Weaves a fierce, prickly love story through the heart of a bone-chilling horror.” - Elizabeth Kilcoyne, award-winning author of Wake The Bones

“Courtney Gould is a master of psychological horror.” - Rebecca Mahoney, author of The Valley and the Flood and The Memory Eater

“A visceral, unflinching, and emotionally powerful horror novel...this is Gould at her most poignant and most electric.” –Ava Reid, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Study in Drowning

“Courtney Gould deepens her signature psychological scares into a survivalist tale that’s dripping with pain, hope, and self-love.” –Adam Sass, award-winning author of Surrender Your Sons

“With prose as sharp as snapping branches and a tense yet tender sapphic romance, each page oozes with atmosphere, leaving readers no choice but to contend with the terrifying idea that the monsters lurking in the woods look a lot like the ones we carry with us.” — Adrienne Tooley, author of The Third Daughter and Sweet & Bitter Magic

“Unsettling, raw, and absolutely terrifying. Gould tears open the tender, angry heart of teenage friendship and what happens when our loved ones fail us.” -Trang Thanh Tran, New York Times bestselling author of She is a Haunting

great performance

there are lots of characters in this book but the narrator is so great I was never confused about who was talking

Actually really enjoyed this

I didn't have super high hopes but I love a good spooky forest story and this books surprisingly really engaged me. The story line is engaging, the reading has SOLID voice differentiation, and it's overall very enjoyable. Atmospheric creepy fasho

Unexpectedly Amazing

I listen to audiobooks while I drive, and I thought this one would be good enough to keep my attention for a few weeks. I did not expect to be blown away. This book was genuinely amazing. I found myself wanting to drive more just to hear it. The characters were compelling and genuine, the story and plot was engaging and kept me guessing at every turn, and the ending wrapped everything up perfectly.

I truly ended up loving this book. It’s nice to enjoy something without obligation every once in a while. I absolutely recommend this book for anyone that wants to just read and get lost in the woods (not these woods though).

Atmospheric horror

Overall a perfect woodys horror with plenty of tense moments. The only complaint I can think of is the main romance was less of an enemies to lovers and more of an enemies to super enemies to I guess we're dating??

teenage drama

I am not sure why horror books with tags of LGBT have a 50% higher rating than if they dont. This is about young kids being lost in the woods.