Review: The Woods Are Always Watching

Title: The Woods Are Always Watching
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Genre: Young Adult, Horror, Thriller
Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: August 31, 2021
Rating: ★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

A companion to There’s Someone Inside Your House.
Bears aren’t the only predators in these woods.
Best friends Neena and Josie spent high school as outsiders, but at least they had each other. Now, with college and a two-thousand-mile separation looming on the horizon, they have one last chance to be together—a three-day hike deep into the woods of the Pisgah National Forest.
Simmering tensions lead to a detour off the trail and straight into a waking nightmare; and then into something far worse. Something that will test them in horrifying ways.

Review:

Best friends Neena and Josie want to have some special time together before they go away to college. They have never backpacked or camped before, but they decide it would be a nice chance to bond before they are separated. During their three-day trip, they venture off the hiking trail and fall into a nightmare. The woods are haunted by more than just bears.

This book wasn’t what I was expecting at all. It was described as a companion to There’s Someone Inside Your House, which I loved. That book had more thriller aspects, but this one was gruesome and horrorific.

What I found strange was that the real suspense didn’t actually begin until halfway through the story. The first half described their camping challenges in detail, which have assured me that I never want to go on a trip like that. The second half of the story was filled with gruesome horror scenes. It was quite disturbing at times. I only kept reading because I wanted to know what happened with the girls. The story didn’t end the way I had expected to, so I’ll give it credit for that.

Unfortunately, The Woods Are Always Watching was a disappointing read.

Thank you Dutton Books for Young Readers for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Author: jilljemmett

Jill lives in Toronto, Canada. She has studied English, Creative Writing, and Publishing. Jill is the creator and content producer of Jill’s Book Blog, where she has published a blog post every day for the last four years, including 5-7 book reviews a week. She can usually be found with her nose in a book. View all posts by jilljemmett

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