The Woods Are Always Watching by Stephanie Perkins Published by Dutton Books for Young Readers
Published: August 31, 2021
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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.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Full disclosure, I have a full shelf that is dedicated to Stephanie Perkins books. Anna and the French Kiss is my all time favorite book and I have read it multiple times. I also own multiple copies and a crap ton of foreign editions. I’m a Perkins fan girl. She writes it and I read it. But it is important to note that the horror genre is not my kind of reading. Stephanie even knows this. But with that said I want it known that I truly enjoyed The Wood Are Always Watching and I’m not just saying that because of who the author is.
The Wood Are Always Watching is a terrifying tale of Josie and Neena, two high school graduates that decide to have an epic weekend in the woods before they are split up thanks to college. Neither of the girls have been camping before but with tips from Josie’s brother and some borrowed gear they are ready for anything. But hiking and camping are not at all what they expected. Instead of having a final fun trip together, they stumble into nightmare they aren’t sure they will ever make out out of. One thing is certain, camping is not for the faint of heart.
When a friend asked me how The Wood Are Always Watching was, I told her it basically felt like Anna in the woods. That was the best way to describe it because Neena and Josie were regular teenage girls. They had a regular friendship, had regular fears, had regular fights. They thought they were doing something normal, that millions of people do, and taking a 3 day hike in the woods. But what happened to them was anything but normal and that intensified the reading experience. From one page to the next you had no idea what was going to happen and that was terrifying.
Immediately, when I finished The Woods Are Always Watching, I messaged Stephanie to tell her one thing…I am 100% an indoor girl now. I mean I was all about inside before reading her book, but after, there is literally no way I am every going camping or hiking for any amount of time that involves nighttime. Stephanie created a reading experience that had me anxious and jumpy and hiding behind my hands at points(which I don’t recommend when reading). Needless to say, add this to your TBR. You will be in for a frightful journey.
*FYI…there are so really gross and gory scenes so you are warned
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