Review of The Woods are Always Watching

I’m not outdoorsy and get creeped out easily, so reading this book took some courage. What did I think? Check out my Review of The Woods Are Always Watching!

Review of the Woods Are Always Watching

Overview: The Woods Are Always Watching by Stephanie Perkins

To be published on August 31, 2021 by Penguin Teen.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an advance review copy, which I accepted in accordance with FTC guidelines.

I’m a city person

I am used to the sounds of traffic punctuated by the occasional siren.

I get seriously creeped out when I leave the city and have to endure creaky houses and clanking pipes and strange rustling in the bushes. So reading The Woods Are Always Watching was a creepy experience for me.

Summary of The Woods Are Always Watching

Best friends Neena and Josie are a bit on edge already. Josie is staying near home for college, while Neena is heading to California. Josie thinks Neena is excited (and lucky) while Leena is actually terrified.

For some reason, these two inexperienced hikers decide to do an overnight backpacking trip in a national forest near them.

They borrow gear from Josie’s brother, get a little advice and head off with some Doritos and a dream. (The mom in me was screaming inside as I watched this play out.) They won’t have cell service for much of their trip. Of course.

They start off and already things are a mess. Their packs are too heavy. They are tired and thirsty right away and aren’t conserving their water.

Then Josie and Neena run into a young couple on the trail who jokes to them about mysterious stuff happening at the campground they are headed to. Of course they must be kidding.

The girls have the sense they are being watched and then … everything turns to a disaster.

Analysis of The Woods Are Always Watching

My favorite part of the story was the detailed level of description of the hike and the setting.

I could feel the sun, hear the mosquitos buzzing, feel the (imaginary) blister that was developing on my ankle. There are plot-driven stories and character-driven stories but honestly, to me, the star of the show in The Woods Are Always Watching was the Pisgah National Forest.

Stephanie Perkins does not stint on the horrifying stuff. There were a couple of scenes that were … a lot of gore.

I loved that this was also a friendship story.

To me, the story was its strongest when the girls were separated and each had to dig deep, but also to re-evaluate their friendship and their feelings about the other.

I don’t read much horror, so I can’t compare this to many other titles. But this held my attention and I read it in almost a single sitting. Fast-paced and definitely creepy, The Woods Are Always Watching does a good job of portraying the dangers of nature and the sinister things that can also lurk out there.

More Books by Stephanie Perkins

She wrote her first YA book way back in 2010 with Anna and the French Kiss. She wrote a series of YA romances: Lola and the Boy Next Door (2011), and Isla and the Happily Ever After (2014). She also edited two anthologies of romantic YA short stories, My True Love Gave to Me (2014) and Summer Days and Summer Nights (2016).In 2017, she moved into YA horror with There’s Someone Inside Your House.

If you love books like this be sure to check out my list of YA Books About Survival in the Wilderness, as there are some similar titles on there! Or for an adult readalike, check out The Last to Vanish by Megan Miranda.