A Walk in the Woods Gone Terribly Wrong

This hiking thriller (horror?) started off with promise. I am very familiar with hiking the Blue Ridge Mountains and found the author’s imagery perfect for setting an eerie ominous tone; “A Walk in The Woods” gone terribly wrong. I’ve also perseverated on some of the same worries about bears, serial killers, and getting lost prior to a hiking/camping adventure. However, after the initial setup, the story seemed to be the main thing to go terribly wrong. It was hard to pull for the main characters as they both were very petty and unlikeable. The villains of the story were truly grotesque and I felt cringey and uncomfortable reading about the girls attempts at escape. The gruesome scenes seemed a bit much for a YA novel. The end was also predictable and yet entirely too unrealistic. I felt like there was a great deal of potential to play on the fears of novice hikers and instead it devolved into scenes of graphic violence. Unfortunately, this was not the book for me. It may, however, be enjoyed by readers who are fans of horror.