Read this if…you are looking for a reason to never go camping again.
Life is about to change dramatically for best friends Josie and Neena with college starting soon. The two girls decide to go on a rigorous camping trip in the Appalachian Mountains for one last adventure before they part ways. Josie is not thrilled about the trip because of her fear of bears, but Neena convinces her there’s nothing to worry about if they take the proper precautions. Unfortunately, bears really are the least of their worries. These woods are dangerous, full of rough terrain, poorly-marked trails, and hunters who have more than sport on their minds. When the excursion quickly turns life-threatening, Josie and Neena must rely on their friendship and instincts if they’re going to make it home alive.
If I have to list my top fears, being in the woods at night ranks high. Of course, I do nothing to calm these fears since I watch films like ‘Deliverance’ and ‘Wrong Turn,’ which only further convince me that camping is a death sentence. So of course when I read the premise for Stephanie Perkins’s newest YA thriller, I had to read it. (My husband also decided this was a great time to come home with a tent he bought on clearance, but that’s another story.)
It’s a relatively short book at just over 200 pages, so I devoured it in just a few sittings. While the book was scary and checked a lot of horror genre boxes, the pacing was all wrong. The first two-thirds of the book were very slow. The hiking and bickering between the girls just dragged on and on. It was like reading ‘Wild’ all over again but with two unlikeable protagonists. Nothing eventful happens for so long and then when it does, it’s over in 70 pages. I would have liked the book to either be longer or the first half to have been condensed so there was more time for the good stuff! I also didn’t like how the author chose to give the bad guys’ backstories. This was very weird to me. Overall, the story delivered on the thrills and chills, but the execution could have been much better. I’d give it 3.5/5 stars.
Thanks to the author, Penguin Teen, and BookishFirst for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Life is about to change dramatically for best friends Josie and Neena with college starting soon. The two girls decide to go on a rigorous camping trip in the Appalachian Mountains for one last adventure before they part ways. Josie is not thrilled about the trip because of her fear of bears, but Neena convinces her there’s nothing to worry about if they take the proper precautions. Unfortunately, bears really are the least of their worries. These woods are dangerous, full of rough terrain, poorly-marked trails, and hunters who have more than sport on their minds. When the excursion quickly turns life-threatening, Josie and Neena must rely on their friendship and instincts if they’re going to make it home alive.
If I have to list my top fears, being in the woods at night ranks high. Of course, I do nothing to calm these fears since I watch films like ‘Deliverance’ and ‘Wrong Turn,’ which only further convince me that camping is a death sentence. So of course when I read the premise for Stephanie Perkins’s newest YA thriller, I had to read it. (My husband also decided this was a great time to come home with a tent he bought on clearance, but that’s another story.)
It’s a relatively short book at just over 200 pages, so I devoured it in just a few sittings. While the book was scary and checked a lot of horror genre boxes, the pacing was all wrong. The first two-thirds of the book were very slow. The hiking and bickering between the girls just dragged on and on. It was like reading ‘Wild’ all over again but with two unlikeable protagonists. Nothing eventful happens for so long and then when it does, it’s over in 70 pages. I would have liked the book to either be longer or the first half to have been condensed so there was more time for the good stuff! I also didn’t like how the author chose to give the bad guys’ backstories. This was very weird to me. Overall, the story delivered on the thrills and chills, but the execution could have been much better. I’d give it 3.5/5 stars.
Thanks to the author, Penguin Teen, and BookishFirst for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.