Kim Savage

"On the eve of the year anniversary of the Shiverton Abduction, two former best friends grapple with the consequences of that event"--

After the Woods

jess

3.5 stars. 

This was a really interesting psychological thriller. It focused on the after-effects of trauma rather than the trauma itself as well as girlhood, which I quite liked. 

It was slower than I wanted it to be though and I wasn't super into it at some parts; it picked up at lot at the end though. 

I really liked the characterization of Liv and Julia. I found both to be very interesting and fleshed-out characters.

"Statistically speaking, girls like me don't come back when guys like Donald Jessup take us." Julia knows she beat the odds. She escaped the kidnapper who hunted her in the woods for two terrifying nights that she can't fully remember. Now it's one year later, and a dead girl turns up in those same woods. The terrible memories resurface, leaving Julia in a stupor at awkward moments-in front of gorgeous Kellan MacDougall, for example. At least Julia's not alone. Her best friend, Liv, was in the woods, too. When Julia got caught, Liv ran away. Is Liv's guilt over leaving Julia the reason she's starving herself? Is hooking up with Shane Cuthbert, an addict with an explosive temper, Liv's way of punishing herself for not having Julia's back? As the devastating truth about Liv becomes clear, Julia realizes the one person she thinks she knows best-Liv-is the person she knows least of all. And that after the woods was just the beginning.

María Belén

3.5 stars

I haven't read many YA thrillers so I didn't really know what to expect from this. But it turned out to be an interesting read. 

The characters are well constructed and the psychological development is strong. I found the relationship between the protagonists to be portrayed in a subtle yet slick way. The atmosphere of the story is not exactly dark but it is sort of mysterious, for a YA anyway. The writing is simple but it draws you in nonetheless and makes it a quick read, you want to know what'll happen next. 

All in all After the Woods is a good YA thriller, and a quick an interesting read.

Wren Hardwick

This book had so much potential in my mind. I preordered it and I put the books I was currently reading on hold because I was aching with anticipation. 

I was sadly let down. 

I felt as if the book jumped from sentence to sentence, not flowing like an addictive-styled book would. It was choppy from my perspective. 

Another thing was that I felt no love for any of the characters except MAYBE the love interest (if you can call someone showing up three times and barely anything happening but then again everything happening too quickly a love interest) and that's just a little. 

I knew the culprit was the culprit. There is a liiiiiittle bit of a twist at the very end to explain why they did what they did; but as a whole, it was pretty predictable. 

A lot of things were still not fully explained and I honestly just didn't enjoy it and was dreaming of the next book of my read list. 

This is the authors first published book so I am not writing her off. I mean, I'm not a published writer but I am writing and I know it is a lot of pressure and thoughts everywhere in your mind. But I think she can do better then this book. 

It has so much potential....

Mitz

Megan During

Sheila

Katie Holem

"Statistically speaking, girls like me don't come back when guys like Donald Jessup take us." Julia knows she beat the odds. She escaped the kidnapper who hunted her in the woods for two terrifying nights that she can't fully remember. Now it's one year later, and a dead girl turns up in those same woods. The terrible memories resurface, leaving Julia in a stupor at awkward moments-in front of gorgeous Kellan MacDougall, for example. At least Julia's not alone. Her best friend, Liv, was in the woods, too. When Julia got caught, Liv ran away. Is Liv's guilt over leaving Julia the reason she's starving herself? Is hooking up with Shane Cuthbert, an addict with an explosive temper, Liv's way of punishing herself for not having Julia's back? As the devastating truth about Liv becomes clear, Julia realizes the one person she thinks she knows best-Liv-is the person she knows least of all. And that after the woods was just the beginning. After the Woods by Kim Savage is a chilling mystery about betrayal, survival, and the complex bonds of friendship, full of surprises at every turn. “A remarkable, engrossing debut about what it means to be a survivor and the many ways to take control of your own destiny.” —Booklist, starred review “An entertaining mystery . . . that will appeal to fans of Law & Order–type plots.” —School Library Journal

After the Woods

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