β Scribed by Kim Savage
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
Would you risk your life to save your best friend?
Julia did. When a paroled predator attacked Liv in the woods, Julia fought back and got caught. Liv ran, leaving Julia in the woods for a terrifying 48 hours that she remembers only in flashbacks. One year later, Liv seems bent on self-destruction, starving herself, doing drugs, and hooking up with a violent new boyfriend. A dead girl turns up in those same woods, and Julia's memories resurface alongside clues unearthed by an ambitious reporter that link the girl to Julia's abductor. As the devastating truth becomes clear, Julia realizes that after the woods was just the beginning.
Kirkus calls After the Woods "A riveting exploration of what it's like when the enemy is much closer than you suspect." (starred review, Nov. 1, 2015)
**
KIRKUS REVIEWS (starred review 10/14/15)
βͺ AFTER THE WOODS
Even after surviving the kind of ordeal most people don't, Julia still doesn't feel safe.
Julia thought she knew what evil was: Donald Jessup was the man she'd had to escape from after he attacked her and her best friend, Liv, in the woods nearly a year ago. And he's dead, killed by his own hand in jail. So why does she still feel the need to investigate her own case? Why does she keep a notebook of evidence and discoveries? When a dead body is found in those same woods, Julia starts asking more question and even lets local reporter Paula Papademitriou help her in exchange for an exclusive interview. But the information Paula unearths makes Julia rethink her memories, her relationships, and Liv's secrets. Savage offers up a mystery wrapped in a psychological breakthrough tied with the bow of lyrical language. The characters are engaging beyond their habitation of an intricately woven plot and supply readers with the motivation to care beyond the simple solving of the mystery. The mystery, in fact, almost pales in comparison to the richness of the relationships, Julia's discovery of her own strength, and the examination of the different forms of evil.
A riveting exploration of what it's like when the enemy is much closer than you suspect. (Mystery. 14-18)
Gr 9 UpβThe one time Julia runs fast enough to keep up with her best friend, Liv, during their training in the woods, she witnesses Liv get attacked by a strange man. Julia intervenes, putting herself in danger instead. Abducted by the man, Julia escapes two days later. She insists to Liv, her therapist, and her mother that she survived the attack relatively unscathed. After a body surfaces in the same woods almost a year later, Julia starts to experience post-traumatic stress disorder-related flashbacks and realizes that there's more to the story than the news coverage. She's not sure who to trust anymore but enlists the help of her mousy neighbor, a glamorous newscaster, and the dreamy son of the local police chief to unravel the connections. The plot is twisty and dramatic; the references to trauma and abuse are more titillating than profound, giving the serious subject matter a breathless tone. At times it seems like the author tries to address too many timely subjects instead of delving more deeply into one or two, and some of the characterizations seem forced, but the writing is clear and accessible. VERDICT An entertaining, if choppy mystery that will appeal to fans of Law & Order-type plots.βKyle Lukoff, Corlears School, New York City
π SIMILAR VOLUMES
Paul Copeland, a New Jersey county prosecutor, is still grieving the loss of his sister twenty years ago-the night she walked into the woods, never to be seen again. But now, a homicide victim is found with evidence linking him to the disappearance. The victim could be the boy who vanished along wit
### From Publishers Weekly At the start of this disappointing stand-alone from bestseller Coben (*Promise Me*), Paul "Cope" Copeland, acting county prosecutor for Essex County, N.J., and Lucy Gold, his long-lost summer camp love, are still haunted by a fateful night, decades earlier, when their nig
Twenty years ago, four teenagers at summer camp walked into the woods at night. Two were found murdered, and the others were never seen again. Four families had their lives changed forever. Now, two decades later, they are about to change again. For Paul Copeland, the county prosecutor of Essex
**After a tragic explosion causes Lenora to lose her family, she goes to live with her estranged uncle at his estate. There, Lenora is drawn to the nearby woods and the magic she discovers within them. Can this magic reunite her with her family, or is it more sinister than she realizes?** Twelve-y
Her life would never be the same once she ventured... **INTO THE WOODS** The only child of a U.S. naval officer father and a charming mother, Grace Houston is the center of her parents' universe -- until sudden tragedy tears her world apart. Now Grace and her mother, Jackie Lee, move from the nav