This story kept me awake most of the night!

NOT your typical thriller. It doesn't rely on well-worn plot devices or sickening details to draw you in, though it doesn't shy away from what's difficult. The tight writing, unpredictable plot, emotional complexity and fascinating characters are what kept me reading and reading.

I experienced the characters, not as the usual mystery/ thriller stereotypes ("damaged victim"; "guilty survivor"; "ruthless journalist", "psycho loner" etc.) but as real people who had very different, layered motivations for what they did in the past and are doing now. Some of the writing was so deeply poignant, such as when we are taken inside the home of the criminal's mother, that it disturbed me even more deeply than some of the more apparent crimes in the book. The crime of anyone being so lonely, so uncared for as the woman in that scene is all the more scary because it's more probable some among us may actually experience it, as opposed to being abducted in the woods! Each and every character received this remarkable treatment; a peeling away of surface after surface until something unexpected makes you have to pause and read it over again!

Savage's clear, discerning eye and deft writing present us with many truths. Then we're allowed to decide for ourselves how we feel about them.

A sharp story that goes deep and stays with you. I'm still thinking about it.

I enjoyed the dynamics between Liv and Julia, and Savage's writing is gripping. The plot mystery was well-constructed, but I had a hard time with Julia's snarkiness, especially towards her therapist, and the twist at the end kind of negated the whole book for me.

This was one surprise of a book. I wasn't expecting the narrative voice to be so unlike a victim. Julia's horrible experience should have left her a quivering mess (I certainly would have responded that way), but the author chose to portray her as the victim who goes the other direction, and I appreciated that. She is smart and strong and determined to dig deep in the muck of what led up to her kidnapping. I liked Julia's perspective from the start, and though she sometimes sounded more like an adult than a teen, she had the impulsive nature and eye rolling attitude that convinced me she was, indeed, sixteen.

The other surprise was where this plot went. It brings out the monsters that hide in their mother's basements and get swept up in fantasy worlds fueled by the internet, but it also drags forward the monsters who sit next to you in church and at the country club. I thought I knew what this story was about all the way through. I had a good idea of what the resolution would reveal, but I have to say that seeing the whole thing laid out at the end was rather breathtaking and shocking. It was a Gone Girl/We Were Liars/The Sixth Sense kind of a moment. I love those moments!

Clearly, I enjoyed this book, but there were times when the narrative felt disjointed on the first read through. It caused a little confusion, but it didn't really keep me from enjoying the book. As I stated earlier, Julia didn't always talk like a real teen, and I found that a little off putting, particularly at the beginning of the book. Overall, I thought this was a compulsively readable book, and I didn't want to put it down until the end. I think my high school readers will enjoy it as well, so it is going on my classroom library wish list. I would recommend it to readers who enjoy psychological thrillers and psychological horror. Language and situations are appropriate for high school readers, but adults can enjoy this book as well. I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

As someone who usually reads book series, trilogies, and the like, I usually find standalone novels lacking in some way. But that is not the case for After the Woods, a debut novel by Kim Savage. The book starts out right in the action. Two friends are running in the woods when the protagonist, Julia, catches a man threatening her best friend, Liv. Julia's gut instinct is to save Liv, while Liv's instinct it to run away. Julia is left with this man who kidnaps her and hunts her in the woods before she was found.

The story picks up almost a year after this event, and even though it's only been a few pages, I was hooked. Julia's become a national sensation that she managed to beat the odds of a kidnapping and survive to tell the tale. At the heart of the tale is the story of two best friends and what happened to them that day in the woods. The story and the characters are engaging enough to move the story along. I guess the one downside to this being a standalone novel is that I would love to know more about the side characters, their stories and their backgrounds.

The plot twist was completely unexpected, but I actually liked it. The buildup to that moment where everything started to make sense was nicely sprinkled in the story. I felt like the end was a bit rushed, but the epilogue really pulled it together.

Good premise, writing, and characterization, but the end result wasn't an "omg" reveal, but just an eh blah ending that I didn't care for or about.

This would have been a 5 star book if not for the ending.... I loved this book up until the very end. I get why the writer chose to end it that way, i just wish it had ended a little differently. The writing was superb though! The saying of "dont tell me, show me" was evident throughout the book. The style of writing was so good it painted a vivid picture both physicaly as well as emotionally. It was that style of writing that very much reminded me of Gone Girl. (A book I loved) I loved Julia and her quick wit, it was very refreshing to read. I thought the characters were interesting and the plot, fairly fast moving. I guess my frustration stems from the relationship between Julia and Liv. I really wanted Julia to find her voice but it wasnt to be and thats where I thought the story could have improved. Even after she puzzled it out in her mind, she still seemed so shaken at the end... I was surprised by that. I did guess the plot twist early on, and had hoped for a different ending for Julias story. In my mind, there should have been more anger, but it never really came. So I was left with an unsatisfied feeling after completing the book. I would definitely recommend this author though, her writing style and story telling really is very good.

I read it in a day. As a high school principal I am always on the look for a great read for my students. While it is billed as YA I was captivated and enjoyed every word. I couldn't wait to see what unfolded between Julia and Liv. The suspense combined with the intricacies of the female friendship relationship makes for a great read.

Felt like info kept getting muddled. Maybe I just did not like the excecution of the ideas, which were good I thought. And the ending was unsatisfying to me.

Pleased with my purchase and delivery.

This book is without question wonderfully written; the narrative just flows. It’s an interesting premise, with two teenage girls having been attacked in the woods with one escaping because her best friend took her place and was abducted. She later manages to escape too. Not a story we hear very often, but a very well put together idea of it!

There are so many excellently developed concepts within, including the relationship between kidnappers and their hostages, between people (in this case friends) who have survived a horrific ordeal and how their different experiences of that time might affect each of them differently, between parents and their children, between abducted girls and the relationships they later make at school or just in life in general. I don’t think it’s possible to ever recreate the change in self that going through something traumatic might do to a person, but this author definitely covers all the bases fantastically.

Savage also delves into the "bad guy" a little more than most YA thrillers, and instead of him being the face of all evil, his thought-processes are given quite a bit of time. A really unique addition to the book. The plot becomes more interesting however when another body is discovered dead in the same woods that the girls previously escaped from. However, the more interesting story-line is certainly the exploration of the characters more so than the thriller aspect woven in. For this reason, the story can be quite slow and difficult to connect with, but the underpinning ideas are really thought-provoking.

A really clever book with lots of interesting ideas, but quite a slow burner – not your typical thriller.