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Wilderness Reform
The authors of the “impossible to put down” (The Guardian) thriller Old Country return with a terrifying novel about a wilderness camp for troubled teens that is plagued by mysterious events and disappearances, taking survival and discipline to a frightening extreme.
Thirteen-year-old Ben is sent to a remote reform program for troubled teens by a juvenile court judge. But when he arrives at the camp, located on the edge of the vast wilderness of northwestern Montana, he immediately recognizes that there is something off about the counsellors. They’re too friendly and upbeat…yet Ben can tell there’s an undercurrent of menace.
As he gets to know the boys in his cabin, he soon discovers that they each have far more going for them than whatever crime landed them there. And each has a different critical skill, one that could help them unearth what is really going on in this place—and how to make it out alive. They are inching ever closer to the truth, and the hidden evil beneath the camp’s surface will make itself known in order to deter them.
Thirteen-year-old Ben is sent to a remote reform program for troubled teens by a juvenile court judge. But when he arrives at the camp, located on the edge of the vast wilderness of northwestern Montana, he immediately recognizes that there is something off about the counsellors. They’re too friendly and upbeat…yet Ben can tell there’s an undercurrent of menace.
As he gets to know the boys in his cabin, he soon discovers that they each have far more going for them than whatever crime landed them there. And each has a different critical skill, one that could help them unearth what is really going on in this place—and how to make it out alive. They are inching ever closer to the truth, and the hidden evil beneath the camp’s surface will make itself known in order to deter them.
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 2, 2024
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February 12, 2024
First off, that cover! Am I right? It's fantastic! I had high hopes for Wilderness Reform. I thought it was going to be a slam dunk for me. It’s set in the wilderness, is a horror book, and the synopsis drew me in.
Troubled teens are sent to a wilderness camp to learn teamwork, survival skills, discipline, and to respect authority. Thirteen-year-old Ben is sent to the camp by a judge and quickly notices that everyone is happy and upbeat. But even with all the happiness and smiles, Ben can feel something sinister simmering underneath the smiles. He begins to feel and notice that something isn't quite right.
This book was a SLOW BURN. I do not get along with slow burns. Most of the book is about Ben making connections with the other boys in his cabin, taking books out of the library and making astute observations. But again - this was too slow a burn for me. I struggled with this book but was interested enough to keep reading.
Then *BOOM* the ending of the book! The ending I loved. The pace picked up significantly and you know what began to hit the fan! The ending was fantastic! I can't fault it at all, but getting there was so very hard.
Besides the ending, this book was atmospheric with vivid descriptions of the camp, the wilderness, and the characters. The camp being away from civilization provided the trapped feeling that I enjoy in books. But the slowness just didn’t work for me.
I know that many will not have an issue with the pace of this book. I am an outlier. I really wanted to love this all the way through. Early reviewers love this book. Please read their reviews as well.
As I loved the ending, I would be open to reading more books by these authors in the future.
Atmospheric, creepy, and sinister
Thank you to Atria Books, Atria/Emily Bestler Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com .
Troubled teens are sent to a wilderness camp to learn teamwork, survival skills, discipline, and to respect authority. Thirteen-year-old Ben is sent to the camp by a judge and quickly notices that everyone is happy and upbeat. But even with all the happiness and smiles, Ben can feel something sinister simmering underneath the smiles. He begins to feel and notice that something isn't quite right.
This book was a SLOW BURN. I do not get along with slow burns. Most of the book is about Ben making connections with the other boys in his cabin, taking books out of the library and making astute observations. But again - this was too slow a burn for me. I struggled with this book but was interested enough to keep reading.
Then *BOOM* the ending of the book! The ending I loved. The pace picked up significantly and you know what began to hit the fan! The ending was fantastic! I can't fault it at all, but getting there was so very hard.
Besides the ending, this book was atmospheric with vivid descriptions of the camp, the wilderness, and the characters. The camp being away from civilization provided the trapped feeling that I enjoy in books. But the slowness just didn’t work for me.
I know that many will not have an issue with the pace of this book. I am an outlier. I really wanted to love this all the way through. Early reviewers love this book. Please read their reviews as well.
As I loved the ending, I would be open to reading more books by these authors in the future.
Atmospheric, creepy, and sinister
Thank you to Atria Books, Atria/Emily Bestler Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com .
February 14, 2024
Well, that was kind of creepy.
Wilderness Reform is definitely a slow, slow burn, but it all leads up to a fantastic ending! It did lose me a little with all of the fishing and camping and hiking and archery talk (I “camp” only in a very loose sense of the word – both plumbing and electricity are involved) and I felt like it could have been a little shorter (by cutting out some of the aforementioned outdoorsy scenes that don't seem to progress the plot much), but overall it was an enjoyable read that kept me turning the pages.
The main characters are all young teens, but the story never felt YA-ish. In fact, I kept forgetting that the characters are only barely teenagers, because they all act much, much older. I suppose it makes sense considering their backgrounds – a crappy childhood will make you grow up fast, for sure – but Ben doesn't talk like any thirteen-year-old I've ever known. That's not necessarily a bad thing (if I want YA, I'll seek out an actual YA book), but I do think it takes some suspension of disbelief in order to accept that Ben is only thirteen.
I really enjoyed the inclusion of Aztec mythology into the story and thought it added an interesting twist to the usual “bad things in the woods” trope. I have no idea if the myth mentioned in this book is an actual Aztecan myth or if it was completely made up by the authors, but it certainly makes for a super creepy Big Bad (and minions)!
I also appreciated the humanity that the authors brought to the characters. Juvenile offenders (and offenders in general, really) are so often thought of as “bad seeds,” but this book really provides a realistic picture of why an otherwise decent person might turn to crime to survive. Ben and his friends have had tough lives and have made some terrible decisions, but they have a lot of good in them, too. Ben's obvious love for his little brother is especially endearing.
My overall rating: 3.65 stars, rounded up. You probably need to be a patient reader to enjoy this one – and a little interest in the outdoors wouldn't hurt, either – but overall it's a suspenseful read that will likely make you never want to send your kid off to summer camp again.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review.
Wilderness Reform is definitely a slow, slow burn, but it all leads up to a fantastic ending! It did lose me a little with all of the fishing and camping and hiking and archery talk (I “camp” only in a very loose sense of the word – both plumbing and electricity are involved) and I felt like it could have been a little shorter (by cutting out some of the aforementioned outdoorsy scenes that don't seem to progress the plot much), but overall it was an enjoyable read that kept me turning the pages.
The main characters are all young teens, but the story never felt YA-ish. In fact, I kept forgetting that the characters are only barely teenagers, because they all act much, much older. I suppose it makes sense considering their backgrounds – a crappy childhood will make you grow up fast, for sure – but Ben doesn't talk like any thirteen-year-old I've ever known. That's not necessarily a bad thing (if I want YA, I'll seek out an actual YA book), but I do think it takes some suspension of disbelief in order to accept that Ben is only thirteen.
I really enjoyed the inclusion of Aztec mythology into the story and thought it added an interesting twist to the usual “bad things in the woods” trope. I have no idea if the myth mentioned in this book is an actual Aztecan myth or if it was completely made up by the authors, but it certainly makes for a super creepy Big Bad (and minions)!
I also appreciated the humanity that the authors brought to the characters. Juvenile offenders (and offenders in general, really) are so often thought of as “bad seeds,” but this book really provides a realistic picture of why an otherwise decent person might turn to crime to survive. Ben and his friends have had tough lives and have made some terrible decisions, but they have a lot of good in them, too. Ben's obvious love for his little brother is especially endearing.
My overall rating: 3.65 stars, rounded up. You probably need to be a patient reader to enjoy this one – and a little interest in the outdoors wouldn't hurt, either – but overall it's a suspenseful read that will likely make you never want to send your kid off to summer camp again.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review.
September 25, 2025
I just let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding...
Ughhhh, this hurts my heart. I so wanted to love this, but I just didn't. I was bored beyond belief through the entire thing and I don't know why, TBH.
If you look at the individual components, I should've loved it, but I felt nothing. I couldn't care less about the characters, or anything that was happening to them; and since it's a character-driven story, to not care a lick ended up having a huge impact on my experience.
This is the first I have read from Matt and Harrison Query, although I have heard fantastic things about their other novel, Old Country, which I definitely still plan to read.
This cover is beautiful. I love it, but sadly, that is as far as my love goes with this one. Since this is set at a wilderness camp for troubled teenagers, in a remote area of Montana, I fully expected to be completely gripped by this story.
I love Horror with a nature setting, and anything that involves survival elements, but in spite of that, I never felt a true sense of place, or really any atmosphere here at all. They could have been anywhere as far as I was concerned...
And IDK, maybe I did build this up as something else in my mind, and when it didn't live up to those expectations, it made me grumpy. Maybe that is it? Maybe it's me?
I was sort of expecting something a bit like The Troop, and that is on me. It's not the authors' fault that I'm a picky bitch. However, I gotta say, I don't think it's me that the pace of this could've been beaten by a snail.
Part of the problem for me was the main character, Ben. Something about him, the way he was written, or perhaps it was the narration in the audiobook, but it turned me off. I couldn't stand him. Since he's such a huge part of the narrative, it didn't bode well for me.
Even though this was a disappointment for me, I can still recognize some strong attributes of the story, and it wouldn't surprise me at all if I end up in the minority opinion on this one.
With this being said, take it with a grain of salt. Maybe I am just in a mood. It's totally possible and I admit that. If this synopsis sounds intriguing to you, please do pick it up.
If you end up loving it, come back and tell me how horribly wrong I am. I would welcome it! As I always say, there's a Reader for every book and a book for every Reader. I'm by no means the end all opinion on all books.
Thank you to the publisher, Atria Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I still am very much looking forward to getting to Old Country.
Ughhhh, this hurts my heart. I so wanted to love this, but I just didn't. I was bored beyond belief through the entire thing and I don't know why, TBH.
If you look at the individual components, I should've loved it, but I felt nothing. I couldn't care less about the characters, or anything that was happening to them; and since it's a character-driven story, to not care a lick ended up having a huge impact on my experience.
This is the first I have read from Matt and Harrison Query, although I have heard fantastic things about their other novel, Old Country, which I definitely still plan to read.
This cover is beautiful. I love it, but sadly, that is as far as my love goes with this one. Since this is set at a wilderness camp for troubled teenagers, in a remote area of Montana, I fully expected to be completely gripped by this story.
I love Horror with a nature setting, and anything that involves survival elements, but in spite of that, I never felt a true sense of place, or really any atmosphere here at all. They could have been anywhere as far as I was concerned...
And IDK, maybe I did build this up as something else in my mind, and when it didn't live up to those expectations, it made me grumpy. Maybe that is it? Maybe it's me?
I was sort of expecting something a bit like The Troop, and that is on me. It's not the authors' fault that I'm a picky bitch. However, I gotta say, I don't think it's me that the pace of this could've been beaten by a snail.
Part of the problem for me was the main character, Ben. Something about him, the way he was written, or perhaps it was the narration in the audiobook, but it turned me off. I couldn't stand him. Since he's such a huge part of the narrative, it didn't bode well for me.
Even though this was a disappointment for me, I can still recognize some strong attributes of the story, and it wouldn't surprise me at all if I end up in the minority opinion on this one.
With this being said, take it with a grain of salt. Maybe I am just in a mood. It's totally possible and I admit that. If this synopsis sounds intriguing to you, please do pick it up.
If you end up loving it, come back and tell me how horribly wrong I am. I would welcome it! As I always say, there's a Reader for every book and a book for every Reader. I'm by no means the end all opinion on all books.
Thank you to the publisher, Atria Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I still am very much looking forward to getting to Old Country.
September 23, 2024
For some reason I didn't realize that there was going to be a supernatural element to the book and when I got to that part, I have to say I was s little disappointed. Ben's struggles and his gift for manipulation and his intelligence were fascinating to me and I was really invested in how it was going to work out for this troubled, young boy.
But then, I got over it, got swept up in it and went all in for the fight--supernatural or natural, monsters are still monsters.
But then, I got over it, got swept up in it and went all in for the fight--supernatural or natural, monsters are still monsters.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 22, 2024
If I actually manage to escape this place, I'll never set foot anywhere near the mountains again as long as I fucking live.
Can’t say I blame you there, Ben.
What drew me in to this book was its wicked cover. I mean, who doesn’t love a creepy camp story? That is exactly what you will get between these pages.
After a series of bad choices thirteen year old Ben is being charged with a serious crime. In order to avoid the juvie system, he is charted off to a wilderness reform program—Bear Springs Academy—for teens in the middle of the Rockies. The program is advertised as one of the best in the country, providing wilderness therapy and all the tools troubled teens need to build confidence. Upon arrival, Ben is met with the counselors’ over-enthusiastic grins juxtaposed against the campers’ sullen expressions and he doesn’t have a good feeling about it. Heeding warnings of evil from other campers, Ben discovers that he is going to have to fight to survive.
This was my first experience with Querys’ writing as I have not yet made it around to Old Country so I didn’t have any expectations going in.
The action scenes that played out in this book were incredible and full of heart-pounding terror. This story takes the slower approach to getting started and the pace did seem to waver in places; I wasn’t entirely engaged in this story until about 25% of the way through. The prose was flourishing with descriptions of the wilderness and while some of it was necessary for world building, I found it to be a little over done. My admiration for our main character, Ben, was not immediate—his character is written as one with extreme brilliance but it came off more as sociopathy to me—but he won me over in the end. Still, we spend a lot of time inside of his head and it became a bit monotonous.
Overall, I liked this story even if it took some time to become invested. I plan to go back and read Querys' first novel and I hope to see more from them in the future.
P.S. there are graphic depictions of animal death (related to hunting) for those that are sensitive to it.
Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for the digital copy! Out 07/02/2024!
Can’t say I blame you there, Ben.
What drew me in to this book was its wicked cover. I mean, who doesn’t love a creepy camp story? That is exactly what you will get between these pages.
After a series of bad choices thirteen year old Ben is being charged with a serious crime. In order to avoid the juvie system, he is charted off to a wilderness reform program—Bear Springs Academy—for teens in the middle of the Rockies. The program is advertised as one of the best in the country, providing wilderness therapy and all the tools troubled teens need to build confidence. Upon arrival, Ben is met with the counselors’ over-enthusiastic grins juxtaposed against the campers’ sullen expressions and he doesn’t have a good feeling about it. Heeding warnings of evil from other campers, Ben discovers that he is going to have to fight to survive.
This was my first experience with Querys’ writing as I have not yet made it around to Old Country so I didn’t have any expectations going in.
The action scenes that played out in this book were incredible and full of heart-pounding terror. This story takes the slower approach to getting started and the pace did seem to waver in places; I wasn’t entirely engaged in this story until about 25% of the way through. The prose was flourishing with descriptions of the wilderness and while some of it was necessary for world building, I found it to be a little over done. My admiration for our main character, Ben, was not immediate—his character is written as one with extreme brilliance but it came off more as sociopathy to me—but he won me over in the end. Still, we spend a lot of time inside of his head and it became a bit monotonous.
Overall, I liked this story even if it took some time to become invested. I plan to go back and read Querys' first novel and I hope to see more from them in the future.
P.S. there are graphic depictions of animal death (related to hunting) for those that are sensitive to it.
Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for the digital copy! Out 07/02/2024!
October 5, 2024
WARNING! MASSIVE SPOILERS!
I don't really know how to proceed with this review, so here are; facts, my opinions and notes mixed into one.
This is mainly a confused rant.
Ben was one of the most insufferable and annoying, manipulative brats I've read. He kept purposely interrupting people, especially the counselors, (HE DIDN'T KNOW OR HAVE PROOF THAT THE COUNSELORS WERE BAD YET.) and was so manipulative to them and kept having all these observations... Also he and the 3rd person narrator kept acting like he was the smartest and best person in the whole camp and how he was far more superior than everyone and it was making me so mad and irritated.
This book was so FREAKING SLOW and very boring! Almost nothing happened for over 50% of the book! It was just them going on hikes, fishing, trapping animals, talking and thinking crap about others, constantly calling the counselors bad words in the MC's mind and crap like that.
The writing is bad and personally one of the worst that I have read.
The characters didn't read like 13 year old boys. They really felt older. Only until some unnamed side character boys start aweing over some "cool" wilderness stuff.
There was WAY too much cussing, especially from the start to around 60%. Pretty much every single page...
There are quite a few plot holes! 😃👍
There are kids who are in this reform program who murdered people, (Billy, who is one of the MCs, murdered his father and uncle) and are allowed to hold and carry weapons, of course under adult supervision, but that doesn't change the fact that those murder kids can start murdering the whole camp with those said dangerous weapons.
"Bladder released." Like 4 times. Um. Why do these two FULL GROWN ADULTS, keep mentioning their 13 year old characters peeing themselves? 😬
The freaking constant written accents was ANNOYING. Ben and a quite few other characters were on and off with their accents.
The characters were SO bad. You know it's bad when I cheered for the counselors and not the boys until the counselors turned into the dog/cat things.
Yes. I was rooting for Mr. Reid until like the 60%/70% mark.
Ben only got decent and sort of bearable at like the last 8 chapters... because guess what? The narrator started talking about the other 3 boys too, so Ben didn't get all the attention for the narrator to glaze him.
Also I did my version of skimming on most of this book. That's how bad it is. (My skimming isn't as fast as others 😂)
I found it quite annoying that once Ben finds out Reid's name is actually Silas, Ben and the narrator no longer refers to him as Reid and just calls him Silas. You could've called him Reid throughout the whole book.
I can't freaking take this seriously...
The counselors act like frat boys in their human form. Why are they dancing, fist bumping, clapping all excitedly, whooping, screaming, jumping up and down, etcetera, because a few of the unfortunate boys get to do their solo night. (The ritual.) It's so cringey. The first time the boys see the counselors in their humanoid dog/cat form right in front of them, the two counselors are standing on two legs, and one of counselors starts freaking dancing and singing, like WHAT?! 🤣
These boys are so freaking overpowered...
Ben charged and pummeled one of the dogified counselors?! LOL
Omg, all four of the boys charged Nick and shanked him all at once. They ganked him.
The "dogs" bark... also, my brain can't comprehend what they're supposed to look like... clearly they look similar enough to their human forms, because the MCs can tell which counselor is which.
Yikes... how are these four 13 year old boys so much better than these demon(?) ADULTS. Like these four boys took on SWARMS of them? Really?...
And Reid/Silas was all hyped up and was just beat almost immediately...
There was either too much description or too little. It tried describing the scenery, locations and directions way too much and it just confused me, but then when it came to describing how the characters and the monster forms looked... it just ended up seriously lacking there.
Also... I don't know if these authors were paying attention with the MCs limited ammo and how quick it is to deplete them. For some reason, even though they had like only 16 or so arrows, it really seemed like they shot way more than that, since all four boys were shooting the same "dogs" resulting in four arrows on one dude. Then there's the gun scene, where they're shooting all the "dogs" on the staircase... nonstop... with one reload session. Mind you, the guns only held like 8 bullets. How the heck were they holding the minions off, preventing them from getting past the staircase?
A lot of this was just so far fetched.
What happened to the remaining boys that didn't do their solo night when the 4 MCs ran off and started the climax? Did Reid/Silas kill them? And did it tell you that he did? If it did, then I must've completely skimmed over it, because everything that seemed close to telling me that seemed to just talk about the boys that were already turned.
That was a depressing ending...
Billy's death was sad and also not sad at the same time. There was barely any time for you to grow attached to him, until like the last eight chapters or so.
Um... half baked epilogue anyone? It doesn't tell you what the MCs do afterwards and doesn't tell you what the world hears and thinks about the incident, because clearly, the whole Bear Springs thing would've ended up on the news, especially with all the dead boys. And we don't know what happened between Ben, his little brother and his aunt Nikki. 🙄
I was really wanting to DNF this so early on. Like, the 10%/15% mark, but I misled myself with some reviews and thought that the big baddie reveal was in the early(ish) 100 pages, and wanted to continue and find out what he was supposed to be, (Aztecan Jaguar thing BTW. The reason why the villain had powers was because an aztecan God put their magic into a jaguar lantern.) but then I found out that wasn't until about the 200s pages. So I pushed through. Slowly and miserably. Ended up getting there, Ben found it out in a book after investigating some peeps. THEN, I purposely spoiled myself after Ben found out, because I was like meh, do I really want to continue this? Skimmed alot and skipped MANY pages, and got to a scene where one of the counselors was in monster form and thought to myself, omg this is really cool. I have to read it. So I forced myself to continue, got to the climax and wow, I was disappointed. Me skipping all those pages and skimming many paragraphs made me overestimate how cool the climax would be lol. It wasn't good and I could've just DNFed.
This book was too long and felt overwritten. I swear there were words just to get to a certain word count. So much unnecessary dialouge where a character just yaps about honor or something stupid like that. And the narrator kept going on and on... like please stop and just get to the end already.
Most of this book was comical, and I mean BAD comical.
I am seriously so sad and disappointed because this was one that I was so excited for when I read the synopsis before it was released. It sounded like everything I would love; a coming-to-age story in the wilderness with campy vibes and spooky stuff happening, but unfortunately, due to all the stuff listed above, it just fell completely flat for me. I am so glad I didn't spend the $30 to buy this from the bookstore, but instead found and rented it from my library.
I will NOT be reading these authors' previous or next works.
Edit: Saw a review call this a shoot em' up. And omg, yes! The last like 90% is totally a shoot em' up 🤣
I don't really know how to proceed with this review, so here are; facts, my opinions and notes mixed into one.
This is mainly a confused rant.
Ben was one of the most insufferable and annoying, manipulative brats I've read. He kept purposely interrupting people, especially the counselors, (HE DIDN'T KNOW OR HAVE PROOF THAT THE COUNSELORS WERE BAD YET.) and was so manipulative to them and kept having all these observations... Also he and the 3rd person narrator kept acting like he was the smartest and best person in the whole camp and how he was far more superior than everyone and it was making me so mad and irritated.
This book was so FREAKING SLOW and very boring! Almost nothing happened for over 50% of the book! It was just them going on hikes, fishing, trapping animals, talking and thinking crap about others, constantly calling the counselors bad words in the MC's mind and crap like that.
The writing is bad and personally one of the worst that I have read.
The characters didn't read like 13 year old boys. They really felt older. Only until some unnamed side character boys start aweing over some "cool" wilderness stuff.
There was WAY too much cussing, especially from the start to around 60%. Pretty much every single page...
There are quite a few plot holes! 😃👍
There are kids who are in this reform program who murdered people, (Billy, who is one of the MCs, murdered his father and uncle) and are allowed to hold and carry weapons, of course under adult supervision, but that doesn't change the fact that those murder kids can start murdering the whole camp with those said dangerous weapons.
"Bladder released." Like 4 times. Um. Why do these two FULL GROWN ADULTS, keep mentioning their 13 year old characters peeing themselves? 😬
The freaking constant written accents was ANNOYING. Ben and a quite few other characters were on and off with their accents.
The characters were SO bad. You know it's bad when I cheered for the counselors and not the boys until the counselors turned into the dog/cat things.
Yes. I was rooting for Mr. Reid until like the 60%/70% mark.
Ben only got decent and sort of bearable at like the last 8 chapters... because guess what? The narrator started talking about the other 3 boys too, so Ben didn't get all the attention for the narrator to glaze him.
Also I did my version of skimming on most of this book. That's how bad it is. (My skimming isn't as fast as others 😂)
I found it quite annoying that once Ben finds out Reid's name is actually Silas, Ben and the narrator no longer refers to him as Reid and just calls him Silas. You could've called him Reid throughout the whole book.
I can't freaking take this seriously...
The counselors act like frat boys in their human form. Why are they dancing, fist bumping, clapping all excitedly, whooping, screaming, jumping up and down, etcetera, because a few of the unfortunate boys get to do their solo night. (The ritual.) It's so cringey. The first time the boys see the counselors in their humanoid dog/cat form right in front of them, the two counselors are standing on two legs, and one of counselors starts freaking dancing and singing, like WHAT?! 🤣
These boys are so freaking overpowered...
Ben charged and pummeled one of the dogified counselors?! LOL
Omg, all four of the boys charged Nick and shanked him all at once. They ganked him.
The "dogs" bark... also, my brain can't comprehend what they're supposed to look like... clearly they look similar enough to their human forms, because the MCs can tell which counselor is which.
Yikes... how are these four 13 year old boys so much better than these demon(?) ADULTS. Like these four boys took on SWARMS of them? Really?...
And Reid/Silas was all hyped up and was just beat almost immediately...
There was either too much description or too little. It tried describing the scenery, locations and directions way too much and it just confused me, but then when it came to describing how the characters and the monster forms looked... it just ended up seriously lacking there.
Also... I don't know if these authors were paying attention with the MCs limited ammo and how quick it is to deplete them. For some reason, even though they had like only 16 or so arrows, it really seemed like they shot way more than that, since all four boys were shooting the same "dogs" resulting in four arrows on one dude. Then there's the gun scene, where they're shooting all the "dogs" on the staircase... nonstop... with one reload session. Mind you, the guns only held like 8 bullets. How the heck were they holding the minions off, preventing them from getting past the staircase?
A lot of this was just so far fetched.
What happened to the remaining boys that didn't do their solo night when the 4 MCs ran off and started the climax? Did Reid/Silas kill them? And did it tell you that he did? If it did, then I must've completely skimmed over it, because everything that seemed close to telling me that seemed to just talk about the boys that were already turned.
That was a depressing ending...
Billy's death was sad and also not sad at the same time. There was barely any time for you to grow attached to him, until like the last eight chapters or so.
Um... half baked epilogue anyone? It doesn't tell you what the MCs do afterwards and doesn't tell you what the world hears and thinks about the incident, because clearly, the whole Bear Springs thing would've ended up on the news, especially with all the dead boys. And we don't know what happened between Ben, his little brother and his aunt Nikki. 🙄
I was really wanting to DNF this so early on. Like, the 10%/15% mark, but I misled myself with some reviews and thought that the big baddie reveal was in the early(ish) 100 pages, and wanted to continue and find out what he was supposed to be, (Aztecan Jaguar thing BTW. The reason why the villain had powers was because an aztecan God put their magic into a jaguar lantern.) but then I found out that wasn't until about the 200s pages. So I pushed through. Slowly and miserably. Ended up getting there, Ben found it out in a book after investigating some peeps. THEN, I purposely spoiled myself after Ben found out, because I was like meh, do I really want to continue this? Skimmed alot and skipped MANY pages, and got to a scene where one of the counselors was in monster form and thought to myself, omg this is really cool. I have to read it. So I forced myself to continue, got to the climax and wow, I was disappointed. Me skipping all those pages and skimming many paragraphs made me overestimate how cool the climax would be lol. It wasn't good and I could've just DNFed.
This book was too long and felt overwritten. I swear there were words just to get to a certain word count. So much unnecessary dialouge where a character just yaps about honor or something stupid like that. And the narrator kept going on and on... like please stop and just get to the end already.
Most of this book was comical, and I mean BAD comical.
I am seriously so sad and disappointed because this was one that I was so excited for when I read the synopsis before it was released. It sounded like everything I would love; a coming-to-age story in the wilderness with campy vibes and spooky stuff happening, but unfortunately, due to all the stuff listed above, it just fell completely flat for me. I am so glad I didn't spend the $30 to buy this from the bookstore, but instead found and rented it from my library.
I will NOT be reading these authors' previous or next works.
Edit: Saw a review call this a shoot em' up. And omg, yes! The last like 90% is totally a shoot em' up 🤣
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 12, 2024
This was as tedious as the mountains those boys had to climb🥱
May 23, 2024
In the synopsis for this book, we find out that a 13-year-old boy named Ben is in some trouble. He stole some boats on the bayous of Louisiana, broke into some cabins, and robbed a gas station with a harmless airsoft gun. What we don’t know is that he had a very good reason for committing these crimes. Nonetheless, he was caught and was going to be sent to juvenile detention, which he was fine with - half his friends are there anyway. The only problem? His little brother, Wade.
Their mother died when the boys were very young, and their Aunt Nicki had been raising them since. She is abusive, as are the men who ramble in and out of her life, and Ben takes most of the abuse to save Wade. If he’s sent away, who will be there for his brother? As he’s thinking about how long his sentence may be, he finds out it will only be three months; instead of going to a detention center, he is going to Montana to spend the summer at a wilderness boot camp that claims to change young delinquents into upstanding citizens.
After the long flight, then even longer drive, he arrives at the camp to see a lot of boys who are similar to him, except for one thing. Had anyone cared about Ben, or paid attention to him while he was growing up, they’d know he’s a savant. As it was, nobody cared enough to realize how special Ben’s mind is, and that turns into a fatal mistake for these counselors, with their fake smiles and manic positive energy.
It doesn’t take Ben long to realize something is wrong with the counselors. Like, really wrong. They never stop smiling, and they all seem dumb, constantly staring off in the distance with their dead eyes and permagrins. As Ben starts digging, he begins to realize this camp is not a regular camp for wayward boys. And that’s when the insanity starts…
This book was super creepy, and super suspenseful. This camp, and its director, Reid, are evil. The question is, can these boys escape the fate that awaits them at the end of the summer? Can they escape at all? You’ll find out, and it’s both thrilling and terrifying. This had a slight Stephen King vibe, and I think fans of his will like this horrifying story. Four stars.
(Thank you to Atria, Emily Bestler Books, Matt Query, Harrison Query and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released on July 2, 2024.)
Their mother died when the boys were very young, and their Aunt Nicki had been raising them since. She is abusive, as are the men who ramble in and out of her life, and Ben takes most of the abuse to save Wade. If he’s sent away, who will be there for his brother? As he’s thinking about how long his sentence may be, he finds out it will only be three months; instead of going to a detention center, he is going to Montana to spend the summer at a wilderness boot camp that claims to change young delinquents into upstanding citizens.
After the long flight, then even longer drive, he arrives at the camp to see a lot of boys who are similar to him, except for one thing. Had anyone cared about Ben, or paid attention to him while he was growing up, they’d know he’s a savant. As it was, nobody cared enough to realize how special Ben’s mind is, and that turns into a fatal mistake for these counselors, with their fake smiles and manic positive energy.
It doesn’t take Ben long to realize something is wrong with the counselors. Like, really wrong. They never stop smiling, and they all seem dumb, constantly staring off in the distance with their dead eyes and permagrins. As Ben starts digging, he begins to realize this camp is not a regular camp for wayward boys. And that’s when the insanity starts…
This book was super creepy, and super suspenseful. This camp, and its director, Reid, are evil. The question is, can these boys escape the fate that awaits them at the end of the summer? Can they escape at all? You’ll find out, and it’s both thrilling and terrifying. This had a slight Stephen King vibe, and I think fans of his will like this horrifying story. Four stars.
(Thank you to Atria, Emily Bestler Books, Matt Query, Harrison Query and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released on July 2, 2024.)
February 22, 2024
Oh, this was an amazing adventure!
It’s dark and dangerous, yet holds so much hope for our damaged boys in this world.
Ben and his friends were amazing – Ben was Iconic – and the evil they face was unique and terrifying.
From the first page, I was completely enthralled and deep into the author’s world.
I loved this one!
• ARC via Publisher
It’s dark and dangerous, yet holds so much hope for our damaged boys in this world.
Ben and his friends were amazing – Ben was Iconic – and the evil they face was unique and terrifying.
From the first page, I was completely enthralled and deep into the author’s world.
I loved this one!
• ARC via Publisher
March 2, 2025
I read the Query brothers’ debut novel, Old Country, when it came out. Even though the writing was pretty basic it's a compelling book I have not forgotten. Wilderness Reform shows a definite levelling up in terms of writing skill and pretty much cements the duo as having some storytelling chops.
Ok, yes, there is a lot of detail about various day to day activities that some people might find tedious, but I’m not one of them. The way the story is told felt like a dense package being slowly but inexorably spread out to reveal itself in full. Carefully laid foundations transform what may otherwise have seemed slightly ludicrous and unbelievable at the outset, allowing the story to instead take on a sense of inevitability and rightness by the end.
Gory and violent in parts, and if in fact it’s objectively a bit over the top, it doesn’t feel that way while you’re in the story.
Ok, yes, there is a lot of detail about various day to day activities that some people might find tedious, but I’m not one of them. The way the story is told felt like a dense package being slowly but inexorably spread out to reveal itself in full. Carefully laid foundations transform what may otherwise have seemed slightly ludicrous and unbelievable at the outset, allowing the story to instead take on a sense of inevitability and rightness by the end.
Gory and violent in parts, and if in fact it’s objectively a bit over the top, it doesn’t feel that way while you’re in the story.
February 2, 2024
You know going into this book that you're getting into some creepy woods horror, which Matt and Harrison Query have perfected. What I personally didn't expect was what this book is ultimately about!! It was so much more than I was expecting and Oh My Goodness was it epic!
Ben is sent to a wilderness reform program when a bout of trouble lands him in front of a judge. Leaving behind his little brother in the care of an abusive aunt, Ben is scared to go. His worry is solidified even more when it immediately becomes clear that there is something OFF with the camp counselors. Their chipper, upbeat attitudes are off-putting, setting Ben on edge before his sentence even starts.
During his stay, he meets other boys raised in similar upbringings, with similar life scars, and a small group of them have to work together when the very real danger they are surrounded by becomes glaringly more and more apparent. Through some warnings from previous campers, and through Ben's own experiences, we get this horror unfolding in the most intense way. I loved Ben as a protagonist! He was fierce and intelligent, never shying away from the truths that others don't want to see. When you start to really pick up what is going on, the action doesn't stop.
Matt and Harrison Query have this unique ability to pace stories in the most perfect way. I was on edge from the start, experiencing the whole time, that something was off. Little by little, the pace ratchets up, combining psychological and supernatural horror in the most awe inspiring blend. I absolutely loved this book. The vibes alone deserve a five star!
Ben is sent to a wilderness reform program when a bout of trouble lands him in front of a judge. Leaving behind his little brother in the care of an abusive aunt, Ben is scared to go. His worry is solidified even more when it immediately becomes clear that there is something OFF with the camp counselors. Their chipper, upbeat attitudes are off-putting, setting Ben on edge before his sentence even starts.
During his stay, he meets other boys raised in similar upbringings, with similar life scars, and a small group of them have to work together when the very real danger they are surrounded by becomes glaringly more and more apparent. Through some warnings from previous campers, and through Ben's own experiences, we get this horror unfolding in the most intense way. I loved Ben as a protagonist! He was fierce and intelligent, never shying away from the truths that others don't want to see. When you start to really pick up what is going on, the action doesn't stop.
Matt and Harrison Query have this unique ability to pace stories in the most perfect way. I was on edge from the start, experiencing the whole time, that something was off. Little by little, the pace ratchets up, combining psychological and supernatural horror in the most awe inspiring blend. I absolutely loved this book. The vibes alone deserve a five star!
September 20, 2024
Admittedly, this starts out at such a slow pace that it almost lost me, but it really kicks up towards the middle, and the ending didn't disappoint.
Reading notes along the way...
11% so far, this is REALLY dull. A lot of exposition.
16% the writing style is a bit droning. It's told in third person (limited perspective) where the narrator is describing everything the characters are doing in a detached voice removed from the actual action. This dosnt have to be a bad thing but in this case it makes for a very slow reading experience where everything feels past tense and separate. I'd appreciate more "in the moment" / "showing" storytelling.
35% this is still so slow and boring. Now they're in the forest camping and trapping animals. I feel like hardly anything had happened in the last almost 5 hours of listening.
45% the part where he said the phrase that makes them freeze was so creepy and kind of triggering as it brought back when I had my manic episode and certain phrases felt like they were the key to unlocking stuff
53% it's starting to get more interesting as Ben is scheming and planning how he can escape and the best routes.
81% it feels very high stakes and at this point I'm completely engrossed as they are attempting the escape.
99% I do wish we could have gotten like one more chapter from Ben narrating but hey maybe we really didn't need it.
Overall I feel like the second half made up for the glacier slow start and I liked the tense atmosphere of the escape/fight towards the end.
Reading notes along the way...
11% so far, this is REALLY dull. A lot of exposition.
16% the writing style is a bit droning. It's told in third person (limited perspective) where the narrator is describing everything the characters are doing in a detached voice removed from the actual action. This dosnt have to be a bad thing but in this case it makes for a very slow reading experience where everything feels past tense and separate. I'd appreciate more "in the moment" / "showing" storytelling.
35% this is still so slow and boring. Now they're in the forest camping and trapping animals. I feel like hardly anything had happened in the last almost 5 hours of listening.
45% the part where he said the phrase that makes them freeze was so creepy and kind of triggering as it brought back when I had my manic episode and certain phrases felt like they were the key to unlocking stuff
53% it's starting to get more interesting as Ben is scheming and planning how he can escape and the best routes.
81% it feels very high stakes and at this point I'm completely engrossed as they are attempting the escape.
99% I do wish we could have gotten like one more chapter from Ben narrating but hey maybe we really didn't need it.
Overall I feel like the second half made up for the glacier slow start and I liked the tense atmosphere of the escape/fight towards the end.
July 15, 2024
This book takes SLOW Sunday to a new amount of slow for me. I swear this book was so insanely slow and UNINTERESTING for like 90% of it. I was so sleepy throughout, I thought about DNFing, but I kept hoping it would get better or FFS, SOMETHING would happen.
I felt like I'd rather have been attacked by the bear at 67%ish or the salmon running into the rock. That's how I felt listening to this.
The ending kind of redeemed itself, had this been a novella of like 80 pages, this would have been good.
I felt like I'd rather have been attacked by the bear at 67%ish or the salmon running into the rock. That's how I felt listening to this.
The ending kind of redeemed itself, had this been a novella of like 80 pages, this would have been good.
September 10, 2024
Not for me. This is for folks who want a cinematic, slow horror story that has a medium amount of violence and gore, and creature scares that won't keep readers up at night. Readers who enjoy stories where the focus is on boys spending time outdoors and comparing their biceps will find a lot of that here.
I found the whole book overwritten and much longer than it needed to be, but also sorely lacking in scares. At first I liked the idea, but the execution was lacking, and then it turned out that the idea wasn't original and instead stank of cultural appropriation.
I knew I was in trouble when the authors spent an entire chapter just to make sure readers understood that Ben is a very special boy. We return again and again to this point - Ben is amazing and far superior to his peers and adults. That did get pretty old pretty fast. Okay, we get it, this is your self-insert character and he is the most special boy. Can we move on? I hoped things would pick up when we got to the camp and things started getting creepy and the characters started to try escape plans. Or at least that's what I expected. Instead more slooooowwwww exposition. If only the authors had their thesaurus taken away 100 pages might have been saved. When one word would do, they had to spend 10.
Another thing we spend too much time on is a bunch of tertiary info about wilderness survival, which doesn't end up contributing to the plot. The campers are equipped with the BEST gear for hiking, fishing, trapping, archery, white water rafting, etc. etc. They then spend the camp going on adventures where they are taught the skills of outdoorsmen. Obviously some of the campers have been sent to the camp due to violent acts, one of the main characters apparently killed both his father and his uncle - let's definitely give this kid a skinning knife, a bow and arrow, etc. While Ben does question some things of the camp, he never questions that.
Too much detail spent about the characters bodily functions when scared, but not enough time actually making the book scary. Just because you say the character is so 'overwrought' that they can't control their bladder doesn't mean that I'm scared. I would have also preferred if the book had absolutely no mention of women, but for some reason (again making the book longer, yay) Ben sees a couple of women on one of their adventures and he's like "I wonder who's taking care of their kids or dogs or whatever while they're hiking?" Because obviously anyone with a uterus needs to have something to take care of. Unlike men who don't have any responsibilities apparently. This was all annoying, but I still wanted to get to the part where we find out the horror and why Reid is doing all this, like what's the point of it all.
Then we get to the BIG part that changed it from a boring, but perhaps passable story where I did want to find out what kind of baddie Reid was, into a story I was cringing in hope wasn't going where I thought it was. They couldn't. They wouldn't. But they did. Instead of doing anything original the authors decided to just grab some mythology from a culture not their own and just use it. Twist it around to fit their white villain. Lazy, unoriginal and cultural appropriation. And also so boring. I would have though even the baddie would be bored. 100 years and his life is running this camp?...how is that a life?
And then the big baddie goes from scary figure who has supernatural powers...to kind of weirdly funny in how like a caricature of the most evil dude he was - not only does he (kind of) transform into something (I really never could get a finger on what I was supposed to be picturing), but he calls all his new minions good little doggies, and his best boys, and other weird dog related stuff, but it was also hinted at that he rapes them. So he's a pedophile who is into bestiality, who is given powers by sacrificing souls to an ancient god from a religion and culture he's not a part of and has such a bad temper that he occasionally blacks out and beats one of his 'good boys' to death!? That's quite a lot of nonsense, and why did it need to be added? Like he wasn't bad enough taking away people's identities, he also had to be a pedophile and rapist? And also, if that is part of it, why not have it revealed slowly, more creepily? It's not as if you haven't spent enough time at the camp to hint that Reid is sexually abusing people as well. Then the reveal that he's not just a human monster, but also an actual monster might have had some bite. Or something, though we knew that from the very beginning anyway, so any potential for tension/build up was already gone. The pacing was just plain bad.
And then the moment Reid's power is gone he becomes the most sniveling coward ready to do anything to get the new strongest person to not kill him.
I also recently read Cuckoo which also features a 'reform' camp, though it is one where kids get sent not because they have committed a crime, but because the adults in their lives want to 'cure' them of being LGBTQIA+. So, we already are starting with a real life horror before introducing any supernatural horror elements. Unlike "Wilderness Reform" I was immediately scared for the kids being sent to camp - since the kids identities are already in danger of adults trying to erase them. Also, it was a lot quicker to pick up and introduce loads of creepy scenes, the gore and body horror elements were so much more visceral and frightening. I actually had moments where I was too scared to read on, yet also couldn't bear not to find out what was going to happen. That's what I like in a horror novel. And the characters were much more realistic to their ages and didn't need to constantly tell (not show) that they were the most special people on the planet.
I found the whole book overwritten and much longer than it needed to be, but also sorely lacking in scares. At first I liked the idea, but the execution was lacking, and then it turned out that the idea wasn't original and instead stank of cultural appropriation.
I knew I was in trouble when the authors spent an entire chapter just to make sure readers understood that Ben is a very special boy. We return again and again to this point - Ben is amazing and far superior to his peers and adults. That did get pretty old pretty fast. Okay, we get it, this is your self-insert character and he is the most special boy. Can we move on? I hoped things would pick up when we got to the camp and things started getting creepy and the characters started to try escape plans. Or at least that's what I expected. Instead more slooooowwwww exposition. If only the authors had their thesaurus taken away 100 pages might have been saved. When one word would do, they had to spend 10.
Another thing we spend too much time on is a bunch of tertiary info about wilderness survival, which doesn't end up contributing to the plot. The campers are equipped with the BEST gear for hiking, fishing, trapping, archery, white water rafting, etc. etc. They then spend the camp going on adventures where they are taught the skills of outdoorsmen. Obviously some of the campers have been sent to the camp due to violent acts, one of the main characters apparently killed both his father and his uncle - let's definitely give this kid a skinning knife, a bow and arrow, etc. While Ben does question some things of the camp, he never questions that.
Too much detail spent about the characters bodily functions when scared, but not enough time actually making the book scary. Just because you say the character is so 'overwrought' that they can't control their bladder doesn't mean that I'm scared. I would have also preferred if the book had absolutely no mention of women, but for some reason (again making the book longer, yay) Ben sees a couple of women on one of their adventures and he's like "I wonder who's taking care of their kids or dogs or whatever while they're hiking?" Because obviously anyone with a uterus needs to have something to take care of. Unlike men who don't have any responsibilities apparently. This was all annoying, but I still wanted to get to the part where we find out the horror and why Reid is doing all this, like what's the point of it all.
Then we get to the BIG part that changed it from a boring, but perhaps passable story where I did want to find out what kind of baddie Reid was, into a story I was cringing in hope wasn't going where I thought it was. They couldn't. They wouldn't. But they did. Instead of doing anything original the authors decided to just grab some mythology from a culture not their own and just use it. Twist it around to fit their white villain. Lazy, unoriginal and cultural appropriation. And also so boring. I would have though even the baddie would be bored. 100 years and his life is running this camp?...how is that a life?
And then the big baddie goes from scary figure who has supernatural powers...to kind of weirdly funny in how like a caricature of the most evil dude he was - not only does he (kind of) transform into something (I really never could get a finger on what I was supposed to be picturing), but he calls all his new minions good little doggies, and his best boys, and other weird dog related stuff, but it was also hinted at that he rapes them. So he's a pedophile who is into bestiality, who is given powers by sacrificing souls to an ancient god from a religion and culture he's not a part of and has such a bad temper that he occasionally blacks out and beats one of his 'good boys' to death!? That's quite a lot of nonsense, and why did it need to be added? Like he wasn't bad enough taking away people's identities, he also had to be a pedophile and rapist? And also, if that is part of it, why not have it revealed slowly, more creepily? It's not as if you haven't spent enough time at the camp to hint that Reid is sexually abusing people as well. Then the reveal that he's not just a human monster, but also an actual monster might have had some bite. Or something, though we knew that from the very beginning anyway, so any potential for tension/build up was already gone. The pacing was just plain bad.
And then the moment Reid's power is gone he becomes the most sniveling coward ready to do anything to get the new strongest person to not kill him.
I also recently read Cuckoo which also features a 'reform' camp, though it is one where kids get sent not because they have committed a crime, but because the adults in their lives want to 'cure' them of being LGBTQIA+. So, we already are starting with a real life horror before introducing any supernatural horror elements. Unlike "Wilderness Reform" I was immediately scared for the kids being sent to camp - since the kids identities are already in danger of adults trying to erase them. Also, it was a lot quicker to pick up and introduce loads of creepy scenes, the gore and body horror elements were so much more visceral and frightening. I actually had moments where I was too scared to read on, yet also couldn't bear not to find out what was going to happen. That's what I like in a horror novel. And the characters were much more realistic to their ages and didn't need to constantly tell (not show) that they were the most special people on the planet.
March 19, 2025
ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
I’m a little backlogged with my ARCs but working diligently to get caught up. I really liked the premise of this book as it felt very relevant to what so many people unfortunately still have to go through. There are some science fiction elements that I didn’t initially see coming, so if that’s not for you, you might want to reconsider this book. The ending felt like straight chaos to me! I would recommend to anyone who likes books about troubled kids being sent to wilderness reform camps!
I’m a little backlogged with my ARCs but working diligently to get caught up. I really liked the premise of this book as it felt very relevant to what so many people unfortunately still have to go through. There are some science fiction elements that I didn’t initially see coming, so if that’s not for you, you might want to reconsider this book. The ending felt like straight chaos to me! I would recommend to anyone who likes books about troubled kids being sent to wilderness reform camps!
December 16, 2024
As much as it hurts me, this one was not really for me. It wasnt quite what I was expecting. I found it very difficult to get into the storyline and the pacing felt very drawn out. I also had a very hard time feeling invested towards the characters.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an opportunity to read this book.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an opportunity to read this book.
July 18, 2025
This one definitely gets a bit strange. but without the weird there would not have been a fight against evil. Which the authors remind us, is always a worthy cause. There was such a good amount of detail that I felt like I was right there with those boys traveling through the mountains of Montana, and fighting for survival.
June 27, 2024
Wilderness Reform
Available July 2
Preorder now
Thank you Netgalley and Atria Books for the ARC eBook in exchange for my honest review.
Old Country was in my top 5 favorites last year, so I was SUPER pumped for this one...
Maybe my expectations being set SO high didn't do this book any favors...
But let me explain...
Wilderness Retreat is a slooow burn...
This book takes its time creating an eerie, uneasy feeling deep inside you... It's very atmospheric and it's easy to envision everything that's going on... It's just that there's not a whole lot going on through a big chunk of the book.
I thoroughly enjoyed the ending, but I feel like the pacing was just a bit off in this one.
It could have been 50 pages shorter... I feel we would have gotten the same story, and I might not have felt the drag... it might've packed a bigger punch. I don't know. But this is just my opinion, based on my preferences.
Others are going to think the pacing is perfect. It's horror. It's art. It's all subjective.
I did really enjoy the complexity of the characters though, and the respect they were portrayed with.
Ben, our protagonist, truly adds sooo much to the story though. I loved following his character, and I was cheering him on every step of the way.
So, I mean, yeah... it's a good book, don't get me wrong; and I still look forward to their next one. It just wasn't Old Country.
But it wasn't meant to be.
3.5 / 5
Available July 2
Preorder now
Thank you Netgalley and Atria Books for the ARC eBook in exchange for my honest review.
Old Country was in my top 5 favorites last year, so I was SUPER pumped for this one...
Maybe my expectations being set SO high didn't do this book any favors...
But let me explain...
Wilderness Retreat is a slooow burn...
This book takes its time creating an eerie, uneasy feeling deep inside you... It's very atmospheric and it's easy to envision everything that's going on... It's just that there's not a whole lot going on through a big chunk of the book.
I thoroughly enjoyed the ending, but I feel like the pacing was just a bit off in this one.
It could have been 50 pages shorter... I feel we would have gotten the same story, and I might not have felt the drag... it might've packed a bigger punch. I don't know. But this is just my opinion, based on my preferences.
Others are going to think the pacing is perfect. It's horror. It's art. It's all subjective.
I did really enjoy the complexity of the characters though, and the respect they were portrayed with.
Ben, our protagonist, truly adds sooo much to the story though. I loved following his character, and I was cheering him on every step of the way.
So, I mean, yeah... it's a good book, don't get me wrong; and I still look forward to their next one. It just wasn't Old Country.
But it wasn't meant to be.
3.5 / 5
October 6, 2024
“There was something deeply empowering about a collective mindset of crazed violence among a group of young men. Something ancient and primal and tragic and pure. Perhaps, Ben thought, there was nothing more dangerous and destructive in the history of mankind than a group of young men in this state. It took a lot of letting go to get into this headspace, a lot of shedding away certain conditioning. Some of that conditioning is even healthy and nice and, at one point, before this moment, provided stability and peace. But once there, once exposed and raw enough, an honest communion can be held with the chaos of bloodlust, and something kind of magical happens, something that just feels so deeply, beautifully right. The violent electricity that buzzed among a group of young men unified in their commitment to unleashing violence was, in a dark way, almost therapeutic. This energy easily could be—and often enough throughout history had been-unleashed in a way that brought horrifying, society-shaking consequences.”
Okay?
This may have been a 3-star story if I weren’t absolutely positive that it was edited, if not partially written by AI. There were several instances such as this one— “Off to their side, grinning with sheepish embarrassment, were three of the boys…Both had one thing in common, in Ben's mind at least: they were the two biggest brown-nosers at the program” —where the narration completely loses track of what is happening and how many named characters are involved in the situation. At one point the boys are planning their escape and say they will go “tomorrow tonight.” I suppose both words are spelled correctly so there’s nothing to correct there. I’ve noticed this more and more with newly published books. It bums me out. Stop thanking the editor in your acknowledgments and start thanking ChatGPT.
And this book was in DESPERATE need of a HUMAN narrator. Wilderness Reform should generously have been 150 pages, but I would lean closer to 100. There was NO need for meandering and repetitive paragraphs about nothing (another marker of AI involvement). There was no need to harp on everyone’s accent. That was so weird and distracting.
Ben is insufferable. I hate using the word “unrealistic” to describe aspects of books because the point of a book—especially paranormal horror—is not to be realistic. HOWEVER. A 13-year old from Louisiana who read The Jungle in an afternoon, who crafts his conversations to debase and destroy adults in the marketplace of ideas, who talks like he ate a thesaurus but doesn’t know the visual difference between a horse and a mule, Ben is the ultimate wish fulfillment character for a couple of guys who were not cool or interesting as teenagers. He is *special* and everyone knows it. Grown men intrinsically respect and fear him, every boy in camp bends to his will, the Big Bad recognizes him as the biggest threat to his existence. He is a smarmy, insufferable, completely unbelievable genius boy with unlimited power and knowledge (except about mules) and I guess we just accept that. He is Artemis Fowl, except Artemis Fowl was written as wish fulfillment for ten-year olds and Ben was written as wish fulfillment for grown men who never emotionally matured past age ten.
The plot itself is just dumb. I’m sorry. An Aztec cup of fire that grants eternal life. In MONTANA. I challenge you to use your brain. And it turns men into slavering dog-weirdos because? And how? Unclear, unclear.
Okay?
This may have been a 3-star story if I weren’t absolutely positive that it was edited, if not partially written by AI. There were several instances such as this one— “Off to their side, grinning with sheepish embarrassment, were three of the boys…Both had one thing in common, in Ben's mind at least: they were the two biggest brown-nosers at the program” —where the narration completely loses track of what is happening and how many named characters are involved in the situation. At one point the boys are planning their escape and say they will go “tomorrow tonight.” I suppose both words are spelled correctly so there’s nothing to correct there. I’ve noticed this more and more with newly published books. It bums me out. Stop thanking the editor in your acknowledgments and start thanking ChatGPT.
And this book was in DESPERATE need of a HUMAN narrator. Wilderness Reform should generously have been 150 pages, but I would lean closer to 100. There was NO need for meandering and repetitive paragraphs about nothing (another marker of AI involvement). There was no need to harp on everyone’s accent. That was so weird and distracting.
Ben is insufferable. I hate using the word “unrealistic” to describe aspects of books because the point of a book—especially paranormal horror—is not to be realistic. HOWEVER. A 13-year old from Louisiana who read The Jungle in an afternoon, who crafts his conversations to debase and destroy adults in the marketplace of ideas, who talks like he ate a thesaurus but doesn’t know the visual difference between a horse and a mule, Ben is the ultimate wish fulfillment character for a couple of guys who were not cool or interesting as teenagers. He is *special* and everyone knows it. Grown men intrinsically respect and fear him, every boy in camp bends to his will, the Big Bad recognizes him as the biggest threat to his existence. He is a smarmy, insufferable, completely unbelievable genius boy with unlimited power and knowledge (except about mules) and I guess we just accept that. He is Artemis Fowl, except Artemis Fowl was written as wish fulfillment for ten-year olds and Ben was written as wish fulfillment for grown men who never emotionally matured past age ten.
The plot itself is just dumb. I’m sorry. An Aztec cup of fire that grants eternal life. In MONTANA. I challenge you to use your brain. And it turns men into slavering dog-weirdos because? And how? Unclear, unclear.
May 14, 2024
Woo. This took me a long time to read, not because of the book I don't think though?
Okay, so it's been many moons since I've finished this and I'm still a bit stumped on exactly how I feel...it's a slow, slow burn and I definitely appreciated the buildup towards that fantastic ending. However, I do think that the book could have done with some shortening...too long in between creepy moments. The characters also felt distant, not just because they are unlike me, they just were....meh, whatever.
However, I appreciate the outdoorsy horror the Query brothers have carried into their second book and I wouldn't hesitate to read anything else they come out with :)
Okay, so it's been many moons since I've finished this and I'm still a bit stumped on exactly how I feel...it's a slow, slow burn and I definitely appreciated the buildup towards that fantastic ending. However, I do think that the book could have done with some shortening...too long in between creepy moments. The characters also felt distant, not just because they are unlike me, they just were....meh, whatever.
However, I appreciate the outdoorsy horror the Query brothers have carried into their second book and I wouldn't hesitate to read anything else they come out with :)
July 18, 2024
This book sounded soooo good by the blurb..... but oh boy was it super slow.
I am not a fan of slowness.
I was not a big fan of the book bc of that and that it was just so hard for me to get into.
I kept thinking about other things (like things within the book that I was just not getting answers to or at least not quick enough) while reading the book and it just ruined a reading vibe.
I am not a fan of slowness.
I was not a big fan of the book bc of that and that it was just so hard for me to get into.
I kept thinking about other things (like things within the book that I was just not getting answers to or at least not quick enough) while reading the book and it just ruined a reading vibe.
May 20, 2024
I really struggled to finish this book. I read reviews saying it was a slow burn but I was committed to finishing once I started. Slow burn is an understatement. I feel like I kept reading, just waiting for that moment where the book sucked me in and it never happened. Such a bummer.
February 28, 2024
Thirteen year-old Ben Thibodoux was caught robbing a convenience store. So, when he wakes one morning in his aunt's trailer, an aunt who is abusive to him and his younger brother, to find he's being kidnapped/sent off to a wilderness reform program, he's not entirely surprised, just terribly worried about his little brother. But things aren't quite as he expected at the remote camp in Montana. It's incredibly beautiful and the hikes and backpacking trips and activities are actually kind of fun. Except there's something very weird about the staff, and especially Reid, the guy in charge. And not just weird, but dangerously weird.
This was actually a LOT of fun to read. I can see why a LOT of other reviewers are calling it a "slow burn," and I sort of agree. I thought it was more like it was dragged out, with long descriptions about Ben's observations and thoughts, sometimes to the point of being a bit tedious. I still enjoyed it so much and could hardly put it down that I'd say it's more of a 4.5 stars than 4, but will round down because of that dragging. There's also a LOT of profanity (understandably, given it's a bunch of really rough kids) and by the end a lot of violence - although it doesn't come across as gratuitously gory. Still, just a fun read. (Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital review copy.)
This was actually a LOT of fun to read. I can see why a LOT of other reviewers are calling it a "slow burn," and I sort of agree. I thought it was more like it was dragged out, with long descriptions about Ben's observations and thoughts, sometimes to the point of being a bit tedious. I still enjoyed it so much and could hardly put it down that I'd say it's more of a 4.5 stars than 4, but will round down because of that dragging. There's also a LOT of profanity (understandably, given it's a bunch of really rough kids) and by the end a lot of violence - although it doesn't come across as gratuitously gory. Still, just a fun read. (Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital review copy.)
July 6, 2024
Right off the bat I will say this is a good story. It's not quite what I expected, but then my expectaions can be unruly.
This focusses on our star, Ben, a very bright young guy from the south that has had a lot of challenges in his young life, made a lot of bad choices and has been sent to this wilderness camp to try to make him change his ways...or so he is told. It's not quite the real reason he is there.
His character in particular is very deep and it was very cool getting to see how his mind works. I really liked all the characters and their relationships with each other.
As a horror story, the horror takes a long time to show up, (of course his life before he goes to camp is horrific). We get sneak peaks of creepy behaviors from councellors pretty much right away, and I had some inkling of what was going on, but the specifics were new and interesting. I ended up very happy with the whole story.
This focusses on our star, Ben, a very bright young guy from the south that has had a lot of challenges in his young life, made a lot of bad choices and has been sent to this wilderness camp to try to make him change his ways...or so he is told. It's not quite the real reason he is there.
His character in particular is very deep and it was very cool getting to see how his mind works. I really liked all the characters and their relationships with each other.
As a horror story, the horror takes a long time to show up, (of course his life before he goes to camp is horrific). We get sneak peaks of creepy behaviors from councellors pretty much right away, and I had some inkling of what was going on, but the specifics were new and interesting. I ended up very happy with the whole story.
January 24, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Wilderness Reform by Matt and Harrison Query
I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It’s definitely a slow burn, which I like. A large group of misfit, violent, and troubled boys, who are judge issued, to attend and participate in a wilderness reform camp in Montana. A promise of a normal summer camp full of white water rafting, archery, trapping, camping and learning survival skills. At the end of camp, each boy will take a solo camp to complete there transformation from troubled youth to a new man.
Sometimes I did have to suspend belief around Ben’s character, but that didn’t deter me from the story. I enjoyed the characters, the camp councilors were so…OMG. The entire storyline drew me in, and I couldn’t figure out what was going on until THE SCENE (you’ll know).
I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It’s definitely a slow burn, which I like. A large group of misfit, violent, and troubled boys, who are judge issued, to attend and participate in a wilderness reform camp in Montana. A promise of a normal summer camp full of white water rafting, archery, trapping, camping and learning survival skills. At the end of camp, each boy will take a solo camp to complete there transformation from troubled youth to a new man.
Sometimes I did have to suspend belief around Ben’s character, but that didn’t deter me from the story. I enjoyed the characters, the camp councilors were so…OMG. The entire storyline drew me in, and I couldn’t figure out what was going on until THE SCENE (you’ll know).
December 26, 2024
Thank you to Atria / Emily Bestler Books for the finished copy to review.
This was an atmospheric read that was good via audio. The overall plot moved very slow, which is where the audio helped. I think this one had the potential for a little more, especially given the slow build up, but my attention was held the entire time, as I was so curious how it was going to end. I also loved Ben and his old soul for a 13 year old, and it came through the audio well. The slow pace until the very end is the main detractor here and it definitely will not be for everyone. Oh, and how great is this cover?!
This was an atmospheric read that was good via audio. The overall plot moved very slow, which is where the audio helped. I think this one had the potential for a little more, especially given the slow build up, but my attention was held the entire time, as I was so curious how it was going to end. I also loved Ben and his old soul for a 13 year old, and it came through the audio well. The slow pace until the very end is the main detractor here and it definitely will not be for everyone. Oh, and how great is this cover?!
October 17, 2024
This was a real dud for me...and I'm sad about it. I LOVED Old Country...was immediately hooked into the story and fell in love with the characters and the writing. This...bore me to tears. I never got invested in the characters and subsequently didn't care about anything that was happening. I also didn't get on with the narrator on the audiobook...but I don't think that affected my enjoyment much because if I had been reading the physical book...I would have DNFed it pretty early on. This one just wasn't for me.
November 19, 2024
I thought this book was so fun to read! Did start a tad slow. I had my theories throughout and I was sorta right by the end. Loved the imagery of western Montana terrain and camping.
More gore was depicted than I expected but it’s okay.
Good book :)
Those who enjoy outdoorsy things and suspense may like this!
More gore was depicted than I expected but it’s okay.
Good book :)
Those who enjoy outdoorsy things and suspense may like this!
January 11, 2025
According to Goodreads, a two star reading means "It was OK". So that's what this one is getting. I had picked up Old Country at the library in 2022, and was pleasantly surprised that it was better than I thought it would be. Wilderness Reform unpleasantly surprised me. It was an interesting enough idea, but just not executed well in my opinion. Would be willing to try a future book by these brothers, but it will be with a bit of hesitation.
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