The killing woods

Book Cover
Average Rating
Publisher
Chicken House/Scholastic
Publication Date
2014.
Language
English

Description

Fatal attraction, primal fear, survival in the forest: From the author of the Printz Honor Book STOLEN, the highly anticipated thriller about deadly games played in the dark.Ashlee Parker is dead, and Emily Shepherd's dad is accused of the crime. A former soldier suffering from PTSD, he emerges from the woods carrying the girl's broken body. "Gone," he says, then retreats into silence.What really happened that wild night? Emily knows in her bones that her father is innocent -- isn't he? Before he's convicted, she's got to find out the truth. Does Damon Hilary, Ashlee's charismatic boyfriend, have the answers? Or is he only playing games with her -- the kinds of games that can kill?

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ISBN
9780545461009

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Author Notes

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Published Reviews

Booklist Review

Everyone thinks Emily's dad did it. He's the one crippled by military PTSD; he's the one who came staggering out of the woods with the dead, strangled body of popular teen Ashlee; he's the one who admits he doesn't remember what happened and pleads guilty to manslaughter. Emily, though, refuses to believe it and locks horns with Ashlee's boyfriend, Damon. The two, who share a lusty chemistry from their first pugnacious interaction, alternate narrations, and it is through Damon's tale that we learn of the Game, a pseudomilitary pastime he, his friends, and Ashlee played at night in the woods. High on fairy dust, Damon barely recalls the fatal night's Game but slowly begins to remember it and just as slowly, he and Emily begin to come around to the other's viewpoint. Christopher's follow-up to the Printz Honor-winning Stolen (2010) sags beneath circular, repetitive conversations, but nonetheless delivers a mystery that grows ever more disturbing with each revelation. Some readers will guess the big secret early, but that doesn't mean the thrills don't pack a punch. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: The well-received Stolen paves the way for a 100,000 first printing, author tour, writing contest, and more.--Kraus, Daniel Copyright 2010 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
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Publisher's Weekly Review

Printz honoree Christopher (Stolen) returns with another tense and nimbly crafted psychological thriller. Last summer, Emily Shepherd's father, a veteran suffering from paralyzing PTSD, returned home carrying the corpse of Emily's high school acquaintance Ashlee Parker. Now he's on trial for Ashlee's murder. Though Emily believes in her father's innocence, few others do, and Emily's association with her father leads to her ostracism. The narrative alternates between the perspectives of Emily and Damon, Ashlee's boyfriend, who awoke the morning after her death hungover and with little memory of the previous night. Embittered by the death of his own father in the war, Damon blames Emily for the added pain of losing Ashlee. Christopher gracefully explores the agony of combat-related PTSD, its effects on its sufferers and their families, and the capacity for violence, while refraining from making the novel feel issue-driven. Despite the growing attraction between Damon and Emily, they keep their secrets and memories to themselves, investigating Ashlee's death separately, which maintains an intriguing duality. Two meticulously constructed voices assemble a dark and unnerving puzzle in this immersive mystery. Ages 14-up. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

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School Library Journal Review

Gr 9 Up-Emily Shepherd used to like Darkwood, the forest near her school, where her friends run cross-country and play sexier, more dangerous games at night. When Emily's father emerges from the woods carrying Ashlee Parker's dead body, he becomes the prime suspect in her death. Emily finds it hard to believe, even though he suffers from PTSD and has a hidden bunker filled with disturbing drawings. Damon, Ashlee's boyfriend, was with her that night, but so addled by drugs that he can't remember what happened. Damon returns to the woods to recreate their last hours and maybe find evidence to soothe his troubled conscience. Fiona Hardingham and Shaun Grindell voice Emily and Damon in alternating chapters and capture the disturbing qualities of this mystery/thriller. The conclusion satisfies, though some may guess what happened before it is revealed. Listeners who like their stories dark but not hopeless will likely enjoy this reading.-Maggie Knapp, Trinity Valley School, Fort Worth, TX (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Horn Book Review

After her dad is accused of killing a girl in her class, Emily begins to uncover a web of lies and deceit surrounding the dead girl and other classmates. The narrative switches perspectives between the two main characters, presenting a dark tale exploring the frailties of the human psyche, teen sexuality, and drug culture. Mystery and suspense abound in this thrilling page-turner. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Kirkus Book Review

This taut, psychologically realistic murder mystery knits trauma, danger, tragedy and hope into one cohesive tale. In a horrifying opening scene, Emily watches her father return from the forest carrying what looks like an injured deer but turns out to be a girl--dead. Dad's having a flashback to the military event that gave him PTSD. As a soldier, he'd accidentally killed a civilian; did he kill this girl, Ashlee, as well? Ashlee's boyfriend, Damon, awakens hung over the next morning, confused that Ashlee's not in his bed. They'd been in Darkwood the night before with his mates, playing the Game. Ashlee gave Damon hallucinogenic drugs, and he can't remember how the night--or the Game--ended. Damon and Emily alternate chapters in distinct first-person voices. Damon's traumatized by Ashlee's murder and his father's military death; Emily's devastated that her sometimes-violent yet "scared of everything" father--possibly innocent--is pleading guilty to manslaughter. Darkwood's thick forest, high peak and leftover war bunker make a vivid setting. Readers will be riveted by slow, potent reveals about the rough nature of the Game, Ashlee's insistence on danger and adrenaline, and what happened that night. The answers hurt, but they feel right and they make sense. A sprout of hope at the end is fragile and unforced. A gripping, heartbreaking, emotionally substantial look at war wounds and the allure of danger. (Mystery. 14 up)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
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Booklist Reviews

Everyone thinks Emily's dad did it. He's the one crippled by military PTSD; he's the one who came staggering out of the woods with the dead, strangled body of popular teen Ashlee; he's the one who admits he doesn't remember what happened and pleads guilty to manslaughter. Emily, though, refuses to believe it and locks horns with Ashlee's boyfriend, Damon. The two, who share a lusty chemistry from their first pugnacious interaction, alternate narrations, and it is through Damon's tale that we learn of the Game, a pseudomilitary pastime he, his friends, and Ashlee played at night in the woods. High on "fairy dust," Damon barely recalls the fatal night's Game but slowly begins to remember it—and just as slowly, he and Emily begin to come around to the other's viewpoint. Christopher's follow-up to the Printz Honor–winning Stolen (2010) sags beneath circular, repetitive conversations, but nonetheless delivers a mystery that grows ever more disturbing with each revelation. Some readers will guess the big secret early, but that doesn't mean the thrills don't pack a punch. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: The well-received Stolen paves the way for a 100,000 first printing, author tour, writing contest, and more. Copyright 2013 Booklist Reviews.

Copyright 2013 Booklist Reviews.
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Publishers Weekly Reviews

Printz honoree Christopher (Stolen) returns with another tense and nimbly crafted psychological thriller. Last summer, Emily Shepherd's father, a veteran suffering from paralyzing PTSD, returned home carrying the corpse of Emily's high school acquaintance Ashlee Parker. Now he's on trial for Ashlee's murder. Though Emily believes in her father's innocence, few others do, and Emily's association with her father leads to her ostracism. The narrative alternates between the perspectives of Emily and Damon, Ashlee's boyfriend, who awoke the morning after her death hungover and with little memory of the previous night. Embittered by the death of his own father in the war, Damon blames Emily for the added pain of losing Ashlee. Christopher gracefully explores the agony of combat-related PTSD, its effects on its sufferers and their families, and the capacity for violence, while refraining from making the novel feel issue-driven. Despite the growing attraction between Damon and Emily, they keep their secrets and memories to themselves, investigating Ashlee's death separately, which maintains an intriguing duality. Two meticulously constructed voices assemble a dark and unnerving puzzle in this immersive mystery. Ages 14–up. (Jan.)

[Page ]. Copyright 2013 PWxyz LLC

Copyright 2013 PWxyz LLC
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PW Annex Reviews

Printz honoree Christopher (Stolen) returns with another tense and nimbly crafted psychological thriller. Last summer, Emily Shepherd's father, a veteran suffering from paralyzing PTSD, returned home carrying the corpse of Emily's high school acquaintance Ashlee Parker. Now he's on trial for Ashlee's murder. Though Emily believes in her father's innocence, few others do, and Emily's association with her father leads to her ostracism. The narrative alternates between the perspectives of Emily and Damon, Ashlee's boyfriend, who awoke the morning after her death hungover and with little memory of the previous night. Embittered by the death of his own father in the war, Damon blames Emily for the added pain of losing Ashlee. Christopher gracefully explores the agony of combat-related PTSD, its effects on its sufferers and their families, and the capacity for violence, while refraining from making the novel feel issue-driven. Despite the growing attraction between Damon and Emily, they keep their secrets and memories to themselves, investigating Ashlee's death separately, which maintains an intriguing duality. Two meticulously constructed voices assemble a dark and unnerving puzzle in this immersive mystery. Ages 14–up. (Jan.)

[Page ]. Copyright 2013 PWxyz LLC

Copyright 2013 PWxyz LLC
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School Library Journal Reviews

Gr 9 Up—Emily Shepherd looks out the window in the early morning and sees her father carrying something through the woods. A deer? No, it's the body of a teenage girl. And Emily knows her: it's Ashlee Parker, a classmate, and girlfriend of football star Damon Hilary. Emily's dad, who suffers from extreme post-traumatic stress disorder, is accused of the murder, and it is up to her to find out what really happened in the woods that horrible night. The first two-thirds of the story is taut, suspenseful, and very intense: characters are revealed in complex layers, and the woods take on an eerie personality of their own. Teens will read voraciously, seeking out answers and the truth, instantly recognizing Emily and Damon as unreliable narrators. However, the novel gets bogged down with repetitious dialogue and descriptions. In the early chapters, Christopher dribbles out details in deliciously tantalizing ways, but at the story's midpoint, the author withholds too much, and the plot begins to move at a snail's pace. At the peak of the action, intensely exciting moments are broken up by mundane details that kill the lightning-fast pace. Ultimately, though, like Chris Lynch's Inexcusable (S & S, 2005), this is a fascinating discussion of teen violence, self-denial, and conspiracies of silence. And even though readers will likely guess the culprit before the protagonists do, they'll still be hanging on to every word until the end.—Laura Lutz, Convent of the Sacred Heart, New York City

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