Summary: Would you risk your life to save your best friend? Julia did. When a paroled predator attacked Liv in the woods, Julia fought back and got caught. Liv ran, leaving Julia in the woods for a terrifying 48 hours that she remembers only in flashbacks. One year later, Liv seems bent on self-destruction, starving herself, doing drugs, and hooking up with a violent new boyfriend. A dead girl turns up in those same woods, and Julia’s memories resurface alongside clues unearthed by an ambitious reporter that link the girl to Julia’s abductor. As the devastating truth becomes clear, Julia realizes that after the woods was just the beginning.
At once a twisty psychological thriller, an exploration of the shifting boundaries of friendship, and the story of two teenage girls attempting to navigate the toxic situations they have been dealt, this book will haunt you long after you reach the last page. Julia’s been called a hero, a miracle, a plucky teen who beat the odds – but she knows that there is more below the surface of the day that she attacked the man trying to kidnap her best friend, Liv, and was then taken by him in her place. Despite Liv’s deflections and the advice of her mother and therapist, Julia is determined to find out the truth – even if that means turning to a skeevy reporter ready to use Julia to further her own career. Julia made it out of the woods alive, but will she – and her friendship with Liv – survive the aftermath?
AFTER THE WOODS is out now.
Kathy MacMillan 