The giveaway is in the jacket summary: "Bears aren't the only predators in these woods." I love that from cover to cover, from friend-breakup to the wrath of Mother Nature, this is a very female horror story. Girls deserve to be listened to, not to be picked apart, discarded, condescended to or threatened. Yet the reality is that daily life is a struggle, the feeling that one always has to be defending herself. And you would think that with that shared trauma, girls would inherently buoy each other up, but more often than not they make the first cut against each other, following that devolution into Sith territory: Fear leads to Anger, Anger leads to Hate, Hate leads to Suffering.

The climax is telegraphed from the very first chapter, so I suppose it's not out of nowhere. I do appreciate that there was setup, who doesn't love a Chekov's gun. But it didn't feel personal enough, given what was built up about Josie and Neena. They both grow and change for the better: Josie taking initiative and Neena using her head. But there's something lackluster about them running away to safety instead of making a final stand, or being each other's foils. It's a little selfish and silly of me, though, to say, "Aww man, I wish this was a Supervillain origin story, instead of a message about true friendship." XD So, 5 stars from me, because the failing is in my depraved hopes and expectations, not with any fault in the writing itself.