The Little Woods by McCormick Templeman

The Little Woods by McCormick Templeman
Release Date: July 10, 2012
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Rating: Enjoyable

Are the woods behind St. Bede's Academy really haunted, or does bad stuff just happen there? When Calista Wood, a new student, arrives midway through her junior year, St. Bede's feels like a normal school . . . until she discovers that a girl had disappeared a couple of months earlier. Some kids think she ran away, others think she was murdered, but it's only when Cally starts digging around that she finds the startling truth.

Watch as Cally enters a world of privilege, weekend-long parties, high school romances, and . . . well-kept secrets. This page-turner will appeal to teens looking for a fast-paced thriller. Written in a voice at once gripping and crystal clear, debut novelist, McCormick Templeman, will take readers on a twisting and turning journey as only a "new girl" can experience. - Goodreads

I really enjoyed the whole ongoing mystery in this book. I have read a few reviews and they say that the reader knew the outcome before it happened, but I honestly had no idea how the missing children and Iris connected. I was accusing everybody! There were loads of red herrings, and I ate them up, so when the reveal finally came I was pretty surprised.

McCormick Templeman created a realistic story set in a boarding school with realistic teens and realistic events. Do you see a pattern here? The way the characters were portrayed is unlike most of the YA books I have read. These teens deal and take drugs, have sex, skip class and have a multitude of secrets. I loved this aspect of the book because it felt real, and this is something I miss in a lot of the books I read. Teenagers aren't perfect - nor are adults, but that's besides the point - and they shouldn't all be protrayed as loners who have never been kissed. Sure, there are teens like that, of course there are, but there are also many on the opposite side of the spectrum.

I liked the main character well enough, although her personality got a little grating at times. She got annoyed at her boyfriend for cheating on her, didn't really like her boyfriend all that much, and then she cheated on him with another guy for weeks. Just.. no. Aside from that, I liked Cally, and she wasn't a huge pushover all of the time.

I adored the secondary characters. There were so many of them that I do feel they were introduced al at once a little bit too soon. Having a bit more time to get used to their names and individual personalities would have been nice, because as soon as I took a break I forgot which character was which. But overall, they were awesome and the atmosphere they created was fantastic.

I really like Templeman's writing style, and I'll be checking out this author's future works, if there are any. This was a great story, and while it took a few chapters to get into, once I got sucked in it was difficult to put it down.