What Waits in the Woods is a book that tries very hard to follow the horror movie tropes, and pull you, and doesn't quite hit the mark. 
 Callie has recently moved to a new school, and made friends with the popular girls, Lissa and Penelope. In an attempt to bond with the girls and "fit in" more, she's agreed to a camping trip in the woods. Unfortunately, her new found popularity has also gained her a boyfriend, Jeremy. Callie asks him to tag along so they won't have to be apart for five days, which she finds out is a big no-no when it comes to girl friendship bonding (duh). 
 In the woods, the friends slowly turn on each other. Lissa is bossy and withholds information from Callie, and picks on her for her lack of camping know-how. 
 Penelope starts to turn on Lissa, because she's sick of always playing second fiddle. On top of that, Lissa tells Callie a big secret, causing a rift between them. 
 Jeremy alternates between being super clingy, and super aloof and whiny, and I'm not really clear on his appeal to Callie, except that he's her very first boyfriend, and Callie is terrified of being dumped. 
 A crazy laugh follows them as they lose their path, and find a stranger who offers to guide them through the woods and back to his cabin and safety. 
 The kids decide to take him up on his offer, because why not? 
 (view spoiler)[ Here's my issue. (The killer is revealed below, so stop reading if you haven't read the book!) 
 1. Why is Callie so butthurt about Penn and Jeremy dating the year before? Ok, I get it, it's weird that no one told her, but there's someone following them in the woods, so maybe chill, and get over it? 
 2. How is that when everyone is turning on each other, no one stops and looks at Callie and says something like, "What about you? How do we know it isn't you, we just met you this year, for all we know you murdered people for fun where you came from." It's completely unbelievable that no one thought to question her. Callie was fine with questioning each of her companions because she didn't know them very well, but it never comes back on her. 
 3. The ending was so boring. I was really hoping for a twist where Callie is actually the murderer, or where Jeremy is teamed up with Zach and is the killer, or where the guide they pick up (who's name I can't even remember) is the skinners grandson, and he's grabbing wayward hikers and bringing them back home and keeping up with the family business. Sure, it's a twist that Penn is the killer, but it's not a great one. There was all this set up, with the entry's, I was POSITIVE that Callie was the killer, and she was secretly writing about how she was going to kill her friends, and that's why she was so upset about the idea of them reading it. That would have been perfect! 
 (hide spoiler)] 
 There was some decent suspense, though, I guess. I didn't hate the book, I was just hoping for something slightly creepier or more out of the box. I'd suggest for younger readers who can't handle big thrills yet, but won't shy away from the light violence and gore.