Review: If You Go Down to the Woods by Seth C. Adams

Kerry Hammond is here today to review a debut novel by author Seth C. Adams.

If You Go Down to the Woods by Seth C. Adams was released on March 5, in Trade Paperback by Killer Reads, a division of HarperCollins Publishers. It is the author's debut novel and I was intrigued by the mysterious hook of the description on the book jacket. 

13 year-old Joey and his family have just moved to a small town in Arizona. They’ve been relocated for his Dad’s job and Joey finds himself exploring his new domain in summertime with his dog Bandit. While walking through the woods he comes across a boy being tormented by three older teens and he jumps to the kid’s aid, making one new friend....and three new enemies. 

Joey and his new friend Fat Bobby team up with a couple of other kids to spend the summer looking for adventure, but what they find is not what they bargained for. They discover an abandoned car containing millions of dollars and human remains; the kids think they’ve hit the jackpot. Instead, they’ve caught the attention of dangerous people who will stop at nothing to get back what they believe to be theirs. 

If You Go Down to the Woods isn’t a mystery as such, rather a coming of age story. At times it was fantastical, but it never stopped entertaining me. Reminiscent of Stand By Me and The Outsiders, it’s a story about kids whose circumstances caused them to grow up too fast. A story of consequences suffered by those who are too young to really anticipate the meaning of the word. How one summer can shape your life forever.

The book is written from Joey’s perspective, but an adult Joey who has spent time remembering his childhood with a mature perspective, reminiscing about the events that happened to him that summer he moved to Arizona. His thoughts are introspective and grown up, but he hasn’t forgotten his boyhood fears. After all, they shaped him in ways he never expected.

This book was provided to Mystery Playground by the publisher. The review was fair and completely independent.

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