It's For Your Own Good

by Kate Francis

The utterly addictive new YA thriller from the queen of twists, Kate Francis. For fans of The Traitors, Karen M. McManus and E. Lockhart.

In the middle of the night, Liv Walker is kidnapped from her bedroom by two masked figures. As she's dragged into an unmarked van, she's met with an even more horrifying sight: her family are waving goodbye.

Camp Smiling Skies is a wilderness therapy camp for "troubled teens". At least, that's what it says in the brochure. In truth, it's filled with dark secrets, cruel counsellors and no chance of escape.

Things seem as bad as they can get...until, one by one, people start to die.

Liv has already been betrayed by her family, but it seems like they're not the only traitors in her life.

There's a murderer in the camp, and everyone's a suspect.

Unknown Binding

Expected publication July 2, 2026

Reviews

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley I received an advanced copy of this book.

I struggled with this book, both with getting into it and staying interested. The characters aren’t very well fleshed out and trying to take an antagonist seriously when they are named Chipmunk is rather difficult. The concept of this novel is really good, I just think this hasn’t been realised.
It very much reads as a young adult novel so maybe someone younger would like this more than I did.

[Emma F · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 rounded up to 5

Liv Walker wakes in the night, two masked people in her room. There is a struggle before she’s handcuffed. Being led outside she’s desperate for her family to wake up and help her. Not realising that they are behind it. Driven to a remote, basic camp overwhelmed at first by hopelessness and then anger, there’s only one thing Liv wants. And that’s to get away from the camp.

The feelings of grief and betrayal that Liv experiences are well written. She’s a detailed character and one I felt for. The main counsellor, with the misnomer pseudonym Chipmunk, is vindictive and uncaring. The teenagers at the camp are all different, damaged, trapped and seemingly betrayed and abandoned by the people who should be there for them. Besides Liv there’s cheerleader type Ruby, Milo the joker, laidback Lucas, timid Shasta and brooding Ben. The camp itself is beyond basic (no running water, no toilet) and miles from civilisation with a fast flowing river and mountains blocking any chance of escape. Then the deaths start, which adds a new level of distrust amongst the camp mates.

Overall it’s a well written book, with fleshed out characters and an emotional heart.

[Harriet Pasco · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has SUCH a strong opening. I was hooked almost immediately and flew through the first few chapters wanting to know what on earth was going on.

The story itself is fast paced, twisty and constantly keeps you guessing who can actually be trusted. There’s lots happening throughout and I can absolutely see this being a really bingeable read for the right reader.

For me personally though, I think it leaned a little more YA / teen thriller than I usually gravitate towards. It wasn’t quite as dark, sinister or psychologically heavy as the thrillers I tend to love most, and I did find my attention drifting slightly in places despite the action.

That said, I still enjoyed it overall and think it would be a great pick if you enjoy lighter, campfire-story style thrillers with a nostalgic 90s / early 00s feel. It actually reminded me a little of Goosebumps or Are You Afraid of the Dark? but with a more modern thriller twist.

Definitely an easy, entertaining read - just perhaps not quite dark enough for my personal taste 👀

[Alex Topham · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely stunning and twisty mystery.

The book was written so well as so carefully, since Wilderness Therapy Camps are quite a difficult topic to cover but Kate Francis did this so gently. Only a small amount was focused on the camp itself with it almost purely used as a setting to the story which was very important and such a well chosen and needed setting. Very few authors choose settings like Therapy Camps and those that do write it so well.

The first section of the book sets us up really well for the plot, with just the right balance between plot points and character introductions, it feels like it doesn't drag but also allows us as the reader time to explore and remember each character.

When the deaths begin, the books shoots up in pace and I could barely cope with putting the book down. If I didn't have to sleep it would've been read in a single sitting. The middle of the book sets up quite an expected ending. But if the ending was expected this book wouldn't have been a five star read.

Thank you to the publisher for the approval on NetGalley.

[Abi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and Kate Francis for the ARC.

This struggled to keep my interest unfortunately, but a younger audience may be more captivated than I was.

The characters felt a bit off for me, and the older characters were actually worse than the younger, so it wasn't an age issue. I can't quite place my finger on the issue, but the dialogue for the older characters was definitely part of the problem.

The plot sounded interesting, but unfortunately this just wasn't for me.