A Walk in the Dark

by Jane Godwin

'It's just a walk in the dark. What is there to worry about?'

That's what the head teacher, Johan, says. And so the Year Nines from Otway Community School set out on an overnight hike, with no adults.

But doesn't Johan know that a storm is coming?

When five teenagers head in to the forest that late afternoon, none of them is aware what the night will bring. Each will have to draw on their particular strengths to survive. Each will have to face the unknown, battling the elements, events beyond their control, and their own demons. It's a night that will change everything.

Set in the rainforest of Victoria's Otway Ranges, A Walk in the Dark is about friendship, trust, identity and family, consent and boundaries, wrapped in a compulsively readable, suspense-filled adventure.

Five head into the forest, but will all five make it out?

Genres: Young Adult, Adventure, Middle Grade, Friendship, Thriller, Suspense, Survival

256 pages, Paperback

First published August 31, 2022

About the author

Jane Godwin is the Publisher, Books for Children and Young Adults, at Penguin Books Australia. She is also a highly acclaimed author of many books for children. Her work is published internationally and she has received many commendations. The Family Tree won the 2000 Queensland Premier's Award (Children's Books); Sebby, Stee, the Garbos and Me was shortlisted for the 1999 New South Wales State Literary Award (Patricia Wrightson Prize) and was a YABBA finalist; and The True Story of Mary was shortlisted for the 2006 CBCA Book of the Year Awards, Younger Readers. In 2009 her picture book with illustrator Anna Walker, Little Cat and the Big Red Bus, was a notable book in the CBCA Awards and was also shortlisted for the Speech Pathology Australia Awards, Lower Primary division. Jane's most recent novel is Falling From Grace, and her most recent picture book is All Through the Year, illustrated by Anna Walker, due for publication in October 2010.

Jane lives in Melbourne with her family. Her hobbies seem to have fallen by the wayside a little since she has taken on the role of publisher, but from what she remembers, they were playing tennis, walking, reading (things other than manuscripts), doing cryptic crosswords, talking about the need to do gardening (and sometimes even doing it), cooking, playing piano, spending time with friends and mucking around with family which consists of partner Michael and two adolescents, Wil (19) and Lizzie (17). She still manages the cryptic crosswords, friends and family.

Jane also enjoys working creatively with school students, encouraging them to develop confidence in their own creativity, ideas and abilities.

Reviews

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

The year nine students from Otway Community School, inland from the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, were participating in a "dropping" where the teachers and bus would drop them around twenty kilometres from the school, into the dense bushland with only one phone with an emergency number programmed, a map and a compass to help them. They carried their own food and drinks in their backpacks and would be walking through the night, scheduled to arrive back at the school around midnight. There would also be a supermoon which would give them a lot of light.

Ash and Fred, along with Laila, Elle and Chrystal (an exchange student from Wisconsin) were one group of five, while several other groups were dropped in other areas. Right from the start, Fred was aggressive and sarcastic, not taking notice of their elected leader, Elle. When she made him leave a plastic bag at their first checkpoint, which had alcohol in it, he wasn't impressed. But he did. Turned out the compass, map and phone were in there as well...

Darkness, rain, a violent storm, a ute of men with dogs and a gun - as well as nothing to guide them - what could possibly go wrong!? They knew one thing for sure - they wouldn't make it back to the school by midnight. But would they make it back at all?

A Walk in the Dark by Aussie author Jane Godwin is a tense, gripping, suspense story for the young teen which I had trouble putting down. I feel it ended fairly abruptly with some unanswered questions, but nothing "too important". I also wonder what possessed the teachers to set this challenge with no backup - as a parent I'd be furious with the school! But Ms Godwin has written an intriguing story which I enjoyed and recommend.

With thanks to Hachette AU for my ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

[Emily V · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had a big adventure with 5 teenagers going into the forest at night and trying to find their way back to school. On the way they encounter many different people and many problems occur along the way, leading to one of the group members to leave and wander off by themself.

[K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trigger warnings: gun violence, animal death, hospitalisation of a parent (in the past), anaphylaxis, CPR

Hmm. Legit don't know how I feel about this tbh. I mean, the concept was fun - a bunch of Year 9s from an alternative school in the Otways get dumped in the middle of nowhere to complete a 20-ish km hike overnight. They're given directions for the first stage of the hike, a compass, and a bag of torches and away they go. Except then they lose the bag of torches. And it starts pouring with rain. And the group splits up.

I think the point where the group split up is where this started to lose things a little for me. Because by that point, I was invested in Fred's slow steady realisation that being a little shit isn't cool and I wanted more of him making that discovery WITH the rest of the group by his side.

Also as someone who has to sit through multiple anaphylaxis briefings a year, I *may* have screamed slightly when Fred made the kid having an anaphylactic reaction stand up and tried to get her to walk.

[Anna Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this exciting YA mystery story. Fast paced, lots of action and suspense.

[Penny Waring · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Would you abandon your children in the forest at night? The Dutch do."
Things don't go according to plan when five students dropped in the middle of the Ottway Ranges have to find their way back to school by midnight as part of a school resilience-building activity. Jane Godwin throws everything at the five characters and the result is a pacey, suspenseful intersection between action/adventure and mystery genres. Jane is a master at writing YA that can be read on different levels - younger students can grasp the issues, but there is plenty of nuance for older students to ponder. Great YA read for students years 7-10.

[Jayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is definitely something about reading a book that is set in an area you know well, where you recognise every feature in the landscape, every road and town that is mentioned.
This book is set in the Otways, a beautiful forest off the Great Ocean Road.
The character interaction under stressful conditions and with such different personalities is concisely portrayed. The nature of the area bursts from the pages, particularly with colour - loved the use of the names of Derwent pencils as descriptors.
Just the right balance between suspense and action and the character development and relationships. Understated in the perfect way; somehow this book manages to be both calm and gentle and full of action.

[Trisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Update: reread for readers cup question writing

This is an excellent, thoughtful, challenging and suspenseful read.

I was hooked.

[Clare Snow · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was unexpectedly catastrophic. Here I was thinking it would be a gentle stroll in the woods (in the middle of the night...)

"Fred often felt that he was on some collision course with himself. That something terrible was always about to happen. That he was living in fear of what he'd do next."

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exciting but also a meaningful read. I had trouble with the character who's coded as autistic, but that's probably just me.

[Schizanthus Nerd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Otway Community School isn’t like other schools, with an approach that’s more collaborative than prescriptive. Head Teacher Johan has even managed to get the parents on board for the Year 9 students to participate in the Dutch tradition of dropping.

‘So, you know the arrangement. We drop you in the forest at four pm, and you must find your way back to school by midnight’

Teams of five will work together to negotiate the 27km (over 16.5 miles) of bushland between the drop location and school. They’re given some instructions, a map, first-aid kit, head torches, compass and a phone (for emergencies only) before they’re sent off into the woods.

We tag along with one of the teams:
🦉 Fred, who has a chip on his shoulder, is the new kid.
🦉 Ash always smiles and is friends with everyone.
🦉 Chrystal is an exchange student who carries a Snoopy stuffed toy everywhere she goes.
🦉 Elle’s an all-rounder who has needed to adapt each time her family have moved.
🦉 Laila, Elle’s friend, lives in a treehouse and is into yoga. Nothing really bothers her.

What the team initially thinks will be a walk in the park becomes anything but. This is a night that will change all of their lives.

I loved seeing Fred’s artistic side find its way to the surface each time he identified a colour by its corresponding Derwent pencil name. Chrystal’s idiosyncrasies made me want to get to know her better.

While the main storyline is resolved, I have some unanswered questions and wish I’d gotten to know some of the characters better. I’m most interested in finding out what changes take place in Fred’s life as a result of the dropping.

Thank you so much to Hachette Australia for the opportunity to read this book.

Blog - https://schizanthusnerd.com

[The Honest Book Reviewer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book I think a younger teen audience will enjoy. I think it lacks a lot of the things that would attract mid to late teens to the story.

As young adult book ago for this age group, I think it offers a lot. There's drama, the characters are given characteristics that leap from the page, and the concept is gripping. However, the thought that a school would drop off a group of teenagers and say hike around 12 hours through dense forest without parents felt a little strange to me. But, let's accept it and move on. It's the story the author wants to tell.

The situation does two things. Immediately, we know a group of teens is most likely not always going to get along. Especially if there are strong personalities in the group. So, we know we'll have tension and drama. And we do. We also see character growth, as the five main characters in the book start to realise things about their own behaviour and the behaviour of others.

But I do wonder about the portrayal of Chrystal, an exchange student for the USA. The author doesn't specify, but you wouldn't be wrong to wonder if Chrystal is autistic. And the way she's portrayed, including how the other teenagers speak, view, and think about her, is not always comforting. It was always going to be a brave choice or an odd choice to have a character like this in a book like this, where action and tension takes centre stage. You need to make sure there is an inclusive feel to the how the character is portrayed, especially for a book for a young adult audience. And I'm not sure if the author does develop the character in the book in a constructive way.

Overall, I think the adventure in this book would attract many readers. It's fast-paced, there's some shocks, and it has a satisfactory ending.

[Sally Hetherington OAM · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Walk in the Dark by Jane Godwin.

Dutch children are the happiest in the world, which is why Dutch teacher Johan replicates ‘droppings’ for his students at Otway Community School in Victoria.

The year nine students are split into groups of five and dropped into the bush for a hike with limited resources. The goal is to make it back to the school by midnight. But for teenagers Ash, Elle, Fred, Laila and Chrystal, things don’t go like they should. Will they make it out of the bush before the severe weather storm hits?

Reading this from a young adult lens, it’s a great book. We really gain an understanding into the characters and the struggles they face - not everything is as it seems. This book teaches empathy, with the strongest and most likeable character, Ash, being the child of two women who have taught him “Don’t judge; think, instead.” There are of relevant themes that impact today’s teenagers that are covered, making it a relatable book.

The story is part thriller and keeps you on your toes, and even sees you caring about characters you disliked at the beginning. It would be a great book to add to the year seven curriculum, in my opinion!

Thank you Hachette Australia for my gifted copy.

[Ruby :) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Walk in the Dark follows five teenagers participating in a school trip through the Otways in Victoria. Overall it's a good story with an intriguing premise filled with potential. The personalities of each of the five kids are interesting, and as we explore past events and experiences in their lives we can see how they effect their personalities and decisions today. I wish we'd been able to see a little more into the kids' minds and get to know them better. The POVs weren't really defined and the story jumped around into different people's heads a bit, which made it a little hard to fully immerse myself in their perspectives of the world. I also didn't love how Fred split off from the rest of the group as it took away the aspect of them all battling the elements (and their own demons) together. I wish the story had continued until after the dropping to see how the experience affected each character in their day-to-day lives. Despite this, the story was very well-written and kept me on my toes throughout, you could never tell what was going to happen next. Action-packed, suspenseful, and an enjoyable read.

[Great Escape Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our Review…
A thrilling and poignant young adult read, suitable for ages 11 plus.

When the year 9 students at Otway Community School are invited to participate in an overnight hike, they could never be prepared for what is about to hit them.

A survival activity, the teens are dropped 20kms from the school with only the essentials and no adults. In groups they must come together to make it back to school, using their own physical, mental, and emotional resources and the backpack on their shoulders. What should be a strength building exercise, turns horribly wrong and the five teenagers must put aside their differences to survive.

Set on the Great Ocean Road, in the Otway Ranges, it is a perfect read to immerse yourself in the lush green forest landscape while the thriller unfolds.

Relatable, real and an engaging read, perfect to keep your teen happy these school holidays.

Review by Lydia @ Great Escape Books

[TheAfictionado · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was some great tension in this, and it tapped into very real fears about what might go wrong when a group of young people end up stranded in the wilderness at night (seems like a terrible idea from the get-go, but that's a complaint I have with the fictional teachers, not the author!). Some of the characters felt a little weak, though, and I disliked how so much of Elle's arc was learning not to be annoyed with the very autistic-coded Chrystal. Given that Chrystal didn't get much of a narrative voice herself, it felt like our sympathies were supposed to align with Elle and we were supposed to be learning with her, which I ultimately found uncomfortable - and I imagine would be even more uncomfortable for a young reader who related far more to Chrystal than to neurotypical Elle.

[Ms Harrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

When five Year 9 students are dropped into the bush they have no idea of the challenges about to face them - by both internal and external forces. Each character traipses through some level of self-doubt, self-realisation, and eventual realise (with room for more growth). Lots of contemporary teen issues are explored and very real experiences build the tension throughout this novel. An action & adventure read that would work well for literature circles and book clubs. There’s a great opportunity to explore traditional fairytales too - I would consider connecting this with the Explained Fairy Tales episode on Netflix.

12-15 Years

[Alice · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall an expertly crafted novel that was highly readable. However, I found the depiction of the autistic coded character unsympathetic and would have reservations about recommending this book to teenagers. The character (Chrystal) does not have a voice or the insight of the omniscient narrator. She is therefore seen through the eyes of neurotypical characters who focus on aspects of her neurodiversity (stimming, special interests, comfort item) as annoying quirks.

This deficit view of autism I think only confirms negative stereotypes about neurodiversity and unfortunately really let’s the novel down.

[On Sophie’s Shelf · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took a while for me to get into this, but when things started to get interesting, it was good! I had to read this book for a school assignment, and luckily, it wasn't a bad book. A couple of things I have a problem with, though, are how Chrystal is portrayed negatively, even though she most likely has autism. Throughout most of the book, she was a "pain" for the other members, and they'd get annoyed by her stimming and her habits. Fred was kind of ragebaiting me the whole time, and made many bad decisions, but at the end of the day, everything was fine, and he changed a bit as a person.

[Kira :) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this YA read. It has nice character growth, but isn't trite, it is exciting, easy to read and written in an engaging style. The structure of the text was very effective in maintaining the integrity of the characters growth, the logical sequence of the plot, and the limitations the story has in place from the beginning. It is a book written for older-primary to middle school students, but as an adult wanting a fun holiday read, it was very enjoyable.

[annabelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it. Fairly wholesome, and sweet. Chrystal, the American exchange student who rarely speaks. Fred, the boy who has been trouble for as long as he can remember, and is starting at a new school. Laila, who has just had a bad breakup, and who is pretty hip. Ash, who has maybe a crush on Laila. And finally, Elle, who Chrystal is staying with.

[Poet · Rating 2 out of 5]

was really enjoying this book, but the treatment of the heavily implied autistic character put me off. I also which there was more of a resolution in the end, was the school not worried, the parents?? Did they get to have some hot chocolate after their adventures??? ah well, that's just me though

[Atlanta Bushnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Walk in the Dark by Jane Goodwin follows a group of five teenagers on a wilderness hiking school trip through the Australian bush. To the teenagers a wilderness hike in the dark sounds exciting and fun, although it turns out to be anything but. Especially with a severe thunderstorm brewing.

While it is about the hike and a bit of a survivalist adventure, the story focuses deeply on the characters and their individual struggles. It is a deep novel that tackles some heavy and important topics. I would recommend it for 13 years and older readers.

Each of the characters were different and unique, which added to the overall story. My favourite character was definitely Ash. He was so kind and caring and super likeable.


Thank you Hachette Australia for the #gifted review copy.

[Vanessa Grosso(Chipman) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn't put it down, I had to know what was going to happen next.

[Charli · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book, my fav genre and loved the romance subplot soooo much 🫶🫶

[Jae · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Jemma · Rating 1 out of 5]

im gonna jump off a bridge.

[Helen.Styan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story. Loved the characters. Such a mix. Many twists and turns. A wonder if they really do that in Holland.

[Anna Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant book for tween readers. It is exciting and relatable with good themes. A discussion starter.

[Jojo R · Rating 2 out of 5]

The character's writing was cheap and even the characters that were meant to represent how trauma gives you depth and personality lacked any actual depth or personality other than being an extreme stereotype without any original ideas

[Olive Halstead · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good book although had a bit of swearing. But still 👍