Review: One Was Lost by Natalie D. Richards

Author: Natalie D. Richards
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Date of publication: October 2016

Murder, justice, and revenge were so not a part of the plan when Sera set out on her senior camping trip. After all, hiking through the woods is supposed to be safe and uneventful.

Then one morning the group wakes up groggy, confused, and with words scrawled on their wrists: Damaged. Deceptive. Dangerous. Darling. Their supplies? Destroyed. Half their group? Gone. Their chaperone? Unconscious. Worst of all, they find four dolls acting out a murder—dolls dressed just like them.

Suddenly it's clear; they're being hunted. And with the only positive word on her wrist, Sera falls under suspicion…

In One Was Lost, a group of teens and their advisers go on their senior camping trip before graduation.  After their group is separated by a surging river, four of the teens find out someone is in the woods who is out to get them.  I really enjoyed this YA horror.  It was actually everything that I wish Campfire (my review) would have been.  

The story is told through Sera's perspective.   That allowed for a lot of suspense because the reader sees everything through her eyes only.  I definitely was kept guessing until the reveal.  I had one suspect in mind, but I was completely wrong.  I also enjoyed the other characters and found them interesting enough to actually care if they made it out of the woods alive.  They weren't cliched and clueless teens.  As the story progresses, more details about each teen is revealed and how the words written on their wrists pertain to them. There is a romance in the book.  However, it didn't overshadow the overall story.    I definitely recommend this one.  It's a fun YA horror novel that satisfied my horror craving with the right amount of cheesiness and suspense.