It Lives In The Woods

It Lives In The Woods is the first book of the It Lives series. It is followed by It Lives Beneath.

Summary
''Something old and powerful lives in the woods surrounding the small town of Westchester... something that knows your name. Beware!''

Chapter 1: Old Friends
"Something old and powerful lives in the woods surrounding the small town of Westchester... something that knows your name."

Chapter 2: What Are You Afraid Of?
"Your former friends gather to discuss a recent string of strange events... but tensions flare when old wounds are reopened."

Chapter 3: Sticks and Stones
"The decision's been made to go rescue Dan from the woods... but will your old haunt leave you feeling haunted?"

Chapter 4: What's Coming to You
"With Dan's disappearance behind you, things begin to take a turn for the better... or do they?"

Chapter 5: Buckle Up
"As the first basketball game of the season approaches, Westchester High is suddenly rocked by violent animal attacks..."

Chapter 6: A Bitter Pill to Swallow
"You and your friends visit Dan in the hospital, where you make a shocking discovery..."

Chapter 7: Party Favors
"You and your friends are all invited to a party at Britney's house. How does the old saying go? It's all fun and games..."

Chapter 8: Breakdown
"In the wake of Cody's death, your friends have your back... don't they?"

Chapter 9: Ungrateful
"You've rejected Mr. Red's help... and now he's angry. What consequences will this have for you and your friends?"

Chapter 10: I'm Not Scared
"As Mr. Red's revenge escalates, your friends reunite... and start fighting back!"

Chapter 11: You Again
"Your hunt has led you to Pritch the Witch's front door! What does she know about Mr. Red... and will she help you stop him?"

Chapter 12: Homecoming
"You and your friends have vanquished Mr. Red for good, and just in time for homecoming! This is going to be a night to remember..."

Chapter 13: Fight or Flight
"Homecoming is ruined, Redfield has escaped... and Andy's been kidnapped!"

Chapter 14: In the Dark
"Your rescue plan becomes more dangerous when Redfield turns his former victims against you..."

Chapter 15: Everyone Plays Together
"Secrets come out and things turn deadly... during one last game with an old friend."

Chapter 16: In Memoriam
"One year later... how has life changed for the survivors, and how will the fallen be remembered?"

Nerve System
Unique to this story is a meter system calculating a character's nerve, which determines their mental resilience in the face of certain situations. Certain choices and events in the story will increase or decrease a character's nerve score. In Chapter 15, each character's final nerve score determines his or her fate in the battle against Jane, with a higher nerve score increasing a character's chances of survival.

Characters with this feature are the main character, Andy, Ava, Dan, Lily, Lucas, Noah, and Stacy. The following are the labels to the different nerve scores, measured out of 100: With the exception of Dan, everyone's Nerve skill starts at 100. Dan's Nerve starts at Rattled.
 * 91-100 = Tough as Nails
 * 66-90 = Coping
 * 51-65 = On Edge (All on edged characters or higher will be safe in the final battle)
 * 26-50 = Rattled (Some rattled characters can die in the final battle, although their fate depends on the exact amount of nerve they have)
 * 0-25 = Haunted (Any haunted character, except MC and Noah, will die in the final battle)

Collectibles
Similar to the Dossiers, Idols, and Embers of Hope in the Endless Summer series, the main character has the chance to collect artifacts, unlock weapons and recruit pets throughout the book that'll uncover the book's mystery, as well as unlock bonus scenes.

Spoilers

 * On October 19, 2017, Pixelberry released a blog post about this book.
 * On October 26, 2017, Pixelberry released the soundtracks of the book.
 * Chapter 15, the final chapter of the book, was initially meant to be released on January 17, 2018. However, it was reportedly delayed due to technical issues and thus the release date was pushed back by a week.
 * On February 1, 2018, Pixelberry shared the playlists of the It Lives team that inspired the writing and characters of It Lives in the Woods in Spotify.
 * Link to the Spotify playlist is found in the Reference section.
 * In a Twitter post on June 21, 2018, Pixelberry revealed that the inspiration for Hilda was a writer's (Kathleen) dog named Pippin.
 * On April 26, 2019, it was confirmed in the Insta livestream that It Lives shares the same universe with Bloodbound and Nightbound.

Trivia

 * The first two chapters were immediately released on its launch date instead of one. This started a trend for every new series, apart from Home for the Holidays, to launch two chapters instead of one on their premiere date.
 * This is the first book where the main character's fate can turn out deadly.
 * This is the first book that advised player discretion, mentioning that this book contains disturbing scenes, violence and bullying.
 * Although Chapter 6 of The Haunting of Braidwood Manor series featured themes of infanticide and suicide, it did not feature such a disclaimer. It should be pointed out however, that It Lives In The Woods is noticeably darker and gorier than The Haunting of Braidwood Manor.
 * Although scenes of bullying are also found in The Freshman series, the bullying in this story appears to focus on more sensitive issues such as transphobia and racism.
 * Additionally, the loading screen of several chapters advises player discretion because of the use of flashing lights.
 * A sequel was confirmed in the final chapter. The message stating, "It Lives...will return" seemed to point out that future books will take an anthology approach, with a similar setting and feel, but with different characters, a new title, a new plot, and a new supernatural entity.
 * In Chapter 2, Main Character mentions getting Stacy's phone number from FaceSpace, which is also a social media platform in the High School Story series. This strengthens the idea that all of Choices' series take place in one common universe.
 * In this chapter, Ava says "Fear me, I'm the Daywalker". The term Daywalker refers to vampires who are able to walk in the sun. An example for this is Rheya from the Bloodbound universe who is said to able to walk in the day.
 * In Chapter 4, Lily refuses to say Redfield's name and Main Character tells her he isn't Voldemort in reference to Harry Potter.
 * In Chapter 6, it is revealed that Dan suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), making the It Lives series the first Choices series to feature a protagonist diagnosed with a mental illness.
 * In Chapter 1 and Chapter 9, Main Character can make references to Spiderman by calling the Dan impersonation "Spiderman" and by asking about radioactive spiders. Main Character also asks about a magic strength potion in Chapter 9, likely a reference to Asterix.
 * In Chapter 12, Britney makes a reference to 10 Things I Hate About You when she says, "It reminded me that I don't hate you. Not even a little bit" to Lily.
 * In Chapter 15, in addition to determining how many of your friends survive the encounter with Jane through their nerve score, you can also choose to have Noah take Jane's place as the new Redfield or volunteer Main Character.
 * Also, a warning will pop up at the start of this chapter. Since the fate of you and your friends is decided in this chapter, you may experience graphic images and disturbing content (particularly if the nerve scores are too low).
 * Chapter 16 takes place one year after the events of Chapter 15. If Main Character and his/her love interest have survived, you can choose to officially start a relationship with them.
 * Chapter 14 reveals that the book's events take place over the course of two weeks, with Chapter 16 taking place a year later.
 * The "Fight or Flight" soundtrack has been used in other series, such as Bloodbound, Book 1, and Veil of Secrets - namely, during confrontations with villains.
 * Prior to the release of It Lives Beneath, the end title card just said that It Lives would return.
 * As of October 10, 2018, if players replay the book, the end title card has now changed to say: The Power rises again in It Lives Beneath, out now!
 * Chapter 13 shares the same chapter title as Perfect Match, Book 1, Chapter 10, and Desire & Decorum, Book 1, Chapter 14, "Fight or Flight".

Click here for the walkthrough of this book: It Lives In The Woods Choices.