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 - Untitled Sequel.

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

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?"

Gameplay Features
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 titles to the different nerve scores:
 * Full = Tough as Nails
 * 3/4 = Coping
 * Half Full = On Edge (All on edged characters will be safe in the final battle)
 * 1/4 = Rattled (Some rattled characters will die in the final battle)
 * Empty = Haunted (Any haunted character will die in the final battle)

Soundtracks
For the soundtracks, visit the official Soundtracks page.

Trivia

 * Similarly to Red Carpet Diaries, the first two chapters were immediately released on its launch date instead of one.
 * 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" and the "Endless Summer" series, the bullying in this story appears to focus on more sensitive issues such as transphobia and racism.
 * This is the first new official title in Choices' new "SPOOKY THRILLS" genre, a long with The Sophomore: Hartfeld Horror Story . The Freshman: Love Bites and "The Haunting of Braidwood Manor" were retroactively added to this genre.
 * You have the chance to collect several artifacts throughout the story which reveal more about the mystery and unlock bonus scenes, similar to the Clues, Dossiers and Catalyst Idols in Endless Summer.
 * On October 26th, 2017, Pixelberry released the soundtracks of the series.
 * It was originally assumed that this story would follow the tradition of "The Haunting of Braidwood Manor" series, as it was originally posted as one book. However, an untitled sequel was confirmed in the final chapter. The message stating, "It Lives...will return" seems to point out that future books will take an anthology approach, with a similar setting and feel, but with different characters and a new plot.
 * In Chapter 2,  your character  mentions getting Stacy's phone number from FaceSpace, which is also a social media site in  High School Story, giving evidence that this book takes place in the same universe as every other book in Choices.
 * This is the first Choices book to feature a protagonist diagnosed with a mental illness. In Chapter 6, it is revealed that Dan suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
 * Chapter 12 pays homage to the 1999 film 10 Things I Hate About You, when Britney says to Lily that she hates the way she doesn't hate her (Lily); not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all.
 * On January 15, 2018 it was announced that the new chapter for It Lives In The Woods would be delay a week and not premiere till January 25, 2018.
 * This is the first book where you can decide the fate of your own character. In addition to determining how many of your friend survive Chapter 15 through their Nerve score, you can choose to have Noah take Jane's place as Redfield or volunteer yourself.
 * Chapter 16 takes place one year after the events of Chapter 15. If your character and their love interests survived, you can choose to have officially started a relationship with Andy, Stacy, Connor, Lucas, or Ava.