Queer. Horror. Romance. Creepy forest. Evil Headmaster. Um yes!
Douglas fought hard for his innocence after his apartment building burned to the ground - killing over 10 people. Given an opportunity to have the charges dropped, his mom moves them to Regent Academy. Where the powerful are made.
The forest calls Douglas - monitored by the Everly family, Douglas agrees to take on a centuries old curse - bringing him closer to Everett Everly.
Creative, creepy read.

I really wanted to like this book, but I just really didn't. I expected more horror and less fantasy/magic and that's probably on me. The book felt really long and drawn out, and more like a social commentary than a fictional dark academia. Very much not for me.

Did not finish book. Stopped at 35%.

This book is trying to be spooky but I wasn't scared at all, I didn't believe in the MMC's motivations at all, and the magic was confusing when it was a major part of the story.

I forgot to leave a review for this, but I really enjoyed it! It's been out for ages, so I won't say much more than I need to for my star rating. <3

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

Rating: 3 stars

Review: personally I just couldn’t get into the story. The book just was not for me. It was written well and the characters were good but I couldn’t connect with plot.

**3.5-stars rounded up**

❤️💚🖤❤️💚🖤❤️💚🖤❤️💚🖤❤️💚🖤❤️

The first thing that attracted me to The Forest Demands Its Due was the stunning cover. It's 100% my go-to aesthetic. The colors, the imagery, even the font, I had to know what it was about. After reading the synopsis, I wanted it ASAP.

In this story, set in Winslow, a small town in rural-Vermont, we follow Douglas Jones, a recently enrolled student at the prestigious Regent Academy. Douglas differs from the other students. He's there because his Mom works there and he got in a bit of trouble elsewhere. He's a scholarship kid. He's not rich like the other kids, and really doesn't expect to get the same experience out of Regent as they do.

Douglas simply wants to keep his head down and quietly make it through the year. Unfortunately, some of his peers are bound to make that goal challenging.

Douglas is on edge at Regent as it is, but after the mysterious death of a fellow student, one which only he seems to remember, Douglas is more sure than ever that something is off at the ivory-towered school. When he meets Everett, the groundskeeper's son, and discovers that Everett remembers the murdered boy too, Douglas decides he needs to find the truth. What in the heck is going on at Regent?

In his search for answers, Douglas uncovers a giant horde of secrets kept by the locals. Not only that, he's awakened the horrific entity hiding at the heart of the forest surrounding the school.

Will Douglas be able to harness his inner power and defeat this formidable enemy before all of Winslow is destroyed? He doesn't know, but he's certainly going to try and his new friend, Everett, plans to be with him every step of the way.

This isn't a perfect book, but I did enjoy a lot of what the author created here. Douglas was great MC to follow and learn about. I loved his narrative voice. Additionally, the ideas behind the Horror elements were strong. I enjoyed the blending of Social Horror with the Folk Horror-evil forest elements. The private school setting was well done and Jackson successfully set an ominous tone from the start. I think this truly deserves a higher overall rating, which is why I decided to round up.

At the beginning, it was giving me heavy We Don't Swim Here vibes, which I enjoyed a lot, so that really helped to grab my attention early. The way Douglas was noticing things at Regent that other people either weren't noticing, or weren't admitting to noticing, was hella intriguing. It felt menacing and heavy. What was going on?

I will admit, some of the plot was hard to track, particularly towards the end when the pace increased. I think some of the confusion came from the magical elements. I never felt like I had a full grasp on the magic system. Overall though, I felt like the characters and setting were well done, and I enjoyed thinking about the different social topics explored.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys YA Social Horror, or Haunted Forest stories. Also, if you are looking for a Diverse, or Queer YA Horror read, this is a strong recommendation.

Thank you to the publisher, Quill Tree Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I am looking forward to reading more from Kosoko Jackson.

A YA horror book about a Black teen who discovers the sinister history of his boarding school and the corruption behind it.
🌳
Douglas Jones wants nothing to do with Regent’s king-making, but when a student is murdered and no one remembers his existence the next day, Douglas decides to find out what’s going on. In doing so he discovers a vengeful creature who wants blood as payment for a debt more than 300 years in the making or it will swallow the school into darkness.
🦌
This was definitely for fans of Get Out, Ace of Spades. I didn’t love it as much as I loved those, but if you’re into dark academia with monsters this one will definitely be for you!

CW: homophobia, homophobia slurs, racism, death of a parent (recounted), sexual assault, blood, death

2.5 ⭐️

Not for me. Loved the representation, though.

Ooooh shame on me for waiting so long to read this. The Forest Demands its Due was everything I want in a forest-bound dark fantasty (this book is definitely dark and creepy, but it's also definitely more fantasy than horror at its base) about a remote boarding school where things are very much Not Great. I loved the world building, I love that Jackson trusts their readers to just go with the flow and not need to have every single element of the curse or Douglas' abilities spelled out. I love the whole concept that undergirds the curse plotline, even though I can't explain exactly what I love without giving away the story. Just, honestly so good, and I hope everyone who loves "Bad Forest, No Bite" queer, gothic-flavored dark fantasy books gives The Forest Demands its Due a chance.

Overall I really liked this though could have used a little world building as I was sometimes unclear on characters got from point a to b.

I think the messaging is really good but not over the top and that teens will appreciate that.

The ending was satisfying but I would totally be interested in a sequel if there were to be one.

This book has EVERYTHING. Queer? CHECK. YA Dark Academia? Check. Fantasy/ Horror? Check. Diverse Cast of Characters with POC leads? Check. SECRETS AND DANGER LURKING BEHIND EVERY CORNER? CHEEEEEECKMATE.

UGH. PERFECTION. Like, Kosoko Jackson, did you find all the things that make me love a book and then WRITE it? Well, thank you! Because it was GREAT and SUPER deliciously interesting!

⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝘼 𝙔𝘼 𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙧/𝙛𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙨𝙮 𝙨𝙚𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙖𝙘𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙖 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙖 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙚𝙧 𝘽𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙪𝙥𝙩 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙡.

I always struggle with YA horror for some reason. Unfortunately, that was the case with this book.

I’ve read two other books by this author so I was already familiar with the writing style. While I thought the synopsis for this one sounded so interesting, I should’ve known I was going to struggle at times.

I have been enjoying more dark academia lately so I did love that this book included that. I, however, wasn’t expecting it to have a fantasy touch to it. That may have been what really brought it down for me.

While I think the characters were written well, especially Douglas, I think the horror elements weren’t as strong. Yes, the forest was super creepy, but I didn’t care too much for the overall mystery behind the disappearances.

Also, the pacing was a bit all over the place. It started off strong but dragged through the middle. There was also too much going on that at times I kept questioning what I was reading.

Overall, this was a fast-paced sort of YA horror/fantasy with dark academia vibes. I think others will enjoy this more than I did, but as a whole, the story was fun (for the most part).

Thank you so much NetGalley and Penguin Teen for the review copy in exchange for my honest review!

This is the most challenging type of book to review, because while it was pretty good, there were also some bits I really struggled with.

On the positive side, I really enjoyed the lore and the overall concept of generational curses and how that ties into a possessed forest. Jackson doesn't shy away from gore and shocking horror elements, which I really respect. I like Douglas as a protagonist and enjoyed many of the side characters as well. I found the story compelling enough that I wanted to keep reading it. Also enjoyed the queer romance - it's sweet and balances out the horror elements without distracting from the main storyline.

On the other hand, there are some elements that feel convenient or don't entirely make sense. I won't go into details because I don't want to post spoilers, but I never find reads incredibly satisfying if it feels like plot elements are unresolved or certain things just kinda worked out for one reason or another. I guess I just want every element to feel like its purpose was served and this book didn't really give me that. I put this book down feeling like I had fun reading it, but still had some questions about things that didn't quite add up.

All in all, a fun read that I know will find its audience with teen readers looking for something a little spooky, but with a ton of heart. Go into this one expecting a good time and let your eyes skim over the gaps and you'll be just fine.

Special thanks to Quill Tree Books for an ARC in exchange for review.

This seems a bit longer than necessary and I didn't really connect with the prose, making it difficult to pick this up, but I love the concept and will definitely look for more from this author.

Creepiness abounds at Douglas’ boarding school when a student is murdered and no one except one other student and Douglas seem to remember.

I didn’t get the creepiness/horror vibes I was expecting here! The story wasn’t bad but I wished the author had upped the creepiness vibes.

I think the beginning and the ending were very strong, but the middle dragged for me a bit. Now, I only say a bit because I was still intrigued and I wanted to find out what was going to happen. Though the overall plot of the story is so interesting and I loved how even though it was horror, we still got a little bit of romance!! I've already ordered this book for my library and I can tell that all of my young adult patrons are going to love this horror with a splash of fantasy.

Thank you for approving me for this arc.

I always enjoy reading books that surprise me. This was one of those reads. Really liked the beginning and ending. Books that take place around the academia setting. The middle of the story dragged at times but overall, I enjoyed the story.

Though I expected this book's setting to be mostly the school, it took us through a travesty through the forest. A cursed town and power play that challenges the MC to rise up to the challenge. I really liked this book, it did not hold back on horror. The romance was slow but meaningful to me.
Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.

Douglas Jones is a student at the prestigious Regent Academy, located in the small town of Winslow, Vermont. Regent is a school that shapes the next generation of leaders, but something is wrong there--the school is surrounded by a dark forest that every student knows to stay out of, a forest that talks to Douglas. When a student is murdered, Douglas suddenly realizes that he is the only person who can remember him, aside from Everett Everley, the groundkeeper's son. Trying to uncover the truth, Douglas becomes involved in the dark history of Winslow: the web of secrets, revenge, corruption, and magic three hundred and fifty years in the making.

This was marketed as dark academia, but I really can't see it after reading this. So much of the story revolves around the forest that you don't get any of the characteristics associated with dark academia other than there's an elite private school and something is wrong with it. So I don't know if this is the book you want if you're looking for that classic dark academia vibe, but I really enjoyed this book! Jackson blended fantasy and horror very well, to the point where I would almost consider this fantasy with some body horror involved. The descriptions were vivid and captivating, even when they were so gross I actually made a face at the book. The queer romance was very nicely done. The pacing, however, was a bit off. The beginning is okay, the middle meanders and feels repetitive, and the end feels like entire chapters have been ripped out. The book also seems like it begins in the middle of the story, as its revealed pretty early on that Douglas has been hearing voices from the forest since he arrived eight months earlier. The ending doesn't really explain how Douglas lives--one moment he's dying in the forest and in the next he's in town fixing a house--which was quite jarring and unsatisfying. I definitely think this book could have benefitted from firmer plot outlining and a reduction of about 40-50 pages, just to weed out the repetitiveness of the middle. The resolution felt a bit rushed as well. And just as a note, I hated Douglas making his mom forget him.

3.5, rounded to 4 stars

Content warning: bullying, racism, generational trauma, gaslighting, body horror, murder

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

I really enjoyed the premise of this story and the Jackson expertly crafts various layers to this dark academia/cursed small town that allows for multiple "bad guys" and betrayals. I was fully on board with the vibe of THE FOREST DEMANS ITS DUE and as someone who has grown up with the quiet woods of New England in their backyard, I fully believe that there is some truth to the powers and beings that Douglas discovers hidden in the forests of Winslow, VT.

One thing I wish Jackson had given readers though was chapters from Everett's point of view. I found myself wanting to know more about him, his sister, and to spend more time in the experiences of the townsfolk living under the curse for generations.

Overall this will be a great title to suggest to teen readers during spooky season and I think it'll turn into being a book to bridge the gap between YA and Adult horror books for older teens.

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley, HarperCollins Children's Books, and Quill Tree Books in exchange for an honest review.