I got an ARC of this book.

I DNFed around 100 pages in. It wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't for me. I was super interested for the first couple of chapters, but by the time the murders were revealed and the supernatural stuff started I was completely checked out. I am pretty sure it was me. I really enjoyed another book by this author and I knew I was pushing it by trying this one because of the more thriller/mystery genre of it.

I loved how close the MC and his mom were. I loved how he heard voices. I loved so much about the set up of the book, but it just didn't hold my attention which is my issue with the thriller/mystery sort of genre as a whole. Very rarely does one actually keep me hooked.

The set-up really does match the cover, so if you like the cover I suggest giving it a shot!

A mysterious elite school with a cursed history, a murderous forest god, and students going missing, can a seventeen year old queer student break the curse and possibly find love before the forest or school kills him? When Douglas Jones is framed for the murder of 12 people and is offered the best help from a lawyer in exchange that he attends the elite Regent Academy, he has no choice to but to accept. Regent Academy is a school located in an area surrounded by forest and has a mysterious history involving the fact that descendants of those who work and attend this school had killed the lover of an old god and the god angered cursed them and cursed the forest, and now students are forbidden from entering the forest.... because something lives in there and it demands its due. Regent Academy is for the wealthy and elite, and being a queer black teen is definitely going to make him stand out. Douglas just wants to get by but it's hard when everyone has it out for him. Yet when students begin disappearing and everyone seems to have forgotten the, Douglas still remembers them... and so does Everett, the groundskeeper's son. Soon Douglas finds himself pulled into the world of Everett and the curse of the school. Only Douglas can find way to break the curse, but if he fails, everyone will die and be forgotten. He'll have to venture into the deadly forest filled with creatures out for blood and a vengeful spirit, and he has to find a way to break the curse, yet when the truth is revealed, who is the true monster behind it all? This was definitely a fun read, it's got a dark academia setting, a small town curse, and a sweet love story between two outcast. The curse was interesting and the ending was a really sweet one that I liked. Douglas was dealing with so much yet he was so courageous and brave for doing what he did and putting his life on the line. It's got a fun forest horror element but overall it was a really fun curse breaking romance story filled with a few forest monsters!

*Thanks Netgalley and HarperCollins Children's Books, Quill Tree Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Although I did not feel the plot was very original and there were moments in the middle of the book where things dragged, this kept my interest. The main character is a good guy, a bit snarky, and very full of being from the wrong side of the tracks in an elite Vermont school. This is more gothic than horror with a decent romance and a lot of heart.

Story: Douglas receives an invitation to an elite prep school hidden in Vermont - one that he has no choice to attend after some mysterious circumstances happened to him. His temper has got him into trouble before and his mother, who will also work at the school as a nurse, hopes this is a new start. But when a fellow student is murdered yet no one (not even his mother who treated the dying boy) remembers, Douglas begins to suspect there is much more to the academy than he had been told. Worse, the forest is speaking to him and he is afraid of what it wants from him.

So we have the usual unique snowflake who will not be told much about his situation but will hopefully figure it out in time to save the world (or the school) with his unique snowflake ability. The school and its staff are mysterious enough though it does feature too much of the dumb annoying adult trope. Douglas' mother is nice enough but doesn't have much to do, leaving the rest of the adults to be annoying, evil, or dense. There is a decent lore story here though in the denouement does seem a bit cartoony.

In all, a decent and easy read that has a decent lead character and romance. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

A dark academia, horror fantasy? Sign me up!

I didn’t know what to expect going into reading this, but it has a bit of everything. Douglas is a fantastic main character. He’s strong and doesn’t quit, and even though he doesn’t think too highly of himself because of past mistakes, he’s a good man who tries to do what’s right.

Regent is corrupt, from the top down. But the corruption is deep and twisted, and that is where the magic of the story lies. It’s carefully constructed; the more you learn, the harder it is to put the story down. I would love to read more of Emma down the road. She has a strength beyond her years and has a story just waiting to be told.

Jackson is a fantastic writer. I highlighted so much while reading this that I feel will stay with me for a long time.

This was good. I liked it. It was very different from what I expected na different from anything I’ve read before.

I felt the pacing was a little off at some points. The ending felt hopeful but depressing? I would love to see the monsters though. They sounded so cool!

Thank you Kosoko Jackson, HarperCollins, and NetGalley for the eARC for my honest review!

The Forest Demands Its Due by Kosoko Jackson releases Oct 3, 2023!

Read a NetGalley eARC
Content warning: “f” slur thrown at main character, death, body horror, gore, blood, dead parent (father), arson, racism, classism

Douglas Jones has a chance to turn his life around after an accidental fire evicts him and his mother and leaves several neighbors dead. This reformation comes through Regent Academy, a prestigious school deep in the Vermont woods that might be literally trading blood for power.

There’s magic, there’s sequences that will delight fans of Annihilation (2018), and nightmare sequences pulled out of an A24 horror.

Douglas is such a good bean. He tries his best but sometimes his own ego and the eldritch horror stalking him get in the way. There’s a complexity to his character where he keeps an eye on the greater good and keeping the people he cares about safe, but still gives into his impulses when his pride is wounded. There is so much stacked against him, and the narrative never keeps its foot off the pedal when it comes to threats both magical and rooted in reality. There’s a thoughtful approach to how much institutions like Regent would prey on students like Douglas, even without the curses and hauntings.

Speaking of Regent Academy, my favorite thing in dark academia is when the academia is the darkness, not quite simply murders happening at a school. Jackson toes this line with the nightmare that is the stipulations around Douglas’s presence at the school alongside the literal bloodshed. I found myself wincing at some of the destruction the monsters wreak on the grounds, but it’s not out of just malice, but a rot that’s up to Douglas to resolve, else he loses this prestigious opportunity that he never asked for.

The story that unfolds is stressful because it’s turtles all the way down in terms of conspiracy. When Douglas takes two steps forward in breaking the curse, there’s a step taken back in terms of progress. This tug and pull of tension and discovery makes this for a fast paced read, especially as loyalties new and old get tested, and to say anything more would be entering spoiler territory.

A solid dark academia, dark fantasy, and horror blend centering a Black gay boy navigating a system designed for him to fail in ways both grounded in reality and unhinged in the supernatural.

I am not a big horror or fantasy fan, but I enjoyed this YA book more than I expected to--primarily because of its relentless pace. The author draws you in from the first page and never lets you go.

Alot of bad things happen in the forest, and on the Regent private school campus, and even in the world at large here. There is an undercurrent of dread in every scene.

The protagonist is one of the students, Douglas Jones, who goes on a quest into the forest accompanied by his sidekick and love interest, Everett, and Everett's sister, in an attempt to lift a centuries-old curse on the town of Winslow. The book is kind of an Into the Woods/Lord of the Rings mash-up. I'm not sure I fully followed the rationale for what was g0ing on. LOTS of violence. it was an interesting departure from the last book I read by this author, I'm So Not Over You. Nice to see an author writing in a different genre and with a very different pace.

The Forest Demands Its Due is a YA horror-ish/fantasy novel that centers around Douglas Jones, a queer Black boy who is a student at Regent Academy. When a student is murdered on campus, Douglas remembers the boy while everyone else forgets him completely. This kicks off a tale of mystery, centuries-old secrets, and a vengeful spirit who has a 300 year old grudge to settle.

Jackson is a master of atmosphere in this book. The forest setting was just as eerie and spooky as it needed to be, and it really felt like there were ancient secrets hanging from every branch on every tree. Jackson created a perfect gothic setting to tell this story. The book also delivered strong, thought out characters. From a 17 year old high school student to a 300 year old creature, each was convincingly brought to life as the story progressed.

Where the story got away from me a little bit was the pacing of things. The plot started out very slowly, ramped up incredibly quickly, and then sort of abruptly dropped us into the ending. Douglas' relationship with Everett, the groundskeeper's son and a part of the forest's debt to be paid, also developed in a confusing way. The boys' relationship took a while to build up and then they suddenly never wanted to be parted. Boys, please, you're high school seniors. The last tiniest gripe from me is that, at times, the dialogue felt a little stilted and forced; this could just be a 'me' problem, as I find it very distracting when a character constantly refers to the one other character they're speaking to by their name, which happened quite a lot throughout the book.

Also the cover? Utter perfection!

I really do think that readers of YA horror will love and appreciate what Jackson has done here. Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children’s Books/Quill Tree Books for the Arc of this book!

I would like to thank Harper Collins for providing me with an ARC.

Normally I love Kosoko Jackson's work. Jackson has really strong books and narratives that I love reading. I was super excited when I saw that a horror novel by Jackson was about to come out. The cover is really intriguing and so is the premise. However, this book didn't feel as strong as his other books. I still really enjoyed this book, but there were elements present that I didn't enjoy as much. The pacing felt off throughout the book. I also didn't feel like the relationships between characters were the strongest. Even with my issues, I'd still recommend checking out this book. It's a quick read with a great atmosphere

Wow! What an incredibly powerful story about how hate and discrimination can cause deep generational trauma wounds.

Douglas is at a new predominantly white boarding school after some stuff went down at his previous home. Douglas’ mom is the school nurse-one day he sees her trying to patch up a kid that was found in the woods with huge injuries to his torso. The next day the kid is no where to be found and no one even remembers that he existed except for Douglas and the groundskeepers kid Everett. Douglas is now on a journey to figure out what is happening at this school and how to end the curse.

I loved the way this was written with magic and mystery was woven into the world building. The characters were flawed and figuring out what it means to be a good person. It has romance and it fit well with the plot and also Everett and Douglas were sooo cute together.

This was a great read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for an eARC.

After a tragic fire kills the families in Douglas Jones' apartment complex, he is charged with murder.  Luckily, a good lawyer takes his case and offers Douglas and his mom a chance to start fresh at Regent Academy in Winslow, Vermont.  With an offer that seemed too good to be true, Douglas becomes the only black student at Regent.  Upon arrival, Douglas is warned not to go into the Atolas forest bordering the school, but that is difficult for Douglas since the forest seems to be speaking to him since he arrived.  After a student wanders into the forest and dies, everyone at the school forgets the student except for Douglas and Everett Everley, the son of the school groundskeeper. Douglas soon learns of a curse upon the town of Winslow and the descendants of the families that participated in a cruel act 300 years ago, an ancient vengeful god and the magic in the forest.  Douglas' abilities mean he is able to break the curse, but as Douglas learns more about the god, Etaliein and his story, Douglas doesn't believe that killing him is the answer anymore.

The Forest Demands Its Due is an immersive Young Adult horror with an intriguing mystery and wonderful characters.  I was pulled in from the beginning with Douglas hearing the forest and seeing a classmate injured in the forest only to have everyone forget about him the next day.  The writing engrossed me in the small town of Winslow, Vermont with the foreboding Atolas forest and formidable Regent Academy.  Douglass doesn't exactly fit in to Winslow, his past, his race and his lifestyle are all different, but the forest seems to reach out to him. I was really interested in the history of Winslow, the god of the forest, Etaliein and how the curse began.  As Douglas digs for answers, the mystery of the forest unravels, but I do wish there was more context and we could know Etalein before tragedy struck.  I enjoyed seeing Douglas and Everett's relationship grow as they went into the forest together.  The magic of the forest was captivating along with the Perversions and Emissaries, the creatures that protected the forest.  I loved that Douglas was able to help end the curse in his own unique way that shows that love can overcome.  





This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

Oh this was fun!! As we finally get into the beginnings of fall, this is the perfect book to curl around with and enjoy. It’s a dark academia novel and it really lives up to its name. If you love boarding schools, if you love years old curses and monsters and mystery’s that continue to haunt those around them, please pick this one up. I also adored the main character Douglas and going on this both fun and spooky adventure with him!

THOUGHTS

This book wasn't what I expected it to be, and I'm conflicted about it. I fell in love with Kosoko Jackson's brutal horror style in other stories, and while this book does have touches of that, it doesn't quite embrace horror entirely. And that will mean it is never one of my favorite Kosoko Jackson pieces.


PROS
Demonic Forest: What can I say? I've said it so many times this year, but I'm a sucker for a creepy forest. This forest feels ancient, the kind that can harbor some unspeakable eldritch horror. It feels like blood and guts and goosebumps because something is always watching you. You can't trust your senses... or can you? Anyway, Jackson nailed it.

Insular Community: There's just something about an unsettling plot unfolding in a small town. This book might not be exactly a "locked room" mystery, but it still has the feel of one. This is a small world, a world of milkshakes and motorbikes, boarding school and diner dinners. It's all very close and compact. It feels claustrophobic in the best way.

Restoration: Though I won't spoil anything about this book, I will say that one of the things that makes it lean from the horror realm into the fantasy realm is its undercurrent of hope. There are dark, brutal, and gory things that happen in this book, but it is underpinned by a sense of goodness, justice, and hope to bring all things right. And I really, really liked that.


CONS
Fantasy: Though I was pleasantly surprised by the underpinnings of hope here, I was still disappointed that this book is more fantasy than horror. Just because I went into it expecting the horror that Jackson has provided before. Others definitely won't feel the same as me, because this is more the case of dashed expectations than an actual flaw with the book itself.

Present Tense: I'm not a person who has a particular tense I prefer books to be written in. Whatever serves the story best works. Here, the problem wasn't the present tense. The problem was that I would get pulled out of the story because of the present tense. Because something didn't quite feel right. Constructions would be awkward, and that was to its detriment.

Fleshless Characters: I don't mean "fleshless" in the sense that these characters lost their flesh (though, reader be warned, some of them most certainly do). I mean that, aside from Douglas and perhaps Everett (though that's pretty debatable), everybody feels a little... flat. I wasn't connected to any of them. The plot was too big, too spooky, and so the characters got swallowed by it. I didn't get a chance to grow attached to any of them. I didn't even get to know any of them.


Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
7/10
Fans of Susan Dennard's The Luminaries will love this new foggy forest full of nightmares. Those who loved Elizabeth Kilcoyne's Wake the Bones will appreciate this new small town laced with eldritch horror.

Thank you, NetGalley, Harper Collins Children's Books, Quill Tree Books and Kosoko Jackson for providing me with an eARC of The Forest Demands Its Due for review.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Available 3 October 2023🎉🎉🎉

I read most of this story on my 30-hour journey from Melbourne to London. Now anyone running the maths on that would realise that the maths is not mathing. Turns out that I struggle to read on an aeroplane 😅😅😅. I say this to frame that I don't think that the book was difficult just that I read it in a difficult environment so I am trying to be very objective in this review.

This story is very interesting and I enjoyed the plot. I found Douglas to be very likable and the romance to be interesting. I really enjoyed Part 4 - it was wonderful.

I think that my main criticism is that it just needed an edit. I think that the story could have been just as strong at 50 pages less.

PERFECTION!

Wow, Kosoko Jackson genre jumps with EASE! This was the perfect mix of horror, fantasy, mystery, romance and coming of age. I adored Douglas and was heartbroken for his constant pain at Regent Academy. I was suspicious of certain people from the jump, but Kosoko delicately wove a fun mystery so that I was on the edge of my seat for the entire book!

I loved the weaving in of gods and the themes of how history has cursed the present, and what we must do in order to move forward. What a powerful, beautiful book, and I loved the tension and banter between Everett and Douglas -- I was rooting for those cuties!!!

I'll absolutely read whatever Kosoko publishes in the future. This was so good and I need a movie now!

I'm living for this spooky book. This was such a great book it gave me all the scary feels while keeping me engaged in the story.

A solid 3.5 that I'll round up because the weak points in the book aren't from lack of trying to do something big. The horror vibes are definitely there, from a curse on a town to a forest that swallows up anyone who ventures in range of the monstrous creatures that prowl within to the systemic racism and homophobia of power structures. They're not woven together perfectly, but it's more than enjoyable and a gripping read once it gets going.

I wish a little more was done with Douglas as an unreliable narrator - he doesn't trust himself or his mind at the start, which gives him the biggest piece of his insecurities and fears, and we see him shed that as he learns more about the forest, but aside from a couple events that aren't really plot or character-relevant, once he learns there's more going on at Regent than they want the general populace to know, it's more of a "oh okay I was right" than a character piece. Which is fine, but with the focus on it at the beginning, it feels like it was abandoned as a characterization fairly quickly.

At the heart of the story is the forest (of course). The tales and the allegory of the history that gets to be written when anyone who would refute it are either dead or cowed into submission. The callous use of lives by those in power to get and keep their positions, the internal assurance that this is what they're owed, and those that have to work outside of the system. There's a great weaving of societal horror with dark fantasy in the forest, the importance of knowing history, of breaking cycles of trauma, that Jackson does very well.

This was a great book for the upcoming spooky season. I could not put it down. I do think that parts of the story will take some getting used to. I know that I struggled a little. But once I started really getting into the story I was hooked.

Wow, what did I read?!?!?! I'm trying to get more into this genre as I don't read many books within it and this one has me HOOKED. I absolutely cannot believe half of what happened in this story. I truly hope there will be more than one book because I need more!

I have such mixed feelings about this book.

First, let me say that the cover got it into my head that it was a horror, and the tags suggest that it’s a thriller, both of which are inaccurate. It’s definitely more of a dark fantasy novel than anything else. That’s not a commentary on the novel itself, obviously, but I had to adjust my expectations a couple of times along the way.

As far as the story itself: I liked it just fine up until about two thirds of the way through. In addition to being a ‘chosen one’ narrative, there were some cool descriptions, and some allegories about system racism.

Unfortunately, the climax of the story left me puzzled, because the magical action-adventure components pretty abruptly ended, only to be followed with a few chapters of monologues from various characters. Then the denouement included a number of details that completely eliminated most of the stakes from earlier in the book, which for me undermined the point that I think Jackson was going for. It made the ending have a weirdly middle-grade feel.

I liked the message of this book, and Douglas was a solid protagonist, but the finale derailed the action of the story, and I ended up frustrated by the way a couple of things were handled.

On the other hand, the descriptions were super cinematic, and I think a cursed boarding school makes for a great setting in which to talk about systemic privilege and class disparity. And the monsters were really cool! So I’m going with an average of my wildly fluctuating takeaways and hoping that this book finds its way into the hands of the right readers.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.