This is a beautiful and haunting gothic-fantasy story about an obsessive relationship between two teenage boys at a boarding school that is surrounded by a chilling mystery. I really enjoyed this book, actually a lot more than I thought I would. The writing is absolutely beautiful and Drews is really able to create this eerie setting that is a perfect place for this creepy story. I loved how the MC (Andrew) isn't this perfectly strong person who immediately knows how to save the day. There is this sense that something is incredibly wrong (outside of the main conflict) that he is oblivious to and adds even more suspense to the story. He really has to fight and work towards becoming strong and helping the other characters. As someone who also suffers from anxiety/social anxiety, I really loved seeing a MC that also struggles with these issues in a very realistic way. While I was able to guess the mystery Andrew was oblivious too, it was still really satisfying to see the reveal and how it connects to the rest of the story.
I always really enjoy stories about obsessive relationships--there's just something about the emotions the author's are able to convey that really get to me--and this story did an amazing job of this. Not only do we see the mental reliance Andrew has on Thomas, but we also see a crazy mental decline when their relationship is strained. The fantasy is very interesting, but isn't overwhelming. Yes it is very important to the story, but it seems much more like a vehicle for us to see the relationship develop between Thomas and Andrew and to see Andrew's wavering mental state. The only negative thing I can say is I really wish we could have seen more scenes between Thomas and Andrew, specifically from the previous year. I just wanted a bit more insight into their relationship and how exactly Andrew developed such a dependent mindset. However, what we were given was beautiful.

This is an absolutely heart-wrenching (literally and figuratively) book that made me question my sanity and beautifully utilized stories and art as symbols for devouring, consumptive monsters. The main conflict between Andrew and Thomas was set up wonderfully, and I was continually on the edge of my seat worried about where the story would take them (and that ending! I will never be able to get over it). The interactions and subplots that occurred with other characters (Dove, Thomas’ parents, Lana) felt a little strange (although that seems to be by design) and the plot points with them felt mostly unsolved by the end. The interaction of the story with nature was done beautifully, and the descriptions of it overtaking Andrew’s body were visceral and powerful. All in all, one of my favorite books! I’ll definitely be rereading it as well - it just has to be appreciated for its gory artistry!

This review makes references to the story, but does not contain any plot spoilers.
I really enjoyed this book from the cover art (beautiful!) to the concept. I overall enjoyed the fact that the story brought up themes of mental health, anxiety, queerness, bullying, etc. Now, with all the great reviews, I'm here to provide some thoughts on what I think didn't work the best.

I kept having to remind myself that the characters were in fact high school seniors, and not freshmen or eighth graders. Maybe this is common, but I haven't read a YA book set in high school in some time because they're generally not my favorite, but I thought the characters just acted younger than they were supposed to be, making me feel the book would be better for a younger audience than intended.

The queerness. I'm not sure if I can adequately put into words what I didn't like about this aspect but I'll try. I think the scenes where there was queer representation and conversations felt like the scenes were written separately and then sporadically shoved into different sections of the book. They felt removed and forced to me. One of the characters struggles with being asexual and says they don't have crushes because of this. This is just a bad representation of what it is to be ace and I think it could have been portrayed better.

The ending. I feel like when we finally got to the big reveal at the end, it was AT THE END. There were like 5 pages left of the story at that point. Sure, we all saw it coming by that point, but for the story progression I feel like it should have taken place earlier so there was more time to wrap things up nicer at the end, instead of have 5 pages of text afterward to explain the reveal, and then wrap up the story. Sort of. The story does NOT end with everything tied up, so if that's your kind of story, don't go for this. It leaves you figuring out what happened on your own.

Overall I still really enjoyed the book. But I always find the "dislikes" more helpful when reading reviews, so here are mine. 3.5 rounded to 3.

A hauntingly beautiful read that was impossible to put down. The author’s way of creating imagery & the depth all the characters she created only added to the experience while reading. I can’t wait to get a physical copy once they release!

Don't Let the Forest In follows a senior at boarding school who is struggling with his mental health and crush on his roommate and best friend all while the world is beginning to change around him in a very sinister way.
This is one of those books where I knew where it was heading generally, but I was still surprised with the turn. And for that, I loved it. It is Wednesday meets We Were Liars meets Summer's Edge. It was wild and confusing in that way that horror can sometimes be because a good horror author just throws you in. CG Drews is giving "There will be no further explanation. There will just be reputation." Another one of my favorite parts was how the setting was a character in itself. The boarding school comes alive and the forest breathes in a way that gives the story such a gothic and intense feeling as you're reading.
I can't wait to hear other people's interpretations when they read this book because I have not been able to stop thinking about the ending and what I think truly happened. I need to know how other people took the last page. What really happened???

I receive a copy of this book from NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review.

I am currently experiencing a grief I am not accustomed to and decided to escape into this story. This story, which is so full of grief and longing and regrets and everything to sum up my numbness, with the most hauntingly beautiful imagery I can picture.

I was so consumed by this, that for a while I forgot how true it is that the monsters are real and they live inside all of us. How we deal with them is up to our own choices.

I definitely felt like I was lost in a dream within these pages. How much is real? It’s left with the empty confusion that comes with the very feeling of losing someone.

I needed this, at this exact time. Beautiful and tragic. And worth every minute spent and every stray thought that brings you back to it.

I review this book as part of my work on the Printz committee, but I due to committee policy I cannot share my specific thoughts or opinions here. I have rated it 5 stars because I am required to rate the book for this program, but please note this does not reflect my actual rating. I just want to thank you for providing this book for review!

This is a no spoilers review!

This was the first ARC I was approved for in NetGalley and as such, I'll always be extremely thankful to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group. I was so excited to be given this chance and really enjoyed reading this book. I finished it in about 3-4 days.

What drew me: The blurb for this book starts off with beautifully poetic lines. Throughout the book, there are intermitted poetic lines that are just absolutely beautiful to read and I am a fan of the way some of those lines are formatted. They were written the way you might find in a poem, rather than just straight up prose, and added to the meaning of the words. I love when authors do this.

The author skillfully put me into a tense realistic atmosphere where the extraordinary could be real and both sides were haunting in different ways.

Characters: They are well fleshed out and individualized well. You know clearly what drives them, what hurts them, what they need to grow in, what kind of habits they have and how they behave. They were very distinct from each other and I found myself invested very early on because of the main character's feelings.

Plot & Pacing: From the beginning I was attracted to the world the author drew and wanted to keep reading. I never had to "pull through" or force myself to continue, which I was immensely thankful for since this was an ARC read and I was committed to finishing it regardless. The pacing was well done throughout most of the entire novel but the ending and resolution was very very short. I really wish there was more, but the acknowledgements section makes it clear, the author deliberately finished the book this way. Perhaps it is a sign the book was good because I really wanted to hear more about the conclusion for the characters. I wasn’t ready for it to end.

Audience: I find this novel fitting for YA, as it is scary but not too scary, more haunting than anything else. The love is very innocent, which I also liked.

Writing: The writing is simple yet deep and moving. My feelings became the main character's and I felt I was in his world, which was painful and haunting. The vocabulary fits for YA. But sometimes the beautiful descriptions were confusing because it wasn't always clear what was an allegory and what was really happening, since there are fantastical things happening. It was clear enough that I was able to discern it, but I did have to double back at times because of this to check and make sure I was reading it right.

First line is a winner: “It hasn’t hurt, the day he had cut out his own heart.”

I re-read and flipped thru again knowing the ending, and the foreshadowing is delicately hidden and allusive. Not too much to be obvious but on a second read over you can tell it was on purpose.

Overall: I really enjoyed reading this book and can recommend others read it too. The only cons were some of the adjectives were very repetitively used such as "rot" which is in there many times (but the situations did call for it so I'm not sure there was any other way to describe it) and the very short conclusion. I really wish there was more and that we had gotten a longer picture of the resolution, but again, it was the author's intention so I guess this is more of a personal preference thing.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!
“It was the witching hour and Thomas held a sketchbook and Andrew gripped the hatchet.”
Holy cow, what a beautiful and nightmarish read! At the heart of it, this is a love story, but it can be hard to remember that when nearly every page is filled with secrets, anxiety, and monstrous horrors. It was nice to see so many characters from the LGBTQ+ community included in the story; as well as mental health. This is one of those haunting stories that will stick with readers for a long time.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC.

First off, the writing in this book was so good! The dark fairytalesque imagery seeped into my skin, making me a part of the story as I was reading it.

I gave it 4 stars only because there were a few scenes that weren’t really needed to progress the story. They took me a bit out of the flow of the beautiful, bloody, monstrous tale that was this book.

There were so many times I was inspired by the imagery cast in this story. So many times my heart was torn to shreds by the love between these 2 very broken beautiful boys. Definitely recommend reading!

Psychological horror at its best. The boys are well written and the creatures remind me of the witches from Madoka Magica in that they seem so otherworldly and different from everything around them.

I don’t really know how to describe this book.
Don’t Let the Forest In, by CG Drews, has left me utterly speechless and full of questions. However, I’m also left with a feeling of completeness, which is strange for a book that has a very open ending. In a way, I think this book is like a beautiful hallucination, like everyone who read it only imagined they were.
In short, this book felt like a horrifying, bloody, and utterly romantic dream.
Don’t Let the Forest In follows our main character, Andrew Perrault, who is in an upsetting and confusing state of change. He is struggling with his sexuality, his attraction to his best friend, and the ever-increasing state of anxiety he is in.
The only two people who are able to protect and calm Andrew are his twin sister, Dove, and best friend, Thomas Rye, who have been by his side for years.
However, things take a turn when Andrew returns for his last year of high school at Wickwood Academy. Thomas is acting strange and paranoid, while Dove is avoiding Andrew and seems increasingly upset about his association with Thomas. Andrew soon discovers that Thomas is grappling with nightmarish monsters made of the forest near the school and soon joins in to help protect those he loves from these creatures.
However, is any of it actually real?
Starting with the characters in this book, I must say that each one seemed designed as an extension of our main character, Andrew. He is anxious, confused, and uncertain about who he is and what he wants. I loved to see these aspects represented in such a book, but what I loved most about his character is that he is asexual. Representation of this is hard, and what most don’t know is how isolated and unwanted asexuals can feel. CG Drews presents Andrew’s confusion about being ace very carefully and deliberately.
It was handled with a lot of care, and I think many teens will be able to relate to Andrew’s struggles in this way.
As I said before, the side characters seemed designed to be an extension of Andrew. Dove was someone we read about a few times but seemed to exist solely as a comfort for Andrew. She, as his twin, was literally created to be a full extension of him. In a way, I saw her as a hidden side of Andrew. Carefully put together and extremely honest.
She seemed a lot like she was a part of Andrew, that manifested as a side character.
Thomas, too, felt that way. His wildness and fighting nature felt like they were aspects of Andrew realized as a character to help balance out the three sides of him.
Andrew himself, Dove, his twin, and Thomas, his wildly brave best friend.
All felt like parts of one main character split into three pieces.
Discussing the villain, there is no true understanding of who that is. Is it Bryce Kane, Andrew’s bully? Is it the monsters in the woods? Is it Andrew himself?
There is no clear answer or representation. All I know is that, at times, everyone in this book felt like a villain. Even Andrew appeared to me as a villain when reading his story. We couldn’t trust his own thoughts or what he was saying, just as we could not trust Dove or Thomas.
Moving to the plot, I don’t exactly know how to describe it. Many themes and emotions are so deeply woven into the lore that it is impossible to sort through everything.
We have horror, which is represented in Andrew’s terrifying stories, and the manifestation of these stories into monsters made of trees and plants. We have romance, personified in Andrew’s desperate and possessive love for Thomas Rye. We also have action, thriller, and so many more genres splashed amongst these pages.
It all feels like some sort of fever dream.
Even Drews’ writing seems plucked straight from my dreams or, perhaps, my nightmares.
Drews utilizes dark imagery and captivating metaphors to describe Andrew’s anxiety and grapple with himself. Her writing style is extremely fresh and unique, with just enough horror and strangeness to make us question whether we are even reading a book. At times, everything felt so real, and putting down this story was impossible. Everything that occurred, as described in Drews’ haunting words, felt real to me.
But was it?
In the end, I was left confused yet fulfilled. The ending of this book is not conventional at all. It relies heavily on imagery and the reader’s own understanding and perception of the story to make conclusions. What happened to Thomas and Andrew, whose love seems fated to fail? What about Dove, who makes so few appearances yet is so crucial to understanding the book, and, in a way, Andrew? There are so many things left unanswered and unexplored. Even the existence of these monsters is put into question.
Is any of it real at all?
There is no obvious answer.
But, there is one thing I know. Don’t Let the Forest In is captivating and tenderly, yet brutally, beautiful. This is a book I will not be forgetting soon.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘤𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘴 𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘤 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸

ᴏɴᴄᴇ ᴜᴘᴏɴ ᴀ ᴛɪᴍᴇ, ᴀɴᴅʀᴇᴡ ʜᴀᴅ ᴄᴜᴛ ᴏᴜᴛ ʜɪꜱ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ɢɪᴠᴇɴ ɪᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜɪꜱ ʙᴏʏ, ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴇ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴠᴇʀʏ ꜱᴜʀᴇ ᴛʜᴏᴍᴀꜱ ʜᴀᴅ ɴᴏ ɪᴅᴇᴀ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴀɴᴅʀᴇᴡ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴅᴏ ᴀɴʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ꜰᴏʀ ʜɪᴍ. ᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛ ʜɪᴍ. ʟɪᴇ ꜰᴏʀ ʜɪᴍ.

ᴋiʟʟ ꜰᴏʀ ʜɪᴍ.

Don't Let the Forest In by C.G. Drews

TW: Child Abuse, Child Death, Body Horror, G0re, Anxiety, Self-Harm, Bullying

🖤 Forestcore
🖤 Touch Him and Die
🖤 Asexual MC Representation
🖤 Gay & Bisexual MC Representation
🖤 Lesbian Side Character Representation
🖤 Botanical Body Horror
🖤 Boarding School

If you love dark horror laced with obsessive, desperate young love and gasp-inducing twists, DON'T SKIP ON THIS BOOK.

Did you like the unforgiving, dark vibe of the Cruel Prince series but want more forestcore horror in a modern boarding school setting? THIS IS IT.

I am head over heels for not only this book that I devoured in one day, but also, after reading it, I immediately added the author's entire library to my TBR.

This visceral horror novel uses beautiful prose about vines and leaves and rot to underline in blood the stories of the two main characters, Thomas and Andrew. Thomas is thorny, easy to anger, and protective, while Andrew is often seen as withdrawn and weak due to his panic attacks. Both are extremely flawed characters and struggle to navigate their relationships, take care of themselves, and manage school because of it (let alone not dying to horrific monsters that are hungry for blood).

The story is riddled with the sharp thorns of two boys navigating their sexual identities and feelings for each other while also dealing with horrific monsters of both the fairytale and human varieties.

Without telling too much about the plot, this book's emotional spiral was very compelling, and I finished the book with my hand over my mouth and my heart pounding. The continuing rising dread from multiple angles is so, so well written, and the desperation by the end made me stay up late to finish because I knew I wouldn't sleep otherwise.

I cannot recommend this enough if this all sounds interesting to you. There is a lot of violence, tragedy, and dark twists, but if you love a horror book that will casually rip your heart out, this is it.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄
📔 Dark academia
🤝 Friends to lovers
🦇 Gothic fiction
🏰 Dark fairytales
🌿 Eco horror

- 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓'𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓
The story follows Andrew and his best friend, Thomas, as they return to their boarding school at the start of the school year. Andrew is a writer and Thomas is an artist; together, they create dark fairytales about monsters in the forest. They soon realize that the fictional stories they created are manifesting as real monsters and the entire school is at risk. The boys go into the forest each night to fight the monsters until they can no longer keep the forest out of the school. As Andrew and Thomas scramble to find a way to stop the monsters once and for all, secrets come to light that could change everything they think they know.

- 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒
This was beautiful and horrifying and I am obsessed. I could not put this book down and was honestly devastated when it ended. The ending completely took me by surprise and my mind is still spinning from it. This had a lot of LGBT+ representation and did so in a way that felt so real and vulnerable. I cannot wait until this is released and I will 100% be buying a physical copy. 5/5⭐.

**Thank you to NetGalley and Panmacmillan Children for the e-ARC**

Holy.... my ,what a book. I was expecting it to be good, but not that good and enrapturing, to draw so much on my emotions. So beautifully written and vivid. The book forces the reader in with the first sentence and doesn't losen it's grip until the end. If I wasn't so tired, I would have read it in one setting.
"Don't let the forest in" is horror, but in a fairytale kind of way, perfect for me because of the creepy wonder speckled throughout. The characters feel so full and strong in their development, their relationships is so endearing, sometimes frightening in a beautiful ways. There os definitely a layer of psychological horror woven in there, adding a layer to the story, making it imposible for me escape it.
I loved the concept and the realisation, the way clues are hidden in the symbolic et meaning of events and reactions. The sort of romance put me on the edge of my seat, screaming for the boys to act upon their feelings, to talk. It felt so real. The monsters part were... creepy and wonderful, everything I whised for. I need more book like that, beautifully crafted, a bit on the whimsical side but grounded in a sense of reality too, with diversity representation (a really good ace rep here, lovely.)
Suffice is to say, I will absolutely re read this book and will buy a copy to contemplate on my shelves and use to push other people to read the story.

This was absolutely the best book I've read in awhile. The prose is gorgeous, the atmosphere is consuming, and the characters are almost painfully real.
Starting with the prose, I loved everything about it. It was visceral in description and make me feel sick sometimes. This is a very gore heavy book, so keep that in mind if you are intending on reading. Each time Drews wrote something about the forest, it made my skin crawl. The imagery was very heavy, but well-written. The style may not be for everyone, but I loved it. It felt balanced and overall well crafted.
The atmosphere was terrifying. The forest almost felt like a character itself.
I loved Andrew's stories that were scattered throughout the novel. They were haunting and beautiful at the same time. I honestly loved everything about Andrew and Thomas. They were messy and flawed, but I think that that is what makes a good character.
The queer representation felt accurate and respectful.

Overall, 5/5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan for the ARC!

If you don't like vivid gross imagery please avoid this one at all cost. The descriptions of the what I like to call forest gore are so graphic at times that I felt like I needed a shower. It was kind of jarring how these boys went from dealing with creepy forest stuff to dealing with normal boarding school stuff like a bully and slipping grades. This was such a wild ride and so atmospheric. I felt like I was in the woods with Andrew and Thomas. There are also great LGBTQIA+ rep in this as well and talks about asexuality are a big focus in here as well. Highly recommend reading this one during the day and away from the woods.

okay first technical arc review BARE WITH ME.

i’m not the biggest horror fan but i AM a fan of co-dependent queer relationships and this GAVE THAT TO ME!! it was so gripping and almost suffocating and i deeply enjoyed. it was also very wonderful to see a very dependent relationship not focused on sex at all, and the discussions of asexuality felt natural and comforting in a book that is deeply Not.

i finished reading this at work and now i have to continue my shift with a feeling of dread and nausea in my chest. but in the best way. there were parts i felt it could have done without, like much of the more school-like mini-plots, but overall it was masterfully crafted and very unsettling. do make sure to pick up a copy when it’s released later this year, especially if you’re a fan of obsessed queer relationships.

thank you to netgalley and macmillan feiwel and friends for the arc!!

Special Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc!

I think that this book was... fine. Like truly nothing to write home about. I do like the premise behind it, but it never got me the way it looked as if it wanted to. I';m still interested to see what CG Drews does next.

This is a horrifyingly beautiful story about two boys, Andrew and Thomas, battling monsters that they have created. The writing, imagery, is absolutely stunning. This author grabs you from the start, slowly dropping breadcrumbs and building tension, making it impossible to look away. I loved how dreamlike the story is, keeping you wondering what is actually real. I adored this book and will recommend at publication. Thank you for the opportunity to read in advance.