Incredibly atmospheric, intentionally unsettling, and fiercely horrific, Don’t Let the Forest in is a deeply engrossing work of queer, dark academia that will keep you on edge until the very last sentence.

Not long after requesting this book I encountered a review from another reader that made me apprehensive about picking it up. In the interest of giving the book a fair chance, I decided to wait so that it wouldn't influence my own opinions. During that period my reading shifted away from YA books and, as a result, I haven't felt compelled to pick this up at any point. Unfortunately, I don't expect that to change in the future, and, as a result, I do not believe I can give this book the fair consideration that it deserves.

Thank you to Macmillan and NetGalley for giving me this opportunity.

A Beautifully raw story that truly rips your heart out. "If you cut open my chest you'll find a garden of rot where my heart should be." This book is written so so beautifully and the formatting is perfect.

**⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | A Haunting and Poetic Journey Through Grief**

CG Drews’ *Don't Let the Forest In* is a hauntingly beautiful exploration of grief, trauma, and the healing power of stories. With her signature lyrical style, Drews crafts a tale that is as much about the darkness within as it is about the mysterious forest that looms on the edges of the characters' lives. The narrative is both tender and unsettling, drawing readers into an emotional landscape where every word feels intentional. While the plot can be slow to unfold, the novel’s depth and emotional resonance make it a rewarding read for those who appreciate character-driven stories with a touch of the surreal.

I’ve been following CG Drews on social media for quite awhile now and I’ve been eagerly waiting to read Don’t Let the Forest In. I was super excited to receive an ARC.

This book is beautiful, haunting, twisted, and broken story about Thomas and Andrew. One creates dark stories of monsters while the other draws them into existence— it’s a beautiful pairing until the monsters become more than just a story.

Senior year is hard enough without monsters, accusations of murder, bullying, insecurities, and fumbling through a growing obsession for each other. This book is one that I think will stick with me for a while. The ending. Whew.

“They were beautiful together; they were magical and monstrous.”

Wow! I’m not sure where to start. First, this is a strong recommendation for teenage age kids that like the weird, scary and edge of your seat gripping stories. Such an amazing piece to be considered for that age range.
This book was truly amazing. I went into it without expectations but it left me I’m complete shock. Not only was it beautifully written with pieces such as “If you cut open my chest you’ll find a garden of rot where my heart should be” but the story, the characters, the mystery, even the magic was fantastic. It was dark and lightly twisted and yet it was able to be so soft and calming. The ending was spectacular, I’m still a bit confused by it in the best way possible. Mind blowing.

This book instantly grabbed my attention with its cover. And it reminded of Frankenstein meets House of Hollow maybe? I really found it unique story of horror. I love that Thomas is an artist, and the discussion that can be had over the themes of obsession and monsters. In particular I have been looking for more creature feather books. I hope to acquire a physical copy of this book. Which re-reading books is not something I do often.

Andrew is an extremely sad boy with only two true friends, as he begins his senior school year at a private boarding school in rural Virginia. Dove, his twin sister, and Thomas, best friend to both, have had a falling out and their trio is down to two. As Andrew struggles with growing feelings for Thomas, they both are struggling with a darker secret. Andrew, with his extreme social anxiety, finds his solace in writing fairy tales about dark, sad, and brutal monsters in the forests around the school, and Thomas is always bringing Andrew's stories to life with his vivid drawings. But when the drawings begin manifesting, and killing teachers and students, the boys are at their wits end to figure out a way to stop the monsters. But everything may not be as it seems, and Thomas' monsters aren't the only thing Andrew will have to come to terms with this year. I enjoyed the writing and the ace and bi representation. This story will give you whiplash in the best way possible trying to figure out what is actually going on. I enjoyed the young love and angst that comes along with it and the exploration of grief for a person who is already struggling with so much inner turmoil.

Don’t Let the Forest In follows Andrew as he returns to Wickwood Academy for his senior year. Everything in his life seems a little unstable, including his relationships with Thomas, who he loves, and Dove, his twin sister. Throw in Thomas’s parents’ disappearance and the fact that there now seems to be monsters in what was once their favorite place and it sounds like a real horrifying mystery might be afoot.

Unfortunately, this book just massively didn’t work for me. I fought it nearly every step of the way, which is a shame because I’d been so excited for it. Don’t get me wrong, the book has its merits, but they’re few and far between for me. I think this book needed a lot more thought and development just in general, to be honest.

I spent the majority of Don’t Let the Forest In trying to pinpoint what the message of it was and by the end I still think it’s way too muddy to make a lot of sense. Andrew has a hundred and two problems and it doesn’t feel like any of them get addressed. He’s struggling with his sexuality (but he is asexual which is some representation I’m always super excited to see), his relationships are shaky, he is anxious as all hell, and is trying to hide an eating disorder to top it all off. It just doesn’t seem like these play a particularly cohesive role in the story as a whole.

That does kind of bring me to Andrew as a character, though. I love an unreliable and unlikable narrator but he got under my skin almost constantly. Andrew constantly blames everyone else for his problems and the rare time he does take an iota of responsibility or takes a second to look within to fix their problems it’s shallow and surrounded by pitying ‘woe is me’ kind of speech. He’ll rant for full paragraphs about how despicable he is because he’s too anxious and weak and skinny and asexual for any given person or problem and a page later he’s whining about how Thomas or Dove are responsible for what’s currently wrong. I can understand the intent behind these character choices, but they’re maddening to read through. With a character like Andrew I expect some major character arc and self-reflection and growth, but here it just takes far too long and is way too little too late to make an impact. The way he treats people just never really finds the time to come up.

It’s not just Andrew’s character that struggles, though. None of the characters seem to have any consistency besides maybe Lana and the bullies - and the bullies are Disney villain over the top evil for what seems to be no reason at all. Characters will get into throw down, blow up arguments over nothing and dialogue choices will follow almost no logic (I was reminded constantly of that ‘I’m so RaNdOm rAwR’ time period and it physically hurt, though that may be a me problem).

Plot-wise, it did a few things to build tension that almost always backfire. Keeping the reader in the dark while continuously hinting to this thing that happened just before the narrative started. A main character intent on not actually following leads the plot is throwing at them. It was frustrating to me because the book is so focused on fairytales and the power of storytelling and missed out on making the book itself follow fairytale rules and structure. There doesn’t seem to be a logic or real flow to what happens and it’s hard to string together why each plot point happens in the grand scheme of things. Fairy tales are tight, everything happens for a reason and there’s a moral to every piece of the story. A lot of this just felt like “and then this happened and then this happened next” just for the sake of the imagery and to bulk the story out further. Honestly, it didn’t feel like a lot of the emotional beats or plot points were there for any logical reason in-world at all so much as the author needed something to fill space between point A and B.

Sorry, I’m just so frustrated because this book has so much potential and so many people seem to have enjoyed it and I just couldn’t. I’m so tired of books not receiving the amount of editing and care they deserve.

There are things the book does get right, though, even for me. There are scenes in here, specifically some of the more action-based ones, that are absolutely heart-racingly good. They show the talent that Drews truly has in a way the rest of the narrative misses out on. If you’re into gore, this book is exceedingly gory. There’s body horror and creepy forest monsters galore. The imagery itself is super tight. Almost all of the description falls back to forest imagery or hunger or stuff like rib cages and eye sockets (I will say that it could be a little too tight because it did get on my nerves with how repetitive it felt at times). There’s also some decent queer talks as Andrew grapples with his asexuality.

So, Don’t Let the Forest In isn’t a book without its merits. I just think it could have been so much more in a way that makes the disappointment crushing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Feiwel and Friends/Macmillan Publishing Group for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is not a book that everyone will enjoy, you have to be willing to tolerate the slow pace and really getting to know the deeper minds of the characters in order to fully appreciate it. I think this particularly applies to the general YA reader population. The style of writing is very artistic as well, with a TON of imagery throughout. That being said, I thought it was great. I was a little skeptical at first, but once I got into it I couldn’t stop thinking about it. The way the author describes some of Andrews thoughts is truly mesmerizing. The depth of Andrew and Thomas’s relationship toward one another…chef’s kiss. There are some trigger warnings to be aware of, which are also presented at the start: depiction of eating disorders, self-harm, and quite a bit of blood/gore. There is a solid twist towards the end that I did not see coming, but very much appreciated. If you’re looking for something hauntingly beautiful and deep with a touch of psychological thriller, you need to read this one. Side note, it’s a perfect book to read for the fall season.

Don’t Let the Forest In follows Andrew Perrault in the aftermath of a mysterious friendship disaster between his twin, Dawn, and his obsessive crush, Thomas. His return to Wickwood Academy is bad enough, dealing with having no friends and continued bullying, when Thomas’s monsterous drawings come to life, threatening him and everyone around him. Together, the two boys try to rub their two braincells together to put an end to the monsters and figure out what they mean to each other, even as the horrific odds turn against them. The result is a poorly anchored book with terribly handled twists and weak characters.

The main problem with the book is the lack of on-page set up for characters and their relationships. Much of the premise of the book lies in how different Thomas and Dawn act with Andrew compared to when their friendship at its peak. Unfortunately, their friendship is completely off page, so the whip-lash that Andrew feels has to be tediously explained to us. The reader is meant to understand that these characters have this deeply established connection, without any work being done to make us believe it. This is a huge issue, as this book revolves around Andrew and Thomas’s intensely obsessive and codependent relationship.

The problem with the relationships is also tied to Andrew’s weakness as a character. He is completely obtuse about the things going around him and he’s annoying to read about. Things that are obviously worth considering about the horrors haunting him and the people around him fly right over his head every time, making for an incredibly frustrating reading experience. The way he speaks is so melodramatic and overwrought that it’s laughable. This continues into the excerpts of his fairytales, which are all edgy and fake-deep.

I appreciate what C. G Drews tried to do with Andrew as a representation of anxiety, depression, and eating disorders, but the work put in didn’t work on-page. As an audience, the reader is out of the loop of his non-monster anxieties, so he sometimes makes leaps in logic that make no sense and we can’t even see how he got there. Ideally, the reader would be led onto the same traps that Andrew’s anxiety leads him, but instead it’s confusing and aggravating. I also think the way that mental health is sometimes shown plainly on-page and other times in symbolic imagery and allegory creates a confused depiction of mental illness.

I also found the exploration of Asexuality to be mixed. I was very excited as an Ace-spectrum person to see how this was done, and I’m still not sure. For a YA audience, I would expect the explanation of asexuality to be heavy handed, but that wasn’t what I got. An actual introduction of asexuality doesn’t exist at all, but Andrew’s fears and feelings about being “wrong” are who’ll to explained to the point of being repetitive. I’ll be honest, some of my opinions about the representation is clouded by how little I cared about Andrew as a character. I can’t really complain about it though, because this was one of the better elements.

The decent element is the horror. It’s not the best I’ve read even in YA, but it’s competent. The gore is gorey and gave me the creeps more than a couple times. My only issue with the horror is how poorly rooted it is within the story. This is the same issue I had with character relationships. The characters know all about these monsters and why they are important to them, but it’s only clunkily explained to the reader. The horror also suffers by the poorly defined setting and passage of time. Every time the time of day was mentioned, it was news to me. The characters just float around from scene to scene untethered. This is emphasized by the unrealistic dialogue and one-dimensional supporting characters.

No one in this book talks like real people. I understand the point of exaggerating for the purpose of creating drama and tension, but this book’s attempt was laughable. Andrew and Thomas say unhinged things about living inside each other and how they’d die without each other, but I could at least see the draw of that. The background characters spend most of the book bullying Thomas for being a murderer, even at times where if they truly believe this, they would be in immense danger. As the death toll increases, the lack of panic is covered up because the school is just ignoring people dying in the middle of day for some reason. The main bully repeatedly complains about people “slandering” him. I mean, this is just ridiculous, people. Some side characters I actually like, Lana Lang (unrelated to Superman’s friend) and Chloe Nguyen, are sidelined by the narrative in favor of the riveting relationship between Andrew and Thomas. Some characters aren’t even deigned to have names, even if they eventually get significant page time. Anyone who isn’t directly related to the romance/monster plot is severely undeveloped compared to Andrew and Thomas, and I already said how lacking they are as characters.

The final nail in the coffin is the horrible ending. I don’t want to spoil the twist(s) but I can stress how hard they fall on their face. There are fakeouts that are so dumb to be laughable. There is an actually good twist that is ruined because of execution. And there is a final twist that is SO OBVIOUS because it had been a blind spot in the boys’ pisspoor problem solving the whole book. The thematic meaning behind the horror fails to meaningfully connect to the characters and their terrible romance. What makes things worse is that these twists rely on the established character relationships that never got fleshed out the entire book.

Overall, I can see how teens would get a little bit more out of this than I would, and it could be worth checking out at a library if it’s convenient. That being said, I’m not that far out of teenhood and I know that I would not have been charmed by this. Everything that this book does has been done better by other books. I can’t strongly recommend it to anyone.

The prose is pretty good but I think the story itself gets kind of muddled as the book goes on.

Don’t Let the Forest In follows high school senior Andrew Perrault, who is strangely captivated by his friend Thomas Rye. But Thomas has been different this year — his abusive parents have disappeared, and the rumor flying around school is that Thomas murdered them. It doesn’t help that every time Andrew brings it up, Thomas just completely shuts down. With Andrew’s twin Done also giving him the cold shoulder this year, Andrew feels especially alone. And then one night, he follows Thomas into the woods, and he sees the truth: Thomas’s monster drawings are coming to life.

It’s weird because I feel like the two parts of this book were each done well. The fantasy element and the mini fairytale stories were written beautifully; I was very invested in figuring out what the lore was. The more realistic arc about trauma, family, and sexuality was also really interesting as I really enjoyed Andrew and Thomas’s “us-against-the-world” dynamic even as they dealt with their internal conflicts, and I am always a big fan of unreliable narrators.

Together, however, I felt like the story got a little muddy. The fantasy arc is interesting on its own and I think it could work well as a metaphor for Thomas’s struggle with sexuality and trauma, but ultimately it felt a little too abstract. And then there are other moments where you end up questioning whether the creatures coming to life is real at all. While the interactions between Thomas, Andrew, and the monsters are well-written in a vacuum, once the monsters are brought into the “real life” boarding school setting, most of the side characters’ reactions and the way things play out don’t feel as natural.

The book does succeed at creating the mysterious and cryptic atmosphere very well, but it’s a difficult balance and also kept things confusing when I wanted more concrete answers. Ultimately though, I still think the concept is really interesting, the writing is generally good, and the setting is extremely captivating.

I love anything with dark fairytales in it! Fairy tale retellings that twist and turn unexpectedly are my favorite genre right now. I really enjoyed that aspect and the changes we see in the characters, especially after the parents disappear and it’s clear something is very, very wrong.

(4.25) DON’T LET THE FOREST IN is packed with fairytale horror, diversity representation of every kind, and great writing.

This book is brimming with love for art of every kind, which I loved. At its core, it explores the symbiotic nature of art and pain and love, following the volatile relationship of two boys at a boarding school, Andrew and Thomas.

I loved the different types of monsters that were both intrinsically family yet wholly original. The characters, as well as the twist, were well orchestrated in order to bring about the ending. I must say, however, that the writing style, while lovely, did seem to be aimed at the lower ages of YA. It felt a bit strange with the dark themes that surrounded the pages. I also felt that some characters, while adding to the wonderfully diverse cast, were not completely necessary.

With a medium-paced, character driven narrative, DON’T LET THE FOREST IN has a great ending despite the relatively quick-paced tension. I was, at times, a bit confused at the metaphorical language, struggling to understand whether it was real or not. However, I loved seeing the flaws of all the characters and how they dealt with them. As a queer autistic kid, I related deeply to a lot of the issues presented in this book.

I will be looking forward to Drews’ future horror work. DON’T LET THE FOREST IN was a masterpiece of the original dark fairy tales, art, and diversity, perfect for fans of Holly Black or Malevolent podcast.

Have you been missing creepy forest vibes, queer academia horror, or an anxiety-ridden main character going through all the things?

Don’t Let the Forest In is creepy, unhinged, haunting, and desperate. It is excessively quotable with prose that fits the themes and plot of the book to perfection. Our main character, Andrew, arrives for his senior year after some event he can’t remember culminated in tiny scars all over his hand. The forest is off limits with a fence separating it from the school and his best friend and twin sister are at odds that neither will explain.

The boarding school setting adds a nice layer of isolation to our main character and becomes a character in itself. One thing that I really loved about this book is how you can feel Andrew’s confusion, despair, and anxiety throughout, not only in the words themselves but how they’re organized. I really wanted to give him a hug. All the time.

“If you’ve turned the last page and are now frowning at the wall, the everything is as it should be.” Mission accomplished, CG.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s publishing for the eARC. 4.5 stars.

Oh no thank you, too spooky for me! As soon as I started this book I immediately got the willies. Felt like someone was looking over my shoulder. Uh uh. Thank you.

“He wrote fairy tales, but cruel.
They’re the best, Thomas would say. They make me want to draw. Do they mean anything?
Andrew had given a small shrug, but a fever lit beneath his skin at the praise. They’re just mean to hurt.
Like a paper cut—a tiny sting that meant nothing more than I’m alive I’m alive I’m alive.”
 
I knew from its first line, “It hadn’t hurt, the day he had cut out his own heart,” that I was not prepared for the emotional turmoil Don’t Let the Forest In would inevitably wreck upon me. Just like the macabre yet beautiful fairy tales Andrew Perrault writes, the prose in this novel is absolutely immaculate and gorgeous while also being eerie and atmospheric. I could have practically saved a line or passage from every single page that I adored.
 
The novel continuously kept me guessing where the plot would go and there were some twists I definitely did not see coming. It broke my heart and put it back together again so many times. I loved Andrew and Thomas so much. Andrew is an especially endearing narrator and like all my all-time favorite narrators, he feels everything so sharply in a way that I can’t help but agonize right along with him. Thomas is equally as vibrant, the messiest yet charming kind of boy you can’t help but feel similar amounts of affection and exasperation toward.
 
I lived for all the icky body horror in Don’t Let the Forest In. There was at least one point I was reaching for my own ear during a particularly visceral scene that I won’t spoil. I also appreciated how there were plot points open to interpretation and I can’t wait to re-read to get even more out of it than I did the first time.
 
I cannot wait until this releases in October and I can get my hands on a physical copy. I felt so enraptured by this book and it completely exceeded my expectations and I never wanted it to end. I feel like I can hardly write a coherent review without sounding a little unhinged but hopefully I at least get the point across that I fell in love with this book. I beg you all to get your hands on it as soon as you possibly can through your local booksellers and libraries. Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for review.

My 30-year-old emo heart loved this book. How I wish I would have found this in high school. I can imagine reading this while listening to My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, and Hawthorn Heights with my bedroom door closed! Though I'm older now I still love all these bands and this book was such an enjoyable experience! The author writes beautifully and gets the characters' emotions across in a way that makes you feel what they are feeling. The trauma, the yearning, the push and pull of different kinds of relationships, etc. I felt like I started to feel a little jumbled towards the end about what was going on but I feel like that was more on me and not so much the author or the writing. Maybe I will reread it closer to October and see how the ending goes for me the second time around! If you like flowery writing that conveys emotion and angsty teen characters then you should definitely give this book a try!

Don't Let the Forest In by C.G. Drews is a captivating and atmospheric novel that expertly blends fantasy with a hauntingly lyrical narrative. Drews’ imaginative world-building and evocative prose create a mesmerizing experience that keeps readers engaged and spellbound.

Wow. This book was intense. This book kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the whole book.

The pacing was very quick. It was go-go from chapter one and had me hooked to the story.

The writing was beautiful. I thought the way the author described everything even the love the two boys had for each other really helped me picture everything with ease.

Then the twist at the end of the novel had my jaw on the floor.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for this eARC.