I truly have only good things to say about this book besides I hate the word “freaking.” But this was such an excellent story. I don’t know what else to say except read this!

What did I just read??

Don't Let the Forest In is an exceptional YA horror following two best friends at a boarding school—Andrew Perrault and Thomas Rye. We see them at the start of a new school year when Thomas is interviewed by the police for the mysterious disappearance of his parents. On top of that, Thomas is sneaking out at night to the forest neighboring the school and Andrew doesn't know why. Andrew would usually confide in his twin sister, Dove, about the situation, but she's been strangely avoiding him since they arrived. As the school year continues on, the boys grow closer and discover more about each other and what really happened with Thomas and Dove last school year. But the more we find out, the less we know for sure.

After devouring that book (and endless Reddit threads), I can honestly say, I don't think anyone knows for sure what happened by the end. If you hate open endings or unreliable narrators, you may not like this. Even though the prose bordered on middle-school poetry, I liked the moody atmosphere and I was really rooting for these boys to admit their feelings and get together. (Both gay and asexual representation were well done.) I was also surprised by how dark it got considering it's YA, but I loved it (obviously). I would highly recommend this to fans of We Were Liars or The Honeys.

This was PERFECT! I love the atmosphere and the characters and everything about it. It was creepy and lovely all at once. The poetic language had me captivated and IM DEAD.

“Everything inside me is in ruins for you”

Posted on Goodreads:
Holy shit. This was a masterpiece. The characters were alive and horrific. The writing was gorgeous and gothic and feral. I have quotes on quotes on quotes saved in my (now treasured) ARC in my Kindle. This book had lines that made me feel such complex emotions again. I felt the yearning and the despair and the desperate panic. I don’t want to leave the writing behind. I have for sure found a new buy anything author.

Thomas and Andrew had such an interesting dynamic. I am not going to even hint at spoilers because I am desperate for everyone to read this book just to be able to experience the forest in the way that the boys did. This was an amazing book and I am so happy I got to experience it.

P. S. The ending made me sob my eyes out.

I know this is going to be one of those books that has a place in my heart for awhile, if not forever.

This story has everything. It’s beautiful. Haunting. Heartbreaking. Dark. Unsettling. Uncomfortable. Uplifting. Somehow it’s all of this and still leaves you wanting more until the very last (ambiguous) page.

The Setting: Wickwood Academy

There’s something about castles that I just love so much. A castle-turned-boarding school? Love that, too. This dark story is set in an idyllic location: an old, pristine school with your typical ivy-clad walls, manicured rose bushes, antique canvases hanging in the hallways. But just over the fence that borders the school property is a forest so vast and dark that it’s off limits to students. Mainly because of happened in them last year…

The Characters: Thomas & Andrew

Thomas and Andrew are best friends. And I did not expect their dynamic to crush me like it did.

I think because these two boys are madly (and secretly) in love with each other, the stakes are so much higher than a typical “will they, won’t they” romance plot. They have so much more at risk if they confess their feelings – especially if they aren’t reciprocated.

The Plot: Fighting Monsters

The monsters are for sure a metaphor for the ever-growing maddening passion between Thomas & Andrew (right? This has to be right). As they become more intertwined, the monsters get stronger and more vicious. And the fact that they alone have to battle these monsters before anyone can find out…it directly relates to what they are both facing internally. But they are willing to face them, together, in order to keep the other safe and protected. And only after Andrew defeats one of the monsters singlehandedly does he realize that he can admit his true feelings to Thomas:

“I killed it myself.” Andrew dug fingers into Thomas’s shirt. “I’m s-s-strong enough now. I’m so-so-so much more than I used to be…I’m strong enough.” Andrew was laughing, or maybe crying. Their fight seemed so meaningless now. “I want you. Please, I-I-I want you more than anything. Don’t let me go.”

The Writing

The writing is beautiful and poetic. Short, dark fairytales are sprinkled throughout so that we can get a glimpse into Andrew’s macabre world that has been the source of these forest monsters.

Some of my favorite lines:

“Prove to me that you can. Hit me.”
Andrew stared.
“I need to know that you can do it.” Thomas let go and took a step back. “That you can defend yourself from me.”
They stood an arm’s length apart, both breathing too fast as if they’d run a thousand miles and still not outpaced the dark. Between them the world crumbled into a cavernous black void.
“No,” Andrew said.

“Do you like me?” Thomas said.
No, they couldn’t do this. They had an unspoken agreement to never do this. Panic clawed up Andrew’s throat and his heartbeat seemed too fast, too loud. What what it even look like, to cut their feelings out, bloody and aching and raw, and compare them? To find they didn’t match. To be left with guts vivisected and no way to sew themselves back up so they looked the same as before.

“Do you feel this? I am here and I am here and I am here.”

He’d thought there was a monster in the mirror and he only meant to kill it.

My overall rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A big thank you to Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group and NetGalley for this ARC!

actual 3.75 stars

I really enjoyed this book! I don't read much psychological horror but have been interested this didn't disappoint!!

We follow Andrew who attends Wickwood Academy with his twin sister Dove and their artistic, hurricane of a friend Thomas. Something happened last year between them and something else is stirring in the forest near the school. And what's all this with rumors how Thomas murdered his own parents and won't talk to him? His escapism comes from writing twisted fairytales with no happy ending and monsters. All while Andrew falls more in love with his best friend Thomas while struggling with his sexuality and coming to terms with being asexual.

Following Andrew was so twisty and I never knew what was truly going on. Seeing his struggles with feeling like everyone sees him as fragile and could any second fall apart. His fears about choosing between his twin or his best friend. Making new friends who accept his sexuality and dealing with bullies. The feeling the forest is growing inside him. His mind was a perfect place to be to feel eerie.

This felt like a great intro to psychological horror! Perfectly young adult and kept you moving throughout the whole book trying to figure out the truth. The beginning was a bit harder to get through and try to understand but halfway it picked up and i devoured it. Excited to check out more works by C.G. Drews

Thank you so much to NetGalley for the ARC!

Don’t Let the Forest In by C.G. Drews is a YA dark academia, psychological horror tale that will have you guessing until the end. Set at a boarding school, we follow Andrew and Thomas as they find themselves drawn to each other. Drews has a very poetic tone in this novel that draws you in and had me holding onto each page like its your salvation.

The dual-plot point format was very refreshing and I really enjoyed how Andrew and Thomas’ relationship. Their chemistry was undeniable, but they were each complex characters, forever connected by the experiences they’ve had in the forest. The creatures/monsters are beautifully described and I was completely immersed in the story and how Drews illustrates the world.

And oh my god that ending! I am definitely keeping an eye out for more works by C.G. Drews!

Thank you to Macmillan and Net Galley for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

Eerie and haunting, this YA novel explores topics like sibling rivalry, LGBTQ, and coming to grips with ones self. I loved it!!

CG Drews has crafted such a great YA horror! Unsettling in all the right ways yet still filled with so much love, I can't wait to read more from this incredible author!!

Teenage me would have been obsessed with this book!
This was such an atmospheric read. There were parts that were incredibly beautiful and the ace representation was amazing. Some of the best I read. What stop this being a full five stars was that this was a bit to YA for me. This shouldn’t take away from the book because it is a YA book and an amazing one at that. This rating I feel has more to do with how my tastes are changing overall. I know though that if I had this book when I was younger, when asexuality was barely a thing and never talked about, I would have felt incredibly seen and not have felt so alone. 5 stars as a YA book, 4 stars as my personal rating.

OH MY GOOODDDDD. this has definitely been one of the best books i have read. i am the girl of a girl/boy twin set and ahh. this book was so good. so beautifully terrifying. the writing was absolutely immaculate and there's just so much about this that i loved. i wish there was so much more. i was hooked on this book so incredibly quickly and it's so good. i am absolutely in shock after finishing this book. this is the type of story that you wish you could forget just to experience it again. absolutely amazing, dark, sad, tense, and suspenseful. reading this late at night did have me a little wary of the shadows

I really enjoyed this and the writing was beautiful! I did figure out that the sister was dead early on in the book, so I knocked a star off for that. I do love a good botanical horror though! Looking forward to this author's next book.

Rating: 4.5/5 Penguins (rounded up)
Quick Reasons: this was a fever dream of a read, full of monsters and desperation and the prettiest prose; I caught one of the twists at about 50% but had NO IDEA the ending that awaited; I will ponder this read for the rest of forever

Huge thanks to C.G. Drews, MacMillan Children's Publishing Group, and Netgalley for access to this ARC! My review is voluntarily written and in no way altered or impacted by this gesture.

Penguins. I don't know why I waited so long to pick this read up. I think partly it's because I took a reading hiatus.... but also I think I knew that this book was bound to hurt. There was a point, at around the 50% mark, that the big secret made itself known to me.... if only I could have guessed where the ending would leave us. This book is like stepping into the strange doorway in the largest tree trunk in the middle of a buzzing forest.... and finding that everything you've ever known was always the prettiest lie. This book is like cutting yourself open to see where the darkest monsters lurk, only to realize they're bigger even than you imagined.

The ending, though. The lead up was agonizing. There was a breathless, haunting drive to every line. But the ENDING. I am going to be haunted by these beautiful, horrible boys-- the ways they loved and the ways they broke-- for a good long while to come. I will ponder how much of this was real, and how much just the shattered fever dream of a hurting heart, for even longer. This book ripped me to pieces, Penguins; it's only right that I dissect it, in turn.

I highly recommend this to readers of the fantastical, hearts who used to talk to the Man in the Moon so he wouldn't be lonely, and any who have ever wondered what it might feel like to question everything. Mind the forest, Penguins; the trees are watching, and their leaves are not narrators to be trusted.

Did I devour this book or did it devour me?? I am OBSESSED, one of my favorites from 2024! I plan on rereading it now that I have a physical copy and annotating the incredible writing and character moments. The ace rep was extremely meaningful to me, and I feel was handled very well. Overall, I just fell in love with both of these boys that fight monsters in the woods, and I did not see the twist coming at all. Cannot wait to read upcoming releases from this author!

Well. This book will haunt me forever. It destroyed me. It's dark and reached down into my soul and ripped it to shreds. It's heartbreaking and beautiful and I loved it. I'm not sure it's one I can read again, though I'd like to, I think, maybe. It's a solid addition to the dark academia genre. Recommended.

📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖📖
Title: Don't Let The Forest In
Author: C.G Drews
Page Count: 336
Format: audiobook
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Book Number: 30
Dates Read: 2/19-20
Review: I was given this free advanced copy, and I leave this review voluntarily.

🙌🙌🙌🙌 Wow, this one blew me away. I loved every damn second of this book. There are so many twists and turns. Loved the characters. This book ripped my heart out and crushed it. I would reread this one over and over again. This story is dark, creepy, and just so much emotion. I would recommend this book to everyone. If they can handle darkness. Yes the ending.... I felt like it should of ended that way.

*More of a 2.5 stars rating*

I just couldn't really get into the book. I did not enjoy Andrew as a character. I understand he is a meek and shy individual, but honestly it felt like he was just whining all the time. I also didn't enjoy how Thomas is suddenly withdrawn from Andrew and he's currently at odds with Andrew's twin sister. I enjoyed the atmosphere of the book and the setting, but I couldn't connect and didn't enjoy the characters. I just felt like it needed a bit substance for me to really enjoy it. It felt like we were just dropped in the middle of something and I just didn't enjoy that.

I did not expect to love this as much as I did. The beginning felt a little slow for me but picked up later on. This is a book that I would definitely re-read.

This was a fun spooky romp, with endearingly broken characters who helped each other put themselves back together again. 3 stars, a well-written and vivid YA read.

This book has interesting magical realism elements. I also found the descriptive nature of the story really interesting. Overall though this book was very sad, and the biggest surprise that is revealed in the book made me feel even more sad about the story itself. I think the elements of this book just didn’t make me love this title like I wanted to.

I cannot believe how much I absolutely adored this book. It satisfied a craving I hadn't even realized I had, and I've been chasing since. CG Drews is a unique talent, who will only continue to shine, I am sure of it. HIGHEST praise for Don't Let The Forest In.