This was a solid, horror-like YA novel, but although I loved the concept, I didn't connect. The stories that were included in the book, written by Andrew, were fantastic. I really loved those, and Thomas' illustrations and the descriptions of the monsters were on point, but it took quite a while for the real story to start, and I never really got invested.

I am sure a YA reader will have a much different view and be totally entrenched in the work.

This book has left me in utter SHOCK. Haunting, and lyrically grotesque in the best of ways, Don’t Let the Forest In was a masterfully woven suspenseful horror story about desperate boys and the monsters threatening to eat them inside and out. C.G wielded their twisted prose into a tapestry of nightmares and monsters that felt all too real and left me uneasy and unnerved as you always hope a good horror will. The writing itself was the highlight of the book and I am just obsessed with the way it feels like an eerie fairytale.
I also loved Andrew and Thomas as characters. I just found their dynamic so interesting- two boys with minds filled with monsters who clung to each other and have a clear codependent relationship. They both so desperately held onto each other for better or worse. So much worse. Which to me also leads to my favorite part of the novel- then ending. Without giving anything away I just wanted to say that I kind of love the ambiguous ending of it all. I think that ending is going to stick in my head for a long time and eat away at me.
However while I loved much of this book I did feel like the moments of normal reality created an incongruous dichotomy to the horrors thoughout the rest of the book that sometimes pulled me out of it. In particular I feel very conflicted about the scene where Andrew brings up being asexual to Lana and Chloe. One of the reasons I picked up this book was because of the ace rep and LOVE seeing a scene like this portrayed in a novel because it means so much to me personally, however I do think that it didn’t quite meld with the tone of the rest of the novel. I do think his coming out to Thomas flowed more naturally with the narrative and wasn’t as jarring.
Overall I loved this book. I absolutely devoured it and would recommend.

OH. MY. GOD. i feel like my words will not do this book justice. I FLEW through this book regardless of my reading slump... actually it pulled ME OUT of my slump. CG Drews has such a masterpiece in their hands. From the cover to the content of this book. A unique book for sure - a YA fantasy meets horror AND a queer novel. i am sat. of course I have to be. The asexual narrator makes me so happy to see even if i am on the older side (20s) seeing yourself in media displayed well without malice is so important and I feel SOSOSO grateful to have gotten the chance to read this for the author. Honestly, no notes. 5/5 stars. I cannot wait to purchase this, thank you for the chance to arc read.

I have no idea what I just read, but it was incredibly thrilling. Dark and terrifying, Don't Let the Forest In was full of magical realism, love, angst and loss. A story that works its way inside you and leaves you wanting more all the while you're left wondering which way is up.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for this advanced reading opportunity. It's been a real pleasure!

To everyone else, 12/3/2024. Mark your calendars, and don't miss out on this piece of beautifully chaotic young adult horror when it hits shelves.

A beautiful dark little masterpiece. I loved this story. I loved the ACE representation. I loved the twists and turns you never see the truth coming

This just wasn't what I thought it would be. Drews is a good writer but the twins/love triangle thing just wasn't what I thought I signed up for. I never find that compelling. Lots of people do. I am glad. This did make me want to investigate other work of Drews', but this just didn't work for me.

This story has some of the most beautiful, dramatic, and viscerally haunting prose I've read in a long while. Horror usually isn't a genre I enjoy, and this book definitely is horror - but it's also so much more, and that really worked for me.

A deep exploration of the ways that trauma and grief can change a person's entire world, Andrew's story (and that ending!) left me feeling unsettled for a couple days after I finished it. Definitely recommend if you're into dark themes, questionably reliable narrators, and enjoy the type of story that makes you wonder what is objectively real at every turn.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for this review.

I read this book in one sitting - one glorious, horrifying sitting. I don’t remember this genre as a kid, but now reading YA Horror is such an interesting perspective. We’d think that it’s safer for kids, or that it’s less horrific, but it truly is the same, just more imaginative or less developed.

Drews was able to make a YA novel about monsters in our heads SING. This one legitimately kept me up at night - I needed to know Andrew and what was going to happen to him. This one really requires you to read between the lines which I LOVE for younger readers, and the plot is so good any adult will find entertainment in picking it up. It may be a good family read aloud, especially if you monitor your kiddos books.

I want to start off this review by thanking NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

This book takes place at a small academy that is surrounded by a forest, and follows both Andrew and Thomas as they fight monsters that have come alive from their own stories and drawings. Both boys have to figure out how to not only survive each night in the woods fighting these monsters, but also how to keep up with their schoolwork during the day. I truly did enjoy this book; however, I did have some problems with the plot and the characters in this story.

To start with the positives, the setting and the prose was so incredibly beautiful. I feel like the atmosphere of dark academia was done so well and I felt completely immersed in the story during the entire book. The book was also very well written and had such vivid imagery that I believe this was truly one of the best parts of the entire book.

The plot was interesting and captivating, especially by making the forest the main antagonist, and I did enjoy the fight scenes. The only thing that confused me was the ending, especially for a psychological thriller. Usually in psychological horror books, there is a major twist that is stated and the reader is left questioning everything that is real versus imaginary. Don’t Let the Forest In had this twist, yet it wasn’t stated explicitly and seemed to leave the reader guessing what the ending was, rather than having that psychological thrill effect. By the end of this book, I felt frustrated and confused not because of the twist, but because I had to determine what the twist was and also not be able to confirm if I guessed it correctly. At this moment, I choose to believe the twist revealed (select) characters as unreliable narrators and also explains a metaphor shown throughout the entire book, yet this ending may or may not be the author’s intended conclusion.

The last portion of this book that I want to mention is the characters and their character development. Andrew is revealed early on to be asexual, which I thought was extremely refreshing to see more representation of. This representation felt like an entire side plot of self discovery in the first half of the story, but it was dropped pretty quickly during the second half. This specifically bothered me because during the first part he was heavily critical of himself for being asexual, and I wanted to see him accept it in the end, which he never did. I believe that this sends a bad message to the audience, making it seem like being ace is something terrible that one needs to live with. Although his representation isn’t done in the best way, I personally don’t believe that the author’s purpose of this was to be harmful to anyone, and that they just developed it in a poor manner. Further, Thomas seemed to have some character development as things from his past began to be dug up, but other than this he also felt like the exact same character by the end, with little changes despite all the events that occur throughout the novel.

Despite my negatives, I still did enjoy this book and its atmosphere that was created. 3.5 stars is my final rating.

Overall rating: 5/5

I want to give this beautiful, haunting and heartbreaking story the highest praise possible. This is the story of ghosts, the woods, adolescence and the horrors of mental health. I am at a serious loss for words over how much I loved this book and how much it imbedded into my skin. This is the story of young, haunted Andrew and the fierce, free spirit Thomas who would do anything for Andrew. He would die for him, he would kill for him and he would repeatedly pierce his own heart for the sake of love. But this was something so much more than love, it was sacrifice, it was heart break, and it was torture. Andrew explains it best as Thomas doing anything for the boy lost in fairytales yet the boy does nothing but punish him. Come on CG Drews why must you torture us with such beautiful words.
This is a twisted love story that will forever haunt you in the best way possible and let me just say stay away from the words and keep a box of tissues close you are in for one heck of a nightmare.
The highest praise possible to CG Drews we need more horror from you. I cannot wait for everyone to get their claws into this one. This one will go down as one of the best reads for this year.

This YA psychological horror left me haunted. This story follows three very close best friends - Thomas, Andrew and Dove. After summer break they return to their boarding school, Wickwood Academy, for their senior year. Only now they are haunted and hunted by monsters - monsters that have come alive off the pages of Thomas’s terrifying, fantastic artwork. As the story unravels the monsters seem to become more horrifying and blood thirsty, and they are left to protect themselves and the entire school before it is too late.

This story was macabre, interspersed with the most beautiful, dark poetry. The writing is so heartbreaking and captivating. The story is filled with tragedy, fear and love. It was scary, interesting and sad. It pulls you in and makes you feel deeply for the characters. I am not wild for YA but I really loved this book. It reminded me a little of Starling House at the beginning - which I really loved.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an ARC of "Don't Let the Forest In" !

This book was, in my opinion, incredible. There are very few books that have left me feeling the way "Don't Let the Forest In" did after I finished it, which says a lot. While it did begin a bit slow just with setting the scene and introducing us to the characters, it more than made up for it with that ending!

I absolutely loved Andrew and Thomas, their relationship as a whole was so good. I was so invested in them and seeing how their relationship progressed through the book, especially seeing Andrew's struggles with accepting his identity and dealing with his feelings for Thomas while everything was going on.

The supporting characters were just as good, they added so much to the story and were such a good counter to what Andrew and Thomas were dealing with. While we didn't get much of her, I loved Lana and the way she supported Andrew, but differed from Thomas. The side characters rounded out the story, of course, but I really enjoyed their presence beyond that.

The plot as a whole was also incredible! I loved the way it was set up, I loved the ending, I loved it all. I cannot, will not, give spoilers because I think this is absolutely something you should experience for yourself with very little knowledge of what happens, but I loved it all so much.

This one will haunt me, C.G. Drews, it absolutely will. This deserves all 5 stars to me, truly.

⭑ ⭑ ⭑ ⭑/5
5/5


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trigger warnings:
- eating disorder
- heavy depictions of murder/gore
- mentions of grief
- suicidal ideation
- losing oneself to dark thoughts



-
dedication


for the monsters in your head



”i think someday you’ll hate me,” thomas’s voice stretched with a loneliness andrew had never heard before. “you’ll cut me open and find a garden of rot where my heart should be.”


“when i cut you open,” andrew finally said, “all i’ll find is that we match.”



-



have you ever read a book that had left you speechless? that had taken you right into the depths of the book, as if the words consumed every fibre of your being and you became one with the book?


that’s how this book is written. despite the dark contents of this book, it’s written how a painting is made. the paint still drying but you can tell it’s a masterpiece.


i fell in love with how this is written, how you can see the downward spiral. how everything comes together in the end is such a beautiful way to describe grief.


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andrew: the way this character is written is something i fear i’ll think of often. the prince who gets lost in the stories he creates between the lines of paper. the prince in love with the autumn haired boy. andrew realises that he is asexual and is petrified of the fact that perhaps thomas may one day want more. maybe thomas just won’t accept him. there’s more on the surface than just monsters that wreak havoc in the forest and on the school grounds.


thomas: the autumn haired artist with a thousand and one freckles. the boy who everyone thought was a murderer. the boy who grabbed a hatchet with once shaky fingers and then mastered the art. the same way he mastered the art of charcoal pencils and oils on a canvas. the way he mastered the tells of holding onto andrew and whispering, ‘calm down,’



-


i cannot wait until this book releases to get my hands on a physical copy. i loved every second of this book and i was enraptured from the dedication alone. if you are into psychological horror books and don’t mind some gory scenes, i think this would be right up your alley.



thank you netgalley, the publisher and c.g. drews for being generous enough to send me a copy of the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is the type of horror that modern film needs. I have almost no words, other than the pure shock and awe that fills me in the moments after reading this book. It's like something purely insane, yet raw and filled with love and guilt and yearning took root (pun not intended) in my soul and latched on tight. There were twists I never saw coming, and ones that made a lot of sense after looking back upon them. I will never truly know if the monsters did exist, and I will never truly know if the forest was in Andrew's head. But what I do know is this will go down as my favorite horror book to date.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan publishing for a digital copy of this ARC.
Don’t Let the Forrest In is a gruesome cautionary tale about love and loss and the horrors of private schools. The story is from Andrew’s perspective, as he is the storyteller of his trio. His best friend, Thomas, is the feral woodsy artist. The trio becomes a duo in their senior year, as Andrew’s twin sister Dove seems to be avoiding the two boys after a fall out with Thomas. I should mention the Forest as a character, because it becomes the enemy throughout the book.
Through the middle of the year, Thomas and Andrew are relentless fighting the monsters that the Forest spits at them, while trying to navigate their senior year at a rigorous school and their feelings towards each other.
For me, even though there were pretty graphic scenes throughout the book, it dragged a bit in the middle. I think it would have been better to add more to the end, which felt rushed. The writing was beautiful and poetic, though sometimes felt disjointed with the teen atmosphere.
I really enjoy Thomas as a character, the wild boy that doesn’t know when to slow down and how to love without blood. I sympathize with Andrew as a person who also is massively conflict-averse and is trying to show love in their own way.
I would highly recommend looking at the trigger warnings for this book if you are thinking of picking it up. The path is strewn with moss and blood and only for the foolhardy or the lovers.
3 1\2 stars

4.75/5 stars! I want to exist in this world, getting to know these characters, as long as I can go home safely at the end of the night. There is amazing LGBTQ+ representation in the story and a haunting energy that is transfixing. This was my first read by this author and I was so pleasantly surprised. Ugh I need more Thomas and Andrew NOW.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I'm deeply grateful to NetGalley for granting me access to an early copy of this remarkable book. Without a doubt, this could easily become the highlight of my reading list this year! From the moment I met Andrew and Thomas, I was completely captivated, and as I turned the final page, I experienced a mixture of fulfillment and heartache.

This story is one you won't be able to tear yourself away from; I found myself wishing I could experience it for the first time all over again. Words fail to express the sheer beauty of this book—it's a solid 10/10 recommendation from me.

I'm eagerly anticipating the moment this book is released into the world for all to enjoy; it truly ranks among the most exquisite reads I've ever encountered. Prior to this, I hadn't delved into C.G. Drews' work, but after this masterpiece, I'm fully committed to binge-reading everything else they've written.

If you haven't already, add this gem to your "must-read" list immediately—you won't regret it. I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review.

During a period of profound grief that I'm struggling to navigate, I sought solace within the pages of this story. It's brimming with themes of loss, longing, regret, and all the emotions that mirror my own numbness. The imagery painted throughout is hauntingly beautiful, serving as a poignant reflection of the inner turmoil I'm currently experiencing.

For a while, I found myself utterly immersed in this tale, momentarily forgetting the harsh reality that monsters exist within us all. How we confront these inner demons is a deeply personal journey, shaped by our own choices.

Reading this book felt like being lost in a dream—a blur of reality and fiction, leaving me grappling with the unsettling uncertainty that accompanies loss.

At this precise moment in my life, I needed this book more than I can articulate. It's both breathtakingly beautiful and profoundly tragic, and every moment spent within its pages was time well spent. It's a story that lingers in your thoughts long after you've finished it—a testament to its power and poignancy.

The way I devoured this book is the way the forest devoured Andrew, slow at first and then all at once.

The writing was so hauntingly descriptive and atmospheric. This book checks all the boxes that you didn’t know you needed. It has a dark cottagecore feel, with elements of horror, psychological twists and the journey of finding one’s place in the world.

If you are a fan of Grimm’s Fairytales then I would definitely recommend picking this book up and having a few sleepless nights of fun reading about all the monsters inside the forest and within all of us.

And we can’t review this book without talking about that hauntingly beautiful cover, that alone is enough to make you want to pick up this book.

This book was such a delightful surprise that I loved so much! I was drawn to it for the beautiful cover, and I’m so glad I decided to read it. This book has an incredible atmosphere, and the prose is incredibly gripping and beautiful and haunting. The way that things are described, how they smell and feel, is so vivid it makes it so easy to be incredibly immersed in this story.

I think Andrew was a really interesting protagonist and narrator and very well written. He has a lot of problems that skew his perception of the world around him, and his unreliability to me really added to the horror, because it’s not always clear if the way he feels about what’s happening is rooted in reality. It made it all very surreal. So so good.

The real highlight of the book was the relationship between Andrew and Thomas. Their dynamic is incredibly fascinating, how they orbit around each other and are so co-dependent on each other. It’s an incredibly obsessive relationship, which roots and drives much of entire narrative, and was incredibly well executed. I also appreciated that this was the first time I think I’ve read a relationship like theirs where sex is not at the center. Andrew’s asexuality was to me very well handled and such a nice surprise, as I didn’t know going into this book that he was ace. It didn’t feel like a simple throw away character trait to me, but was necessary to who he is as a person as well as his relationship with Thomas.

I’m not one to usually read a lot of horror, but this book made me want to explore more of the genre! I really can’t sing enough praise about the writing and descriptions of everything, from the setting to the monsters to the character’s feelings. All of it painted such a vivid picture that made me feel like I was right in the story with them.

All in all, this was such an amazing reading experience, and I cannot recommend it enough if this is a genre that appeals to you!

Andrew Perrault is returning to Wickwood Academy after summer vacation, with severe memory loss regarding an incident in the forest surrounding the school (which has since been closed) and the scattering of scars on his hand. Even though his father offers to let him transfer schools, Andrew is determined to spend this year with his two best friends--his twin sister, Dove, and the boy he has a crush on, Thomas.

Thomas is a 'tortured artist' type, a kid with a rough upbringing who can only make art of monsters. As someone who can only write morbid fairy tales, Andrew feels like Thomas's other half. The two create twisted stories together, but when those stories begin to take root outside of the school, the two begin a descent into madness. How could anyone manage a normal school life when there are monsters threatening their classmates?

I have mixed feelings on 'Don't Let the Forest In'. I like that Thomas is a brooding Victorian anti-hero in a modern setting. I like that he's a ginger. I like how the novel sets up a few mysteries at the beginning for us to become invested in, and does a pretty good job foreshadowing the twist without giving anything away. While the prose uses a few too many 'Tumblr Aesthetic Buzzwords' (I'm saying this as an active Tumblr user, but moths, mushrooms, antlers, bones and moss are the most popular forest-eaten aesthetic choices for micro-blogging teens), it's lovely at points, with some visceral body horror both in Andrew's stories and in the descriptions of the monsters themselves.

Unfortunately, those pieces I like are held together with fragile, gossamer threads like spider's webs. Andrew has a toxic codependency towards Thomas, which feels like something the author thought about committing to but didn't want to go the whole way, which is understandable--writing a non-healthy queer relationship in a book geared towards teens can come with some unwanted scrutiny, especially when even the most innocent of gay relationships in books get banned from public and school libraries. Maybe I'm a bit of a sicko, but I was expecting a darker twist than what we got, especially with how much Andrew was willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of Thomas.

I think the biggest problem with 'Don't Let the Forest In' is that it takes place in the modern day. Perhaps if Wickwood Academy had more of a conservative, 'pull yourself up by your bootstraps' attitude I'd be more forgiving, but if a student who suffered from a serious tragedy and mental break towards the end of the previous year looked exhausted and lost a good deal of weight, he would at the least be cornered by the school nurse or spoken to by a guidance counselor. Even setting it in the 90's or early 2000's would have worked better for ignoring the mental and physical health of teens, and GSAs and asexuality were known about then, too, so it wouldn't have made them feel anachronistic (I went to a rural high school in the 2000's and was also a member of the GSA and was grappling with my asexual identity, so I speak from experience). Alternatively, I think a college setting would have let the same things happen without as much teacher intervention (since you're technically an 'adult' then), but it would lose it's YA rating then.

One last issue... a red herring is introduced only a few pages before the twist is revealed. I wish we had this misdirection earlier, since it had me thinking 'Wait a minute... that doesn't quite work' and going back to earlier points of the book, only to have the actual twist happen right afterwards. Personally, I wanted more time to chew on this, since it leads into what the actual twist is... though I'll admit, even if it made less sense I kind of liked the red herring more than what actually happened.

Ultimately, 'Don't Let the Forest In' has a lot to offer. I'm sure if I would have picked this up as an angsty, artsy, asexual teenager who dealt with bullies and bad grades, I would have loved this book. As a cranky adult (who is still asexual and artsy, but learned early on that she wasn't artsy enough to make a career out of it), I'd give it a 3.5. But since that cranky adult isn't the target audience for it, I'll let my younger self raise that rating up to a 4.