𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘍𝘦𝘪𝘸𝘦𝘭 & 𝘍𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘈𝘙𝘊.

I'm going to start by saying that this is not a children's book. I think horror has a place within children's literature, but there are so many disturbing themes/ideas/images here that the overall effect is too overwhelming, the ending too ambiguous. It has just about every trigger warning going and that quickly manifests into a tidal wave of emotional bruising.

HOWEVER - what a stunningly realised piece of gothic/horror fiction. It has blood in its teeth, skin beneath its nails and scars from the skull's crown to the tips of the toes. I often struggle with magical realism because I like to know whether the fantasy elements hold actual weight or whether the protagonist is mentally ill. I'm not sure it matters here. Not when the prose's sole purpose is to make you squirm and coil into yourself and shudder in utter repellence. Sewn lips and briary bodies. Exposed ribs, spilled ink, spiked words and monsters that never stop coming.

It's queer in every sense of the word and I think it's so important for the publishing world to hold space for texts like this. It's an experiment. And it doesn't always work. I can only take so much emotional bruising before I need to be offered a choccy mint and a reprieve. But it's so twisted and unforgiving and gutsy that - even if I didn't find joy in the pages - I certainly found 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.

I devoured this. Gritty dark. Loved it. The monsters were described I could see them and pulled vibes from my chest. Highly recommend.

This captivating tale is steeped in haunting imagery and emotional depth. Set in an atmospheric boarding school, it weaves a dark academia narrative that draws readers into its spellbinding world. Ideal for anyone who revels in a blend of fantasy and suspense, this story offers a thrilling journey through shadowy corridors, whispered secrets, and a gripping sense of foreboding. It's a perfect read for those who appreciate intricate plots and richly developed settings.

A story that’s tragically beautiful and creepy in a way that burrows and blossoms under your skin like mushroom spores among decaying plant matter.
Set in a boarding school and an ominous forest, the book explores love, obsession, and the monsters real and metaphorical that we create.
Andrew, a shy boy writes creepy fairytales for his best friend Thomas to draw and bring to life. But when Thomas's drawings actually come to life as monstrous creatures that are hell bent on hunting them and their classmates down the two boys have to face the horrors and their blossoming feelings for each other together.
I adored this book! The dark academia vibes, the longing unrequited feelings of love, the snippets of fairytales woven through the main story, and the lengths that we go to deal with trauma.

I picked this book based on the beautiful cover, and the themes of a horror/romance/YA. The book is beautifully written, with a plethora of flowery prose. Even though I liked the flowery prose, I also found them to be a little too much in some areas of the book. I also enjoyed the horror elements of the book.

The biggest things I didn’t like about the book were the pace and the ending. I had a hard time getting into the book itself, and ended up skimming sections to move it along. Additionally, I didn’t like what I found to be the open ended ending of the book. That’s just a personal thing I don’t love in books, so it may not be a total turn off for others.

I will be reading this book again!
I’m speechless after finishing and I’m just not sure how to explain why I love it so much.

This book is haunting, devastating, beautiful like a nightmare with so much craziness mixed in. The characters are written so well and Andrew with all of his pain and anxiety. I just love him.
The art and poetry, the forest description it’s just all so well written.
It speaks to our fears deep inside. The monsters that live within us.

High school drama, bullying, queer teens, love, pain, anxiety, real and imagined fears.
This book might not be for everyone but I loved it!

"All my stories are about you. They will always be about you."

“It hadn't hurt, the day he had cut out his own heart ... No one would want a heart like his. But he'd still cut it out and given it away.”

5 star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced readers copy I read I also ran out and purchased the hardcover book

Creepy, Queer, but ngl I found it a bit Cringe. The mental health and psychological twists with magical realism didn’t work for me. I ended the book feeling unsure of anything.

# Don't Let the Forest In
# 11/24/2024 ~ 11/25/2024
# 3.0 / 5.0

This book cover is killer and the synopsis sounded interesting but I couldn’t get into the story. I considered not finishing this book a few times but stuck with it since it’s rather short — and I was really hoping to love it in the end.

I think the main reason I didn’t like it is because I couldn’t connect with any of the characters and I didn’t find the main characters (Andrew and Thomas) lovable.

Monsters coming to life is a great idea. I love how the written stories and their pictures brought these twisted fairy tales to life. And most of the scenes with those monsters were descriptive and interesting. But the rest of the story fell flat.

I did also love the queer representation, especially having an asexual main character. I don’t see that in novels enough.

Maybe, just maybe, this is a case of wrong-book wrong-time and I’d give this author another chance in the future.

2.5 stars

BEAUTIFUL. HORRIFYING. TOXIC. QUEER.;

this debut had no right to be as good as it was. This WAS MADE for the raven cycle girlies.

The writing? Stunning. The relationships? Low key toxic just the way I like them. And the twist at the end?!? I mean utter perfection. There is a reason this book has the ratings it does.

4.75

this was incredible and definitely would be 5 stars if i hadn't taken so many break in between reading it. The writing is very descriptive and flowery? which doesn't always work but it made this book so immersive. i LOVED the portrayal of Andrew's anxiety he is literally me.

“Andrew wanted to step outside of his skin and be someone who could talk easily, fit next to other people and not want to take himself apart and analyze everything he'd done wrong"

Insane how the author captures this so perfectly. Also, Andrew figuring out he's asexual and having Lana and Chloe there to support him. i am a sucker for tragic siblings so Andrew and Dove really got to me. the ending actually freaked me out so bad i was reading it at night and getting so paranoid i had to pace around my room. i absolutely did not expect that plot twist.

“His twin had been severed from him, and he hadn't even been awake to feel it."

most devastating line ever im so serious. this whole book is so gory and twisted and atmospheric and i loved it so much.

thank you netgalley for the arc! i feel so bad about this review being late oops

"Get ahold of yourself. But he didn't know what part of himself was safe to hold on to."

This was haunting and messy and I loved it. I'm not usually one who reads a lot of horror stories and if I do they're usually more in the gothic horror category. As it's a YA book it's probably relatively light on the horror theme compared to adult horror books, but in my case I quite enjoyed it. It was just the right amount of creepy. This was a really great read though and if the platform had allowed me to I would've given 4.5 ⭐️

🌳 Queer characters
🥀 Asexual MMC
🌳 Body horror
🥀 Unhinged monsters
🌳 Deliciously messy

The story was gripping, atmospheric and intriguing. The fact that this is a debut makes it even more impressive, in my opinion. I went in completely blind aside from some of the quotes and short descriptions I had seen shared by the author. About 80% into the story when I suddenly realised what was happening and it was honestly great to be in suspense for that long and not being entirely sure what's going on. Then at one point it just clicked.

These boys were so messy and codependent 🥹 and the ending was really well done. I believe my first response was "wait, what???" and I think that's perfect for this haunting and unhinged story.

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a little backlogged with my ARCs but working diligently to get caught up. This book was quite unique and unusual from what I’m used to reading but I still found myself getting sucked in. It deals with a lot of coming to age issues and the mental strife that accompanies it. I loved all the details used in setting the scene, really helped me feel involved in the story! I would recommend if you like fiction, mysteries, and a touch of horror!

I thought I was going to love this.
I could barely get through it. I don’t know if it was the characters or the writing or the fact that it felt like just NOTHING was happening. I managed to get 27% in a month and then had to skim the rest.
I’m not sure I would’ve enjoyed the ending had I spent the time forcing myself to read it. It was a trope that just isn’t good unless it’s done perfectly, and this had so much wrong in just the beginning.

Maybe it works for YA, and for entertainment but not for seasoned .. very seasoned horror / thriller readers

If I had a nickel for each book I finished this week that had the twist that the entire plot was just the unreliable narrators strange way of dealing with the death of his sister, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but weird that it happened twice. This book is pretty much what would happen if andrew joseph white wrote when haru was here 💀💀💀💀. But also what the f u c k. I have no words.

Beautifully haunting and delightfully gory, Don’t Let the Forest In is an amazing debut for Drews.
This novel follows Andrew, a shy and awkward boy with his perfectly posted twin sister, Dove at a prestigious boarding school in the Virginian woods and their best friend Thomas; a troublesome bad boy whose only soft spot is for Andrew. Oh! And he maybe murdered both of his parents? The story starts with a rocky beginning to the school year, when Thomas is investigated for parricide and Andrew’s relationship with both him and his sister is feeling different. Slowly, he discovers that monsters from him and Thomas’ fictional worlds are haunting the school and resulting in real danger, and the two boys come together to defeat their imaginary creatures while also exploring their relationship as well.
I can say for sure that my favorite part of this novel was its writing- absolutely immaculate! The descriptors of the monsters and the boys’ stories were so vivid. Thomas and Andrew’s bond and love was also written so fondly and was certainly a contributor to my enjoyment.
One critique to mention is because the boys relationship was so well developed, the supposed inseparable trio of the twins and Thomas felt lacking, although we were supposed to feel it. The contrast between how I felt towards the trio’s past (or lack of it) compared to T & A was disappointing.
I also saw the plot twist coming from miles away; however, I rarely deduct from my ratings or enjoyment due to that reason.
In addition, the ending was ambiguous to the max and I am still unsure what to think about it although it felt fitting.
I would recommended this novel for fans of The Wilder Girls, The Wicker King, and House of Hollow.
There is notable LGBTQ+ rep and specifically Ace representation in main character Andrew, which was nice to see too!
Overall, I am usually not a fan of YA stories but this was one of the better ones. I would still recommend!

If you’re wanting something with vibes similar to Sawkill Girls and The Raven Boys I think you might enjoy this. I think that the horror elements of this book were great especially the psychological stuff. This just didn’t quite hit for me and I can’t quite articulate why. Maybe it’s because my points of comparison are The Invocations and Sawkill Girls which execute their horror allegories so well. Patriarchy and rape culture represented through horror might just be more interesting to me I guess. Truly it’s not that this is a bad book it’s just not the book for me.

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book is Dark Academia Horror at its best: twisted and creepy in all the right ways with main characters you can’t help but love, even as you’re a little bit terrified of them (and for them!). The writing is utterly gorgeous and atmospheric. The depictions of Thomas’s macabre art coming to life will send shivers down your spine (I dare you to go out into a forest at night after reading this book!) The mysteries that unfold are both unsettling and compelling, and the pining between Andrew and Thomas is practically palpable. I don’t want to say too much about the story itself because I feel like it’s really easy to put spoilery suggestions into people’s heads. So instead, I will just say that this book is haunting and macabre and beautiful, and you should definitely read it!

***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher so I could provide an honest review (but I bought the special B&N edition too!). No compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***

Thank you NetGalley and Feiwel & Friends for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a great debut, and I really liked the way it balanced horror and relationships in relation to its target demographic. The horror was a bit horror-lite but still creepy and haunting in a way that felt very appropriate for a YA audience (like, no one should be having nightmares, you know? but they should feel unsettled) and I thought that Drews did a really good job at depicting what being a teen navigating queer sexuality looks like. Drews’ writing quality was solid and I liked the atmosphere it evoked. A lot of the narrative choices surprised me in a good way and the story kept me on my toes.

i loved this SO much it's a new favorite of mine! i honestly don't even know what to say because i feel my words will not do this book justice

the writing is so beautiful and haunting, it was truly hypnotizing. i don't see imagery often when reading but with this book it was so easy because of the writing. it was descriptive but in a poetic way and not in a boring "tell everything to you" kind of way. it's so hard to even describe you just have to read it and experience it yourself.

i could relate to Andrew's anxieties and the tension between him and Thomas was written SO good. i loved the conversation around Andrew figuring out his sexuality (asexual) and how he still feels romantic attraction to Thomas

i will immediately be buying my own physical copy of this book so i can reread and annotate

Don't Let the Forest In tells the story of Andrew, a high school student who writes twisted stories to escape reality. He has a friend called Thomas, whom he meets after the school break when they both come back to Wickwood Academy. Thomas is mysterious, keeps to himself and draws characters inspired by the stories that Andrew has written and everything changes and becomes even stranger when it seems like the monsters from those stories have become real. This is a story of friendship and developing feelings, with fantastical elements and usual teenager worries, that most experience at similar age.

For the most part I found this quite interesting to the point where it was hard to put down. It's very dark, twisted, but at the same time emotional and touches some sensitive topics. I didn't expect the twist at the end and it caught me off guard which made the reading experience even more enjoyable even if sad at the same time. The writing style was beautiful as well.

Thank you Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinions!