awesome book. very twisty and with some interesting elements. some very ominous woods, but also tension built up through the people. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

Thank you to net galley for the arc. This book was really interesting. I enjoyed it. There's a cursed village that many go into but not everyone comes out alive. I highly recommend reading this.

In 1970s rural Estonia, Viktoria loves the forest bordering her home, unaware of the dangers lurking within. Legends tell of an ancient bog god that has claimed the lives of many villagers. When Vik takes her toddler sister, Anna, into the woods, tragedy strikes—Anna disappears. Ten years later, Anna returns, unchanged and silent. But is she really Anna? The villagers grow fearful, and danger follows.
Vik, consumed by grief and guilt, doesn’t care what Anna is—she’s determined to protect her at any cost. Her quest leads her deep into the bog’s mystery, uncovering secrets while navigating Soviet surveillance and the threat that haunts the forest.
This gripping story explores fierce love, psychological healing, and the unbreakable bonds of family and community. The unexpected genre shift midway kept me hooked, and the ending beautifully ties in the powerful Singing Revolution, where millions of Baltic people defied Soviet oppression through song.

And The Trees Stare Back by Gigi Griffis is a tale of oppression, myths and the lies we tell ourselves to cope with the realities we simply can't deal with.
Estonia in 1989 is caught firm in the midst of Soviet occupation where people routinely go missing. Vik is all too aware of this brutal fact since she lost her father to the Soviets.
and after a day of childish fun in the woods, her little sister, Anna, vanishes.
Vik is shattered and retreats emotionally from everyone, including her best friend, Liis, since she is convinced only she is responsible for her little sister's disappearance and her mother's grief.
Five years go by in this repressive and soul crushing manner, until Anna comes walking out of the woods. but Anna hasn't aged. she's the same age as she was when she vanished.
Vik is torn between joy at the return of her sister and the growing fear in the pit of her stomach that Anna might not be Anna at all. Anna might be something darker. something feral and hungry.
And The Trees Stare Back is a complex story of love of all kinds and the lengths we will go to in order to save it. i especially appreciated the working of the historical element throughout the story. i'd never heard of The Singing Revolution before and feel richer with the knowledge of it.
4 1/2 stars out 5
highly recommended.

First off, many thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this book as an e-ARC! I greatly appreciate it!

Oh, boy, it's in first person POV. That's not a good start. I'm not mad about it (Negative), nor am I mad about the book (Positive.) Despite the gorgeous cover and one of the coolest titles I've ever heard, this book was just okay. The characters were okay, the story was okay, the writing was okay. If you like weird sci-fi takes in historical settings, this might be the book for you, but I was expecting this to be more of a horror story, and I feel deceived.

Three stars out of five for And The Trees Stare Back!

I quite enjoyed the premise of “And the Trees Stare Back”, especially with the folk lore aspects. Viktoria takes her younger sister, Anna, into the bog near their village that inspires fear in most of the townsfolk and is a place that she is warned to stay away from. Anna disappears, and Vik and her mother are left to struggle through their grief. Set in Soviet-era Estonia, the political and social climate of the time plays a heavy role in the way the characters interact and the events of the story. The pacing, as other reviewers have mentioned, caused the story to suffer a bit for me. I do think the shorter chapters offset the slow pacing for me, personally. There were instances where I found Vik’s internal dialogue to be repetitive and her arguments with other characters to be a bit more childlike than her age would suggest, but otherwise I enjoyed all of the characters in this story. My favorite part was the inclusion of folklore regarding Soovana, the entity in the bog that features heavily in Vik’s theories, and the descriptions of Vik’s tarot cards, which are her comfort item.

LINK: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7363048678

Many thanks to NetGalley and Holiday House for the ARC! Five phenomenal stars.

This book was like a kaleidoscope–lots of genres all swirled into one amazing picture:
-Folk horror
-Mystery
-Culture/History (Learned so much about Estonia and the Singing Revolution)
-(And a VERY cool surprise genre I don’t want to spoil!)

Above all, though, this is a story about family, healing, and community as an act of rebellion.

Viktoria lives in ~1970’s rural Estonia on the edge of a forest. She only sees its beauty, but it’s said to be stalked by an old god of the bog, and numerous villagers have ventured in never to be heard from again. When Vik takes her toddler sister along to share her favorite place, the unthinkable happens, and Anna vanishes. …Only to reappear ten years later, stumbling out of the forest, exactly the same age.

Is she a witch? Is she a changeling? Is she even the same Anna? The village grows uneasy, then dangerous. But after ten years of grief and guilt, Vik realizes–she doesn’t care. She will do anything to protect this silent, strange child. Her journey leads her to the heart of the bog’s mystery, unravelling secrets while evading Soviet surveillance–and danger lurking in the trees.

To say more would be to spoil the absolutely wild plot twist halfway through (secret genre!), but I was hooked well before that. This story has a ton of heart. It’s about fierce love, psychological healing, keeping hope alive beneath oppression, and how a community can be fractured by grief but still bound together by love. The ending was absolutely beautiful, tying in the Singing Revolution–which I learned about for the first time. Three Baltic countries came together in a human chain two million people strong, protesting Soviet control with one weapon: patriotic songs, which the Soviets had outlawed.

On a more personal note, as someone with OCD, I also deeply appreciate the mental health representation. I noticed some of Vik’s behaviors and wondered, only for a very touching author’s note at the end to confirm my suspicions: Vik and her mom are both traumatized by Anna’s loss, and Vik lives with PTSD and OCD as a result. But this is a story of healing, and how to live with the weight while embracing life and hope. Incredibly well-done.

This was an interesting read, I went into it expecting a fully fantasy-based setting, and the realization that it was actually based on a real historical area and culture was fascinating. Like some other reviewers I did find the pacing a bit slow. There were parts that could have been shortened a bit, I felt Vik's rumination to be a bit repetitive at times.

Overall, I'd probably recommend this to folks looking for a bit of a slower paced read with some interesting historical aspects to it.

2.8 — i hated the pacing of this. even though it was interesting at times, the plot was so slow it took me a month to finish it. i couldnt force myself to be invested in this book

1989, in the Estonian countryside 16-year old Vik lives near a dark, cursed forest. Several years ago, Vik’s younger sister Anna disappeared in the forest … until Anna comes back.

The premise for this story was so interesting and I was very engaged for about half the story but then, as things were explained, the initial suspense just fell for me and it got quite uninteresting. I imagined a more fantasy-esque horror vibe, and the actual cause of all the strangeness did not live up to what I thought I was going to get.

Although I was disengaged for the latter half of the book the first half was very engaging and suspenseful. Very interesting setting with Soviet Estonia, incorporating the silent revolt the Estonians at the time did – like speaking Estonian at home and so on. It also tells, in the background, how the Baltics finally received their independence and that I enjoyed a lot.

I think that If you go into this book without having the certain expectations I had you will really like the second half of the book too.

This was a brilliant YA horror. Dark and twisty in ways that kept me reading. I also enjoyed the use of tarot throughout the narrative.

The inclusion of OCD meant a lot to me and I’m so glad to see represented in YA.

things i loved most about this book: ominous bog vibes; short chapters which aided the fast pace; rebel girls fighting the system in the only way they know how.

the speculative elements often felt disjointed from the socio-political climate within the story. it often felt like the soviet soldiers would pop up and i was reminded that this takes place in our world in quite recent history (albeit, maybe not for younger readers). when artefacts of soviet rule were peppered into the narrative, it often felt forced—as if it were telling us when and where the story was placed (and leaning on the readers knowledge of cold war era history) rather than showing us through deeper world-building. however, this becomes stronger as the plot progresses and the socio-political structures become key to the story. further, the disjointedness did work at times, specifically by adding to the isolated atmosphere and the dreamy state the protagonist existed in.

i really enjoyed the protagonist, her actions and mistakes and thought pattern felt quite child like and was wonderfully (and sadly) juxtaposed with her guilt and sense of responsibility as the elder daughter. she’s a kid but she’s had to operate in a world where kids must grow up and harden quickly. the other child characters were also good, and anna was the creepy child i always want to see in a horror. however, the adult characters felt a bit hollow to me. maybe this is because we see the story from vik’s pov and because this is a young adult novel (wherein shallow and near-neglectful parents are key) but i would have loved to see more characterisation there.

This book has such a good premise and there’s a lot of fun, twisty ideas in it. My only issue was really with the pacing - it felt like it took ages to really get going. But I will definitely check out further efforts from this author.

A chilling and atmospheric horror novel that blurs the line between reality and nightmare. Griffis crafts an eerie tale filled with unsettling imagery, creeping dread, and a growing sense of paranoia. A must-read for fans of psychological and folk horror

Unexpectedly tragic and heartwarming. Most of the book has Dark vibes, while the ending was more 80's sci-fi. The relationships between characters is where this story excels. Complicated familial relationships, strained friendships, overcoming trauma and feelings of self worth.

The first 2/3s of the story were slow paced, but kept me invested enough in the mystery. The direction the end takes was one I wasn't expecting.

What an interesting read! I didn't know what to expect after reading We Are the Beasts, but I do feel confident in saying Griffis keeps me on my toes with her plot twists.

The characters are definitely the best part of this book. Vik is traumatized, and her mental health is at its all time low, especially due to her OCD and CPTSD being undiagnosed. She has these fear-fueled rituals and beliefs about herself that make her such a sad character to follow along in the story, but the fears she's forced to confront throughout her journey make her so much stronger. I absolutely adored her friendship with Liis and the little fox Kaos, and their exploration of the bog was seeped such a dark, heavy atmosphere; I love that kind of writing. I again much mention my adoration to Griffis' attention to detail regarding historical accuracy and her notes at the end of the story expanding upon the background the story plays around.

The one thing that really held this story back, though, was the pacing. It got repetitive a lot, and I felt like the story wasn't really progressing all that much until the last third or so of the book when we finally got to the juicer bits of the mystery.

Overall, this was a book with great main characters and a story with a really goof unexpected twist, but the pacing of the story hindered a lot of the enjoyment for me.

For fans of Stranger Things, Naomi Novik, and Katherine Arden's the Bear and the Nightingale. This book was hard to put down.

In Sovient Estonia, a 5 year old girl goes missing. 10 years later, she returns, but is still 5 years old. Her sister tries to investigate as best she can, suspecting fairies and creatures of folklore. The truth is much more real and sinister.

this didn't go in a direction that i thought it would. it was very good, writing and storyline wise. it was also very slow, it didn't pick up until like it hit the 60% / 70% mark.

Wow! What a read is really all there is to say about this one. Gigi really blew me away. And the trees stare back was creepy and sent chills down my spine the entire time. Such a enthralling read

And the Trees Stare Back follows Vik in 1989, Soviet Estonia after her sister went missing five years ago and her mother blamed her. When her little sister, Anna, walks out of the forest and bog, Vik is overjoyed, until she realizes that Anna hasn’t aged at all. Under Soviet rule, talk of witchcraft and the folklore lingering in the trees surrounding them is forbidden. But that’s the only explanation to Anna. Vik must uncover the truth or risk losing Anna a second time.

This one was quite interesting! I really enjoyed the concept and loved the folklore element. I can’t say I’ve ever read any Estonian lore before so this was really fascinating. I really liked the setting and time period. It made for a very tense and gripping read especially when the soldiers came around. It was a little slow at times, but the ending was really action-packed. The twist at the end was very surprising and I liked it. This is one of those books where you’re not sure if it’s speculative, folk-monster/creature, or just some natural, human explanation to what is truly going on. It toed that line of questioning really well.

I enjoyed the main character. I felt really bad for her home situation and its definitely really easy to root for her. I liked the progression of her relationship with her mom and her sister. Her friendship with Liis was really sweet and it was so nice how much they cared for each other even with their differences and tense past. Love Kaos—who doesn’t love a loveable fox?

Overall, if you like folk horror with interesting twists and books rooted in real history, then this is definitely one you’ll want to check out.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review!