I’ve been looking forward to this debut book, Don’t Let the Forest In, by CG Drews, since I saw posts on Threads from the author. The cover is gorgeous and there are horror illustrations inside that remind me of the Scary Stories series that I used to read back in elementary school. I do not usually read horror or young adult books these days, but I wanted to give this one a chance because it looked intriguing. I will try not to reveal any spoilers about this book while giving my thoughts. And, from what I understand, this is a standalone book, so it will not be part of a larger series. Though this author does have more projects in the works, including a book called Hazelthorn.
Synopsis
Once upon a time, Andrew had cut out his heart and given it to this boy, and he was very sure Thomas had no idea that Andrew would do anything for him. Protect him. Lie for him.
Kill for him.
High school senior Andrew Perrault finds refuge in the twisted fairytales that he writes for the only person who can ground him to reality―Thomas Rye, the boy with perpetually ink-stained hands and hair like autumn leaves. And with his twin sister, Dove, inexplicably keeping him at a cold distance upon their return to Wickwood Academy, Andrew finds himself leaning on his friend even more.
But something strange is going on with Thomas. His abusive parents have mysteriously vanished, and he arrives at school with blood on his sleeve. Thomas won’t say a word about it, and shuts down whenever Andrew tries to ask him questions. Stranger still, Thomas is haunted by something, and he seems to have lost interest in his artwork―whimsically macabre sketches of the monsters from Andrew’s wicked stories.
Desperate to figure out what’s wrong with his friend, Andrew follows Thomas into the off-limits forest one night and catches him fighting a nightmarish monster―Thomas’s drawings have come to life and are killing anyone close to him. To make sure no one else dies, the boys battle the monsters every night. But as their obsession with each other grows stronger, so do the monsters, and Andrew begins to fear that the only way to stop the creatures might be to destroy their creator…
Book Details
- Published: October 29, 2024
- Page Count: 336 pages
- Genre: YA Psychological Horror
- Trigger Warnings: Body horror, disordered eating, self-harm, bullying, blood and gore, death, grief, homophobia, and violence.
Thoughts on Don’t Let the Forest In
This book starts us out when Andrew is returning to his final year of private school after being away for the summer. However, things this year may not be easy considering how things left off before the summer break and the school has fenced off the forest to stop students from entering. A place that Andrew likes to go a lot with his rule-breaking best friend Thomas. This isn’t a spoiler since this is all revealed within the first four chapters (and in the book description), but here’s everything that’s mounted against the protagonist as they return to boarding school:
- Before the summer vacation, Andrew injured his hand, resulting in a crisscross of scars. On the first day, his scars (or rather, why they happened) become the topic of everyone’s gossip, despite his desire to keep a low profile.
- Andrew gave Thomas a short story describing how his heart belonged to Thomas, though he is not sure if Thomas understood what he meant or reciprocated those feelings. Andrew believes that Thomas might be interested in Dove (Andrew’s twin sister).
- Andrew has not spoken to Thomas all summer due to Thomas’ phone being broken.
- Thomas and Dove got into a massive fight before summer break.
- To make matters worse, when Thomas and Andrew are reunited, Thomas has blood on his sleeve and is acting cagey before it is revealed that his parents are missing. Which, unfortunately, means everyone in the schools assumes that Thomas killed his parents. When in reality, monsters that he drew based on Andrew’s short stories are coming to life and attacking people.
Speaking of monsters, I love how whenever one appears in the story, we get to see the drawings that Thomas made of them. As mentioned earlier, these remind me a lot of the drawings in Scary Stories. And as I’ve mentioned in reviews in the past, I love when books include pictures, as they give the story another element, especially when art is a major factor of the story. We can see exactly what Thomas created beyond the words on the page. And in one instance, where Thomas doesn’t mention drawing that particular monster, we don’t get any artwork. I thought that was a great detail, as it really showcases the connection between the monsters and their creator.
Beyond the horror elements of this book, Andrew spends a large portion of this book struggling with his feelings towards Thomas while being asexual (something I really appreciated as an asexual myself, though I’m on a different side of that scale when it comes to sex) and his anxiety/panic attacks. You can see him struggling to help Thomas with the monsters while he is struggling with his own mental health and sexuality. While criticism of this book focuses on how asexuality is portrayed, it’s an umbrella term that covers a spectrum. Not everyone who is asexual is going to have the same experience. Some asexuals are sex-repulsed, while others are not. Andrew happens to be the type that doesn’t want anything beyond hugging and kissing. So, I loved seeing that representation versus the typical relationships that are shown in books and movies.
Especially as he becomes isolated from his twin sister as the book progresses and the adults in his life are not helpful. His dad ignores him, his teachers belittle him (granted, he’s also half-asleep and not completing assignments since he’s not sleeping), and not one teacher cares that he’s being bullied about his sexuality regularly. Honestly, we don’t see a single teacher attempt to help him until they decide to kick him out of the boarding school. Like, the kid is not showing up to mandatory meal times for months, has panic attacks regularly in front of others, and so many other things. An adult should’ve pulled him aside sooner to see what was going on, especially when they knew he punched a mirror the year prior and were treating him like broken glass.
With that being said, I really connected with Andrew even though I’m an adult. I see a lot of things I went through reflected back at me through his character. He creates twisted fairytales with tragic endings, a lot of times reflecting his feelings towards things that happen around him. Which he later learns can be used to defeat the monsters. He also finds it difficult to communicate with anyone other than Thomas or Dove, but he eventually learns to open up to Chloe and Lana, especially about his sexuality, which often makes him feel like he wants to escape his own skin. The book also explores his codependent relationship with Dove and Thomas, and his perplexity over Dove’s decision to abandon him. No matter how many times he demands to see Dove, no one ever gets her for him. We know he repressed something regarding the incident with the mirror that left him scarred, but no one ever talks about it.
I don’t reveal the twist or how they end up defeating the monsters. But the ending was beautifully tragic, like the twisted fairy tales that Andrew writes. While I predicted one element, I did not guess the other one correctly. I was right in one regard to it but wrong in how it came into play. Don’t expand the next section if you don’t want spoilers, as I’m going into my specific thoughts about the ending.
- Andrew could’ve snapped and done those things, then returned to reality after learning and accepting the truth about Dove.
- OR the monsters were real and left once Andrew accepted the truth about Dove and destroyed the notebook full of twisted stories (as he puts it, his heart).
Though if the monsters weren’t real, what the hell was Thomas doing all those times Andrew was hallucinating? Because he was going into the forest well before Andrew joined in fighting the monsters. And I doubt he was just going to the tree where Dove died every night, not sleeping over his guilt of leaving her after she demanded Thomas to ignore his feelings for Andrew.
A quote that perfectly sums up this book:
He was so tired of suffering because he moved through the world differently from everyone else. This wasn’t only about goddamn monsters. It was about how he never seemed able to cope, how the world didn’t fit against his skin, how he felt too much and hurt too often and couldn’t pack his emotions into neat, palatable boxes.
Drews, CG. Don’t Let the Forest In, Page 288
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it if you like darker books, twisted fairy tales, and flowery/lyrical prose with LGBTQ+ representation and mental health struggles. It’s unapologetically unafraid to pay tribute to those former weird little kids who lived in their daydreams, no matter how twisted they were. It also is a great fit for anyone who enjoys stories about intense friendships, overcoming darkness, and the struggle to protect loved ones from their inner and outer monsters. I fully intend to read more from this author, as I really enjoyed this book.
If you have any horror recommendations with fantasy elements, let me know. I think I’m going to try adding more of these to my reading rotation.
Love ya,
Mae Polzine
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