And the Trees Crept In

** spoiler alert ** The concept of this book was very intriguing to me, and it ended up being a major disappointment. I think I wanted it to not be as much of a mind game as it was because I wanted there to truly be something creepy out in the woods that keep getting closer to the house rather than everything being in her head. I enjoyed the suspense of the novel and parts of the confusion that Silla was going through. However, her confusion made me confused at some points because of the times where we would come around to the same setting as earlier and something totally different would be happening (mainly towards the end of the book when they are at the cave part). I didn’t like how she could just “reset” her life in the house and try to make it something new (i think that’s what was happening with the cave - i am not totally sure of that). I also didn’t trust Gowan from the beginning. Him coming out of nowhere and just acting like he knew them and was friends with them and loved them (which I guess he actually did in their life) made me very suspicious of him and I really would have rather had him be a bad character and not someone trying to help her. Overall, I did not like the ending. I thought it was interesting that she had created this place for herself because of her guilt, but I didn’t like how she was doing this in her death - I think it would have been more interesting to have her go crazy in real life. I would have also liked it more had the curse been a real curse. It also really bothered me that Silla and Gowan as “ghosts” could just return to the earth at try their hand at life again. I was like “what????”

Lost, anyone?

I've been wanting to dip my toe into the horror realm for a while now, and I thought this book would be a good first step. Unfortunately, I wasn't a huge fan. I had seen people criticize the ending before I even started reading it, and all those people were right. I won't say what happens even under a spoiler banner, but just know that it's a total cop-out and not really creative. The atmosphere of the book was really creepy and because I listened to the audiobook, there were a ton of added effects that made it even creepier. My biggest complaint is how much the book dragged. Silla is an unreliable narrator, but the unreliable narration was too much! We kept on going back in time and reliving things different ways, and then jumping forward, and then back again, over and over. Some of those scenes definitely could have been cut and the story still would have been fine. Speaking of the story, it was hella confusing, because of said unreliable narration. At the end, one of the characters summed up everything and explained why certain things happened, and thank GOD because I was so confused by the end of the book. Overall, this book had a good concept that had some good moments, but overall fell flat for me.

3.75/5 That was unexpected. I mean I've had my theories, and they all sort of came to be true, but also didn't. Hard to explain. But I liked this book quite a bit, especially the part when things started to get revealed, but only confused me more. That was fun. Ultimately, the very end was a little bit underwhelming, but! The parts right before it were top notch. (view spoiler)[The ending and maybe a little bit of the concept reminded me of my favorite movie - Silent Hill, and even though it's flawed as fuck, but I love it with all my heart. (hide spoiler)] Really glad I decided to pick this book up. Such a fucked up and crazy read and that's the kind I like.

As a young adult thriller, And The Trees Crept In was an enjoyable ride from beginning to end. While at times it felt cliche, those moments were few and far between. It had a distinct similarity to the Slender Man, but that didn't take away from the story; rather, it helped to add to the story. And The Trees Crept In is creepy without being overwhelming. I definitely recommend it to anyone interested in young adult thrillers.

This book was mind-boggling. I constantly didn't know what was real and what was allegorical. I loved that about this book, and that is something that I've always wanted to find in a book. The ending confuses you, but then explains itself in a way that leaves the reader in complete awe, not frustration. The characters in this book are so wonderful as well, if wonderful can be used to describe people with the most disturbing outlooks. This is the first horror book that I have ever read and I completely and totally loved it.

I don't even know where to start with this. THIS WAS SOME GODDAMN BULLSHIT AND I AM UPSET This book. THIS FUCKING BOOK. IT WAS SO GOOD. SO ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL AND GENUINELY TERRIFYING. This book had me so worked up, I've been a jumpy mess for the last two weeks that I've been reading it. IT WAS SO WELL WRITTEN. IT WAS SCARY. I LOVED THE CHARACTERS. THE PLOT WAS CONFUSING IN THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE. IT WAS EVERYTHING I WANTED IN A HORROR NOVEL. U N T I L EVERYTHING WENT TO S H I T ABSOLUTE AND UTTER BULLSHIT. I fucking loved this book up until the 80% mark. I will give credit where credit is due; And The Trees Crept In was wonderful at first. The majority of the book was fantastic, like could have been one of my favourite books kind of fantastic. BUT THEN. THE (view spoiler)[FUCKING SEX SCENE IN THE WOODS (hide spoiler)] HAPPENED. THIS IS WHERE IT STARTED TO GO DOWNHILL. Before that happened, this was without a doubt a five star book. Afterwards, I was only going to drop it to four stars. Because as stupid as it was, it is YA so I had to forgive it at least a little bit. BUT THEN IT GOT WORSE. IT WAS JUST A DOWNHILL FUCKING SPIRAL AFTER THAT. THE ENDING????? ARE YOU KIDDING ME. ARE YOU FUCKING JOKING DAWN KURTAGICH?? ALL OF THE HORRIFYING SHIT HAPPENING IN THIS GOD FORSAKEN NOVEL WAS HAPPENING BECAUSE OF THAT???????????? ALL SILLA HAD TO DO WAS (view spoiler)[ FORGIVE HERSELF (hide spoiler)] AND THAT WOULD SOLVE EVERYTHING????? HONESTLY. THAT IS THE STUPIDEST THING YOU COULD HAVE POSSIBLY THOUGHT OF, AND IS THE REASON THAT THIS BOOK WENT FROM FIVE FUCKING STARS TO T W O. THE FUCK KIND OF BULLSHIT THIS BOOK WAS A WASTE OF MY TIME. WHICH IS REALLY UPSETTING BECAUSE I REALLY REALLY LIKED MOST OF IT. BUT THE FUCKING ENDING COMPLETELY RUINED IT. THE LAST TWENTY PERCENT. KURATAGICH WROTE ABSOLUTE PERFECTION FOR 80 GODDAMN PERCENT AND THEN SHE HAD TO GO AND FUCK IT UP WITH BAD YA TROPES AND BAD WRITING AND BAD STORYTELLING AND BAD CHEESY STUPID FUCKING EVERYTHING OH MY GOD I'M SO ANGRY AT HOW MUCH TIME I JUST WASTED.

Best audio book ever. Creepy AF!! 4 star read but 5 star audio. Definitely recommend audio book!!

Before I start my review, I would like to thank Little, Brown Book for Young Readers and NetGalley for allowing me to read And the Trees Crept In By Dawn Kurtagich. **All opinions stated in this review are mine and mine alone. I received And the Trees Crept In from NetGalley through Little, Brown Book for Young Readers as an ARC for my honest and unbiased review** Now onto my review: I stayed up until 1am to finish reading this book (which annoyed my husband to no end). To put it mildly, I had to finish this book because it had such a grip on me. It scared me to death and fascinated me at the same time. When I can’t sleep after finishing a book because it creeped me out, you know that it was good. This book is written in such a different fashion, it is hard to explain. One chapter, you are reading in 1st person (either Silla, Nori or Cath) and then you could be reading in 3rd person (Gowan). Normally, I don’t like it when the book jumps around like that but in this case, it worked perfectly. You also get to read excerpts from Silla’s diary that are really creepy. I won’t go into it but I got the chills from reading it. This book also fucks with your mind. I won’t go into it but oh baby, things are defiantly not what they seem in this book!!! Like I said above, this book is a mind fuck. The huge twist at the end totally threw me for a loop. Like I didn’t even see it coming. Not a hint, nothing. How many stars will I give And the Trees Crept In? 5 Why? This is a genuinely creepy book with an ending that makes you go “WTF”. Will I reread? Yes Will I recommend to family and friends? Yes Age Range: Young Adult Why? No sex, some violence and is just very creepy!!