Name: Don't Let The Forest In
Rating: 4.056818181818182 (44 reviews)
ISBN: 9783737375658

C. G. Drews

Don't Let The Forest In

CG Drews

As alluring as it is unsettling, award-winning author CG Drews' debut YA psychological horror will leave readers breathless and hesitant to venture deeper into the woods. 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...

Don't Let the Forest In

Don't get me wrong, it's a good book, but i would've depicted it as a tragic paranormal YA romance. I couldn't predict everything and I kinda hated the open ending. But it is a good book for people that have never read thriller/horror and want to get into the genre. 

Tsu 💙

C.G. Drews

breathtakingly, achingly, beautifully horrific

Ralie Sutton

Finished this book even gave me more questions. I end up take some time to pack my thoughts first after reading it for which thing to believe.

I rarely read a horror genre book but I'm happy I did try this one, anyway, although kind of unfortunate I still classified the horror element as pretty mild maybe because combined with the other plot like identity and romance in this book that might took as much portion in it, or it simply just didn't blend naturally.

I keep making a theories along the way reading this book and it really a exciting experience and the ending just left me short-circuit I literally read the last chapter several times because what. the. heck? I personally love it.

Some people might hate that this book take a point of view from Andrew's but I would say the fact that Andrew's is such an unreliable narrator is also a factor that make this interesting.

Finished this book even gave me more questions. I end up take some time to pack my thoughts first after reading it for which thing to believe.

I rarely read a horror genre book but I'm happy I did try this one, anyway, although kind of unfortunate I still classified the horror element as pretty mild maybe because combined with the other plot like identity and romance in this book that might took as much portion in it, or it simply just didn't blend naturally.

I keep making a theories along the way reading this book and it really a exciting experience and the ending just left me short-circuit I literally read the last chapter several times because what. the. heck? I personally love it.

Some people might hate that this book take a point of view from Andrew's but I would say the fact that Andrew's is such an unreliable narrator is also a factor that make this interesting.

I am sure this has a lot of appeal for a lot of people but for me, personally, it just did not work (and I was really looking forward to reading it!) Perhaps the biggest issue was the disconnect I felt between the plot and the prose - the prose was very purple, tumblr-level purple, but the plot, the monsters that the boys encountered, were quite goofy. I am not even going to start on the dialogue or Andrew's fairytales as they both came off as pretentious but ultimately hollow (the included illustrations were genuinely amazing, though). Add to that the repetitiveness of the plot and the whole novel just feels weirdly paced.

There were a lot of great ideas in there but it just could have used some really thorough, really tight editing work to truly bring it to life. (Think Micah Nemerever's "These Violent Delights".)

I am sure this has a lot of appeal for a lot of people but for me, personally, it just did not work (and I was really looking forward to reading it!) Perhaps the biggest issue was the disconnect I felt between the plot and the prose - the prose was very purple, tumblr-level purple, but the plot, the monsters that the boys encountered, were quite goofy. I am not even going to start on the dialogue or Andrew's fairytales as they both came off as pretentious but ultimately hollow (the included illustrations were genuinely amazing, though). Add to that the repetitiveness of the plot and the whole novel just feels weirdly paced.

There were a lot of great ideas in there but it just could have used some really thorough, really tight editing work to truly bring it to life. (Think Micah Nemerever's "These Violent Delights".)

the vision is there. however the vision is something i've already seen in countless tumblr web weaves, and like them, it fails to develop into anything concrete. style prioritised over substance to the point where it is repetitive. i'm getting too old for this. much love to tumblr web weaves though

kemi

this book was fantastic, the art alongside some of the chapters was so dark and unexpectedly beautiful. books that deal with queer horror in response to grief is my fav sub genre EVER and this one was a beautiful example of why i love them. the anxious ace mc, wanting to crawl into the love interest, be cradled amongst his bones and become one? yeah thats my kinda romance. devoured.

wow, who would've thought a horror book would be 

ash (smokedshelves)

wow, who would've thought a horror book would be the most romantic book ever™️

it took me a few chapters to get into the story but once i did i couldn’t put it down… pleasantly unsettling

Cris

had a high expectations with this one. it was still a good read

Overall, I think this was a well done YA gothic academia. The prose leaned toward purple, but that’s never bothered me if done correctly. I like that sexuality, mental health, and eating disorders are addressed. However, some of these weren’t addressed the way I would’ve preferred them to be.

My biggest gripe with it is that I didn’t like being in Andrew’s head most of the time, so the fact that we see the world from his perspective made certain parts hard to get through. Sometimes, his perpetual insecurity and anxiety annoyed me.

I think this is a good YA novel. It was atmospheric, had good writing, and was full of angst. Some of the plots and twists were predictable but like I said … it’s YA.

Nik ✨

Overall, I think this was a well done YA gothic academia. The prose leaned toward purple, but that’s never bothered me if done correctly. I like that sexuality, mental health, and eating disorders are addressed. However, some of these weren’t addressed the way I would’ve preferred them to be.

My biggest gripe with it is that I didn’t like being in Andrew’s head most of the time, so the fact that we see the world from his perspective made certain parts hard to get through. Sometimes, his perpetual insecurity and anxiety annoyed me.

I think this is a good YA novel. It was atmospheric, had good writing, and was full of angst. Some of the plots and twists were predictable but like I said … it’s YA.

Oh wow. Anything I say about this book will never do it justice. It was so good and creepy.

This is not my typical kind of read, but I devoured this book. The characters were written so well. Thomas became my favorite. Andrew was such an interesting character. His thoughts during the story were chilling, but added to the overall ominous atmosphere. 

The story was just so intriguing, it was so much more than I expected. It was well developed and the author has such a beautiful writing style. This book easily became one of my top reads for year.

Overall, I think this book will invade my mind for years. I could not recommend this enough. Thank you NetGalley and Feiwel & Friends for the arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Don't Let The Forest In

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