Don't Let The Forest In by 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...
PUBLISHER: Feiwel & Friends
YEAR: 2024
LENGTH: 336 pages
AGE: Young Adult
GENRE: Horror
RECOMMENDED: Highly
Queer Rep Summary: Gay/Achillean Secondary Character(s), Closeted/Questioning Main Character(s), Ace/Aro Main Character(s).
DON'T LET THE FOREST IN is a queer codependent fantasy horror story, featuring a main character whose grasp on reality is so tenuous that if the author told me that within the world of the book, nothing on the page actually happened, my only response would be "yeah, that tracks ".
When Andrew and his twin sister Dove return to their boarding school, things go sideways almost immediately. His sister isn't talking to their mutual best friend, Thomas, and a new rule is in place forbidding students from going into the forest which surrounds the grounds. After getting in trouble because of his parents' disappearance right as the semester starts, Thomas pulls away from Andrew, spending his nights, sneaking out into the newly off-limits forest. Andrew's days are spent in a cloud of misery and confusion not appearing to understand why things are happening, and his nights are spent restlessly wondering at his roommate's absence. To make things worse, Andrew is sure that Thomas is sneaking off to be with Dove, and he's starting to think he might rather be the one sneaking off instead.
Eventually, Thompson and Andrew are able to clear up some interpersonal confusion. Thomas wasn't sneaking off with Dove. Instead, Thomas reveals to Andrew that his nights are spent slaying monsters in the forest so that they can't attack the school and harm any of the teachers or students. Eager to help with this endeavor and desperate for more time with Thomas, Andrew offered to help. Andrew and Thomas begin to spend their nights protecting everyone else from a threat that would catch them completely unaware, and spending their days sleep deprived, and, at least theoretically, trying to not fail their classes.
I care about tropes in the structure of stories, and clever things that can be done with plot points. While I did guess the twist that lies at the end of this book, that did not diminish a moment of my interest. Instead, it makes me very confident that, even though this was my first read, those who enjoy rereading will find DON'T LET THE FOREST IN particularly suited to deeper enjoyment. The character list is quite small, with only a few names necessary to keep track of the major players, as Andrew is only paying attention to a few other people within the school.
I would not for a moment claim that any of the relationships in this book are healthy, but they burn with a peculiar intensity which make them perfectly suited to a psychological horror story. Andrew and Thomas become tangled into each other even more than they already were, closing ranks as a verbally abusive teacher, and bullying classmate, and a well-meaning friend of Dove's separately keep eyes on their antics in a way that makes it very hard to sneak off to the forest.
This is a buffet of body horror held together by toxic codependence and a tight grip on unreality.
If you like this you may like:
- Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo
- The Wicker King by K. Ancrum
- Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White
Graphic/Explicit CW for panic attacks/disorders, eating disorder, body horror, self-harm.
Moderate CW for homophobia, bullying, emotional abuse, child abuse, abandonment, neglect, vomit, blood, gore, violence, medical content, injury detail, injury detail, suicide, child death, parental death, murder, death.
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