Review: Don't Let the Forest In, by C.G. Drews

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.

"We let our love for each other cut us to the bloody core."

C.G. Drews' Don't let the Forest In is an excellent YA horror story about loneliness, grief, and rage. The only POV, an asexual boy struggling with bullies and with his growing feelings for his roomate, has to face a sudden supernatural threat that might have even come from himself. His codependent relationship with his roomate, an angry boy abused by his parents, and the similarly codependent relationship with his twin sister, the only one who believes in him, are explored beautifully, creating a tangle of emotions and a marvelous exploration of asexuality.

Growing parallel to this is the exploration of the bone-chilling threat coming to their isolated prestigious school, turning the surrounding forest into a place of untold horrors. The body horror imagery is quite strong, and so is the constant sense of something being utterly wrong. Things come to a head in the moving finale, where the readers realize all the pieces were there all along for them to fix the puzzle. I'm not ashamed to say I didn't figure out the twist until it was spelled out, but it was exhilarating to return to the previous pages and find the clues in plain sight.

More enterprising readers might figure it out sooner, but it shouldn't take from the overall enjoyment of this little gem. At its core, it's a story about the extent of what we would do for the people we love, and whether that's even right or wrong. The answer isn't so simple.

The prose is exquisite, very lyrical and also explicit in its horrific descriptions. The novel features illustrations and short fairy tales that are the very same that are described in the book, as the main characters are respectively an artist and a writer, and the role of their works is quite interactive.

Don't let the Forest In is a quiet marvel.

✨ 4 stars