ARC Review: Don't Let the Forest In by CG Drews

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest review.

Andrew has always relied on his twin sister, Dove, and best friend, Thomas, to get him through life at Wickwood Academy. This year, something is different. Dove keeps pushing him away, and there is something terribly wrong with Thomas, but he doesn't know what it is. Struggling to figure out this new normal and get things back to how they were with the three of them together, Andrew discovers what terrors Thomas is dealing with: the nightmarish drawings he has been creating based on Andrew's stories have come to life. Now, it's up to Andrew and Thomas to keep the monsters at bay, figure out a way to stop them from destroying Wickwood Academy and restore the friendship the three of them once had.

This book was beautiful and haunting. From the very first pages, I was pulled in by the lyrical quality of the writing. There was something that both put me at ease and also on edge. There was the familiarity of Wickwood Academy as Andrew returned for his senior year, but the strangeness of how things had changed. This otherworldliness existed immediately and made me wary of what Andrew would find around the corner, deep in the forest, or within his own room.

Another aspect of the story was focused on these feelings of suffocation, but they came across in absolutely beautiful (yet also terrifying and horrific) descriptions and imagery incorporating the forest and plants and earth. Andrew describes someone with the following: " his mouth was crammed full of thorns and lies." Later, he "dreamed of brambles wrapped around his throat and a briar rose resting on his tongue." As the story goes on, the references to the mouth and throat and suffocating are more apparent. To avoid spoiling anything, I won't go into my thoughts on these images and how they helped enrich the story. Just know that this was one of my favorite aspects of this novel.

Finally, I kept guessing how the story would end. I had many theories that changed multiple times. I continued to go back to my original again and again—only to be incorrect! I truly love a story I can't figure out before the ending. I did, at one point, correctly guess what was going on but then dismissed it and moved on. The twists and the uncertainty built in the reader were so well done!

What I liked: Everything! I didn't have one negative note or question.

What I disliked: Nothing. I loved this book, which will stay with me for a while.

If you like earthy, creepy fantasy books set in prep schools with forests that are off-limits and monsters around every corner, then definitely pick up Don't Let the Forest In. Be prepared: You will NEED to finish reading as soon as possible, but dread doing so, knowing the next chapter will only bring more horror for the characters!