Marieke (mariekes_mesmerizing_books)'s Reviews > Don't Let the Forest In

Holy …. my words will never do this story justice.

It hadn’t hurt, the day he had cut out his own heart … No one would want a heart like his. But he’d still cut it out and given it away.

Sometimes, when I’m writing a review, all I want to do is quote. Because the writing of an author is so stunning and poetic, it hypnotizes me, and I can’t put into words what that book did to me. This is such a book. 

Everyone saw Andrew as shattered and fragile, and maybe he was to them. But when Thomas looked at Andrew’s sharp edges, he thought them dangerous and beautiful—not weak.

Don’t Let the Forest is about an asexual boy …
People didn’t just kiss and continue on with their lives. They undid buttons and touched mouths to hot skin and lost themselves within each other.

… and his feelings for his best friend, the boy with hair like autumn leaves …
Thomas was a wild machete with blazing emotions he’d never learned how to moderate properly … this boy made of angular frowns and thorny words. He was brilliant and terrible and unmanageable.

It's about monsters, but in the end, it’s about hurt and our own fears and how we handle them …
When something moved in the dark, everyone’s first instinct was to go inside and hide under the covers. As if monsters couldn’t open doors and crawl into bed with you.

Let me tell you, I’m not much of a horror fan, but I devour books like these. You know when tension and pain are clawing themselves into your body and trying to tear your heart out? Like an undercurrent so strong it will leave you gasping for breath? A story that digs and digs and, despite all the discomfort and angst, embraces you and warms you on the inside? Don't Let the Forest In is gruesome at times but oh so soft and comforting simultaneously.

This was the place where he roared and grew taller, where his smile could make flowers bloom and his energy could flow endless and untamed.

For those who love Jeff Zentner's writing and can handle more angst, this one is for you. C.G. Drew’s writing reminded me so much of his’. Both authors juggle with words and put them together in stunning sentences, and I want to read those sentences on and on and on. 

They were beautiful together; they were magic and monstrous, and they had created a whole vengeful world between them.

Please read this book!

Thank you so much, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and NetGalley, for this beautiful ARC. I'll never forget this story! 

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