Bethany (Beautifully Bookish Bethany)'s Reviews > Don't Let the Forest In

4.5 stars rounded up

I feel like my emo, melodramatic teenage self would have eaten this up. This is a story for all the weird, awkward, dark teens dealing with getting bullied and finding a first love that feels like the world is ending. And it has asexual rep, which is cool! I know there are people trying to find more of that.

Don't Let the Forest In is a macabre story where the lines between reality and fantasy blur. They follow two boys at a boarding school with lots of trauma and family baggage, and a fraught relationship. One of them writes dark fairytales and the other draws monsters. But what happens when the monsters become real? This is dealing with depression, anxiety, self-harm, and familial abuse, but through a somewhat fantastical lens. And it doesn't offer any easy solutions or wrap things up with a neat little bow. I kind of loved it, and I especially love it for the teens going through it who need something like this to feel seen. I received a copy of this book for review, all opinions are my own.