I'm being so freaking serious when I say that Don't Let the Forest In is my favorite read on 2024; I don't care that the we still have two months left. This is haunting, terrifying, creepy, eerie, heart-wrenching, and life changing. I'm not typically a fan of horror, but C.G. Drews drew me in with their phenomenal and heartbreaking writing. I annotated more of this book than any other book I've read. I can't stop thinking about it. It haunts me in a way very few other books have. 

Starting with the characters, Andrew is completely, achingly, brokenly obsessed with his best friend Thomas. He writes twisted fairytales full of dark and dreary monsters, and Thomas draws those monsters in his sketch book. They're messy, chaotic teenagers experiencing the worst parts of teenage-hood and making bad decision after bad decision. I love them both so much for that. Teenagers, especially queer teenagers, should get to exist as they are without having to be the perfect representation at every waking moment. I love these two toxic boys with all my heart. 

They are fighting off the physical manifestations of the fictional monsters they've created. The haunted forest surrounding the campus is destroying them piece by piece. Andrew's asexuality is a huge part of the plot, because he's so terrified that he will never loved. He's also dealing with all of his feelings for Thomas and what it means to be in love with his best friend, especially as they are fighting with each other, because nobody can hurt you worse than the person that knows you the best. The plot is so easy to get hooked into (even scaredy cat me wanted to keep reading). 

The person I was before reading DLTFI was a husk. I will never be the same.