Don't Let The Forest In P1 (Ch 1-12)

[Ray]

Hello everyone!
The book for our fifth group read is Don't Let the Forest In by C.G. Drews.

The discussion for this book will be split into 3 parts. This first part is for discussions regarding chapters 1 to 12.

Feel free to share any and all thoughts while reading.

[Blue Ghost]

The good stuff:

I loooooove the drawings of the monsters! They're the perfect mix of pretty and creepy and (obv) add a lot to the visualization of the story. I do enjoy how the author also includes Andrew's stories as well, though I will say only the first story, the one about the 7 sons, caught my interest.

Also, ace representation! I don't read romance, and queer novels are a trend that only arose in recent years, but it's wonderful to see a relatively invisible part of the LGBTQ+ spectrum discussed. So, I identify as ace, and there were many parts of Andrew's monologue that resonated with me. An example:

"...he didn't know if he was gay enough when there was only one boy he wanted." p.55

Same. For a long time, I didn't know if it was right of me to consider myself as on the spectrum, even though I still experienced vague romantic feelings for people with the same gender identification as me. At that point in my life, I felt very lonely and isolated—just as Andrew did. And at this point in the story, I was/am wondering if our hero is perhaps demiromantic as well as asexual? (He's 100% not aromantic, and neither am I.)


My critiques:

The scars on his hand could've been first presented to us in a more meaningful way. We first learn of them on page 4 when he looks at his phone. They represent this huge, secret instance that has yet to been revealed to us as readers, but know that it was a huge event for all of the main characters as well as the entire school. If he had contemplated the scars at a more tender/significant moment a bit later, I think it would've had a better effect.

There's a lot of pain and violence in this book, I wish that Andrew and Thomas were a bit more gently with each other. Some examples:

"Thomas started to sink to the floor, but Andrew took fistfuls of his shirt and shoved him against the wall. Hard. Thomas flinched, but he was still hyperventilating." p.107

"He didn't recognize the hard edge to his voice. It felt like black frost had grown all over his tongue. He dug his fingers into Thomas's hair until his breathing hitched at the pain of it." p.120

It's a bit of a preference thing—wanting some gentleness to balance out the prominent raggedness, but also, maybe it's to show the darkness creeping into the leads themselves. I dunno, but I'm excited to keep reading!