Beneath A Thousand Skies

Summary:

Once upon a time, Andrew had cut out his heart and given it to this boy, and he was very sure Thomas had no idea that Andrew would do anything for him. Protect him. Lie for him.

Kill for him.

High school senior Andrew Perrault finds refuge in the twisted fairytales that he writes for the only person who can ground him to reality―Thomas Rye, the boy with perpetually ink-stained hands and hair like autumn leaves. And with his twin sister, Dove, inexplicably keeping him at a cold distance upon their return to Wickwood Academy, Andrew finds himself leaning on his friend even more.

But something strange is going on with Thomas. His abusive parents have mysteriously vanished, and he arrives at school with blood on his sleeve. Thomas won’t say a word about it, and shuts down whenever Andrew tries to ask him questions. Stranger still, Thomas is haunted by something, and he seems to have lost interest in his artwork―whimsically macabre sketches of the monsters from Andrew’s wicked stories.

Desperate to figure out what’s wrong with his friend, Andrew follows Thomas into the off-limits forest one night and catches him fighting a nightmarish monster―Thomas’s drawings have come to life and are killing anyone close to him. To make sure no one else dies, the boys battle the monsters every night. But as their obsession with each other grows stronger, so do the monsters, and Andrew begins to fear that the only way to stop the creatures might be to destroy their creator…

Don’t Let the Forest In is a book that I have been waiting for ever since I first saw the cover and read the premise; so when it dopped on my kindle there was no way I was going to wait to pick it up… and for the first couple of days it felt I was poised on a cliff edge. I’ll be honest, I originally thought this one was going to be a DNF. The first 25% or so had me wondering where on earth the story could be going, where the folk horror forest vibes were going to come into play… and honestly, whether I could put up with the main character Andrew for much longer. Then it was like a switch flipped, and I went from 27% to finishing the book at half four in the morning, sitting in the semi-dark, feeling as though I was waking from the weirdest, most lucid fever dream of my life – and so deep in the vibes of this book it has taken me a couple of days to even begin to process what I read.

Was this a perfect book? No. Did I love it, yes…with some reservations.  Obviously, the fact that it was nearly a DNF is one element where it didn’t work for me, as it pushed almost into taking too long to set up what was happening; and while the rest of the book did very much sweep me up, it does feel like it could have set in motion a wee bit earlier.

I also have to ask (and seems to be a running theme with the anime I am watching at the moment too), but what the hell are the adults up to? On the one hand, this vague, ambiguous idea of authority and structure, caught in flashes of the school day and moments where the boys’ world and theirs collide adds to the nebulousness of the story; the feel of everything being one step adrift of itself. On the other hand, if a teacher or a parent had asked a question or stretched out a hand, or done anything – how much could have been changed? It would have been a very different story, and probably a less horrifying one and it did work, but there was that tiny logical voice in the back of my head going (but why?). As I said, Drews made it work and built it into the atmosphere, and perhaps if I had been a younger reader I might have been able to shut of that voice.

The other element I didn’t find myself entirely gelling with was the representation in the book. Not the main relationship which for all the teenage clumsiness and clashes was one I very much enjoyed, although I cannot say it was the healthiest relationship in the world. No, I struggled a bit with the asexual representation, which might be more due to my own experiences there, but it felt like certain elements were getting crossed; or lost because of the drive of the relationship between the two. I appreciated it being there, and there were some moments where it hit the right note, but overall, it didn’t quite work for me. Then there was the wider representation, not just in terms of LGBT+ but wider diversity, which felt almost pasted on top of the underlying story. I can see what it was going for, trying to bed Andrew and his experiences into the school, roots outwith the very intimate focus on his relationship and the creepy horror and what had happened the previous year; but I found those scenes to be out of step with everything else in a way that did take me out of the story; and while it was most likely not the intention it almost felt tick boxish?

That said, for those elements that didn’t quite work for me … there were so many elements that did. FIRST, once it got going the folklorish, forest horror vibes were absolutely divine – the imagery was spectacularly done, to the point where when I was completely swept up in the middle of the night, it felt like I was in the forest with the wood and the leaves, and the noises. Drews absolutely knew what atmosphere and feel they were going for, and executed it brilliantly – and I loved how for all this book revels and dives into the dark side of the forest, there was also that balance of what a forest could be. The freedom. The sanctuary. And by giving us that, it sets up for an absolute gut punch when you realise just how much the Forest has taken. I particularly enjoyed as well, the encroaching of the forest into the school, the idea of the forest reaching out to consume, devouring what lies in its way (Yes I love Fangorn Forest too for the same reason).

That this element was also paired fantastically with body horror was the chefs kiss that sealed the deal. When the descriptions and events have your skin itching you know its hit right, and that was what hit here.

‘It was a nightmare and it was alive and there was nowhere to go.’

The characters took a while to grow on me, as I said when I was struggling with the first part of the book I wasn’t sure I could get on with the main character Andrew. However, as the story progressed, and the layers of reality were being pulled away, it felt as though we were getting closer and closer to who Andrew really was; and in the end he was my favourite character. Some of that comes with hindsight, and learning the full events that were hinted at in that early part of the book; and seeing where the story ended up; but there was something alluring about his character. A surprising strength, and a darkness that caught me off guard. Thomas was a little harder to get a read on I felt, and again its only with hindsight that I feel I understand more about him; although there were elements of his story that didn’t fully make sense to me. The rest of the cast weren’t necessarily as fleshed out; although Drews did a great job of capturing the various spirits of the expected characters in a school setting, especially a boarding school story (especially if like me you grew up devouring those kind of stories).

However, I think the real strength of what Drews did with the characters, and with the story as a whole, is that lingering sense of something being just a little off. Not quite as though everyone had an ulterior motive, or were lying, but as though you were pointing at a picture but hitting just off to the side; and then as the truth is revealed, it added new layers to every interaction, decision and subtle hint. I will admit I did not guess the twist, I had a few suspicions that were in the ballpark, but not quite on target; which meant that I got to fully savour going ‘oh….’ Which is an element that might not work so well if you do work it out earlier, and I am looking forward to revisiting it now, and reading from the beginning with the knowledge of what happens to see if I can spot those early moments and revelations.

I can’t wait to get a physical copy of this one – firstly because it is pretty (and I know you should never judge by a cover, but look at it!); but also because this is one of those books where I feel I will be picking out other details, unravelling other threads every time I reread it. And honestly, even if it didn’t give me that sensation I will happily read it again just to be swept up in the vibes. It won’t be for everyone, and as I said it had elements that didn’t work for me, but where it did work it really hit the spot. So if you like folkloric forest horror with a bloody dash of body horror, and fantastic fairy tale elements; and a story that will leave you feeling like you’ve just had a fever dream then this is one for you.