Ponder: Don't Let the Forest In

Don't Let the Forest In ©2024 by CG Drews is a #1 best seller in Teen & Young Adult monster fiction per Amazon. I did not even know there was such a category. This book was a real page turner for me, despite the category — or most likely because of it. I chose this young adult book because I enjoyed the author's adult novel You Did Nothing Wrong which I recently read and reviewed 10/9/26. I gave You Did Nothing Wrong four stars and will similarly give Don't Let the Forest In four stars as well.

My reading choices this October have most certainly leaned toward the macabre, probably because I have Halloween on the brain. This leaning is weird for me. I am a "merry witch, Casper the Friendly Ghost, or smiling pumpkin" type of gal. This book is definitely none of those. Although it is chuck full of monsters, I could not help caring deeply for the characters and their struggles. These are teens in their senior year of high school and the stresses put on them, above and beyond the academic and social ones, are tremendous. I felt like I wanted to defend them and comfort them.

All the while I was reading Don't Let the Forest In, I kept visualizing how this novel would make an awesomely illustrated animated horror movie. I was about to scan some of the illustrations from the book to show what I meant and realized there were only a few in the book. Those of monsters were not at all what I had pictured. The text in this book is so vivid, my mind was filled with curling, coiling, twisting images of vines and tendrils and claws, slender and graceful while deadly. The teens longing, affection, and defense of each other ran painfully deep.

The setting takes place at a boarding school in Virginia. Andrew and Dove, twin siblings, and Thomas are the main characters and share a sort of a three-musketeers-type camaraderie. Andrew is an incredibly talented author whose strength lies in writing macabre fairy tales with monsters. Thomas is an incredibly talented artist who generates illustrations that bring these gruesome tales to life. These monsters live in the forest which is on the other side of the fence from the school. When the monsters begin to cross that boundary and seek satiation among the students and teachers, Thomas and Andrew take it upon themselves to act as protectors and fight the beasts. An intense plot keeps this book moving due to nightly monster battles. However, the emotions and relationship among the characters was also a real draw for me. A nasty, vindictive teacher, an abusive bully, and gender identification struggles add the spice to the story in the same way hops plays a key role in beer production. The resolution was not what I expected.

I rate Don't Let the Forest In four stars, deducting only one star because the novel may favor a limited audience. I could not put it down; it was riveting and sad. If you are curious... no, it did not give me nightmares. 

  ★★★★☆ Really good; maybe only one weak aspect or limited audience

I generally do not read Amazon reviews until after I have read a book to prevent the reviews from influencing my blog post. If you read this book however, and wonder how to interpret what really happened, this review on Amazon for Don't Let the Forest In is an excellent clarifier. I cite only the opening paragraph here, but the four star review is worth looking up after you've read the book.

Alden Lane Fall Festival 2026

This past Sunday, October 11th, Frank, Alex and I went to Alden Lane Nursery's annual Fall Festival. We enjoyed a leisurely low-key stroll on a beautiful day that felt more like spring than autumn. At the entrance we availed ourselves of the photo opportunities near the painted cow and the growth chart. Alex clutches the map and entry brochure throughout our visit. He is obsessed with these orientation papers like the playbills at shows or song lists at concerts, which seem to add extensively to his tactile enjoyment of the experience.

One of the advertised attractions fro the festival was a petting zoo, happening only for a limited time window within the afternoon. The petting zoo turned out to be a few 4H members with a chicken and a bunny. Alex liked the bunny.

Some of the carvings we say hello to each visit to the nursery are a gnome and a giant squirrel.

One of the highlights of the festival is the scarecrow building contest. It is fun looking at all the entries. Alex posed near Farmer Rick and Frank posed near Dolly Parton. Others were equally clever such as one by a boy scout troop and one representing the three head monster form Harry Potter fame. Hagrid's Fluffy is based on the Hades three headed beast names Cerberus who falls fast asleep whenever he hears music or a harp playing. Note the harp at the base. There were other rows of scarecrows scattered throughout the nursery

We took some time to sit a bit and listen to the music of a local folk band. I did not recognize any of the songs but enjoyed them anyway. The weather was positively gorgeous as can be seen from the flag waving in the cloudless blue sky.

One of the buildings at the nursery housed a rose show. I was impressed with how many varieties there are, not to mention how many different colors within those varieties. When I got home I looked up the classifications.

• Hybrid Teas: Classic, large, high-centered flowers borne singly on long, upright stems.
• Floribundas: Compact bushes that produce large, continuous clusters of smaller flowers.
• Grandifloras: Taller, vigorous plants that cross Hybrid Teas and Floribundas, bearing large blooms in small clusters.
• Miniature Roses: True roses bred to stay small and compact, usually reaching 15 to 30 inches tall with tiny flowers.
• Climbing Roses: Vigorous plants with long, flexible canes designed to train up trellises, walls, or fences.
• Old-Fashioned Roses (Old Garden Roses): Historic varieties that existed before 1867, noted for their intense fragrance and full, double blooms.

At random hidden spots throughout, were small vignettes to remind it is the autumn season. California may not have the riotous foliage display of New England but it has its own beauty in another way and fantastic weather to go with it. Pumpkins and gourds and purple tones abound in rustic displays

After we left the nursery we went to Loard's for ice cream sundaes. Alex positively devoured a black and white, which for him is a scoop of chocolate ice cream a scoop of vanilla ice cream and lots of whip cream. We leave off the nuts and the cherry, afraid Alex might choke on them. I leave those off my own sundae also out of preference, so I do not feel like I am denying him. The hot fudge sauce...? There is a tiny twinge of guilt there. We also left off the hot fudge sauce  — in self defense. There are no pictures of Alex eating the Sundae. I was too busy trying to minimize my own accumulating level of stickiness  since I was seated next to Alex. Had the hot fudge been there as well, the stickiness challenges would have been insurmountable. I was glad that the only syrupiness I had to deal with was my own. Alex seemed no less happy, sans sauce — a win-win for sure! The treat was a sweet finale to a easy-going seasonal outing.