Andrew is a senior in high school and while for most teenagers this is an exciting time, for Andrew it is yet another year at the elite boarding school his father ships him and his twin sister, Dove, off to. Between the bulling and extreme anxiety Andrew often feels, Wickwood Academy can feel like a prison sentence.

But then there is Thomas, Andrew’s best friend and the boy Andrew has been pinning for since they met. This Andrew keeps to himself and instead the two bond over Andrew’s dark stories that Thomas draws pictures for. It is a harmless activity. That is until something strange begins to happen to the two boys. As they work together to try and stop the darkness leaking from the forest, they’ll be forced to confront painful pasts and long harbored feelings.

This was a highly anticipated fall read for me. After being published last year, this young adult horror seemingly blew up all over BookTok and BookTube. People loved it’s dark tone, Andrew’s longing to be with Thomas but unable to share his feelings, and the story itself, finding the writing to be fairly advance for young adult audiences. All these positives I would firmly agree with. The story was well crafted and Andrew’s complex relationship with Thomas were excellently done. Additionally, I also found Andrew’s anxiety and depression to be portrayed very well and realistic.

The only weakness of his novel, and the reason why I gave it four stars, was due to its ending. A sudden character reveal felt very rushed and the ending itself was very much left up to the reader’s interpretation. While some might have no issue with this, I found it all very confusing and had to go online to understand what exactly was happening. It was all just a bit too complicated and I would have preferred a more explained ending.

Despite this, I would recommend this book. It was a quick read and well written, and perfect for anyone looking to make the switch from young adult to adult.

4 out of 5 stars