Don't Let the Forest In: A Masterclass on Creating the Unreliable Narrator
Or an essay simping over CG Drews.
Donât Let the Forest In by CG Drews was one of my favorite books of 2024. Though I could identify the iconic aesthetic of Paperfuryâs Instagram page, I hadnât felt compelled to pick the book up until I spotted it in my school library one fateful morning and devoured it in a 5-hour schoolday, ignoring homework and lunch to finish this wrecking ball of a novel. I remember insisting I needed to finish the book before gymnastics practice so I wouldnât be distracted on my events, but my heart would speed up every time I turned the page, afraid to see a word worse than âThe Endââ âACKNOWLEDGEMENTSâ.
Nothing felt right and I lived for it.
Andrew and Thomas blended romance, comedy, dark academia, and botanical horror into a smoothie that I gorge myself on daily. Andrewâs short jokes are peak and Thomasâ drawings made my heart pound (in a good way, I think?). But itâs their love for each other that really cemented my love for DLTFI.
Have you ever heard of the âcannibalism as a euphemism for loveâ trend going around, especially in poetry? Itâs that, but worse. Itâs âyou donât need a heart because we can share mineâ. Itâs âI want to crack open his ribs and live in the crevices of his lungsâ. Itâs a terrible, all-consuming passion between two schoolboys rooted by the monsters that haunt them.
We read the book through Andrewâs eyes. High school senior Andrew writes twisted tales for his best friend Thomas to illustrateâ until their monsters come to life. Together, they spend sleepless nights fighting off these eldritch beasts so their school stays protected.
But no one is saved from the forest.
What are Unreliable Narrators?
As the name suggests, unreliable narrators are compromised storytellers, either intentionally or unintentionally. They arenât credible; we know this, but we donât truly realize to what extent until the art is over and youâre left wondering if youâre even awake.
How are narrators unreliable, though? When the narrator themself doesnât know that they arenât telling the truth, or the full truth, the reader feels as confused as the narrator. Itâs effective because we barrel on with all the confidence of someone who doesnât see the full picture, but feels that what weâre looking at is not just a small piece, but the completed puzzle. Andrew trusts his sensesâ but should he?
Weâve gotten used to trusting our narrators, but they are only themself. We forget that they may be wrong. We forget that the narrator is not the author. We forget that we are not the narrator. The unique thing about DLTFIâs relationship with its unreliable narrator is that itâs written in the third person POV. Usually, a narratorâs ability to tell a subjective tale relies on becoming one with the reader. However, CG Drews managed to pull us into the world of Andrew Perrault without the first person POV. Suddenly, weâre the ones fighting monsters. Suddenly, weâre the ones consumed by love.
But as we get further and further into DLTFI, we are slowly engulfed in a feeling of strangeness, in an itch of âHe had no idea what she was talking aboutâ (a direct quote from Andrew). We acknowledge that Andrew doesnât have the full picture, but because we donât have the full picture either, we flip the page, build the puzzle, and cross our fingers. We fall in love with Andrew and Thomas.
We fell for our unreliable narrator.
What Makes a Narrator Unreliable?
Beware: (light?) spoilers ahead! If you havenât read DLTFI yet, skip to the next heading, Why You Should Read Donât Let the Forest In.
Some narrators lie to their readers on purpose, but as weâve established with Andrew, he doesnât even have his own full picture. Ultimately, Andrew is relying on his senses and his memoriesâ or the lack thereof. Why is Dove ignoring him? Why are his relationships, platonic and romantic, shifting so much? Where are the monsters coming from?
Side note: while I was reading the book, I definitely labeled it as fantasy-adjacent, but after finishing it, I canât decide if it is or isnât magic. My instinct tells me that the forest and the monsters were metaphoricalâ much like some things in Andrewâs life, theyâre hallucinated. Iâm not sure what this means in the overall scheme of things, but this made me wonder if anything was ever real for Andrew.
Andrew is unreliable because heâs not telling the truth. Why? Because he doesnât know the truth.
He thinks his sister is alive, so we think his sister is alive.
OR:
He thinks Thomas came back to school.
Our interpretation of the ending depends on who we trust. Do we trust Dove, or do we trust Thomas? Iâve spent hours scouring the web, from Goodreads to Reddit, and it seems that the general consensus is that Thomas is telling the truth, because Dove never interacted with anyone other than Andrew at school. The book also ends with evidence that Thomas is telling the truthâ but the book also ends with the murder of Thomas? Even though Thomas speaks? HUH? But CG Drews intentionally said âheâ, so it could have been Andrew talking to himself, or hallucinating Thomasâ response.
See, this is peak unreliable narration. Iâm so hung up on this book. Hazelthorn delivered as much, if not more, than DLTFI, but Iâll hold off on publishing my essay on that book until after its release in October (IâM SO EXCITED).
Why You Should Read Donât Let the Forest In
If you love passionate romance, dark academia, horrific beauty, and the thrill ride of not knowing, youâll love Donât Let the Forest In. Thereâs something about CG Drewsâ specific brand of botanical horror that has me in a chokehold. Please donât let go.
Itâs only March but Iâm so excited for October because Iâm doing a Hazelthorn week of nonstop Hazelthorn content leading up to its release date. Be prepared for all things CG Drews for a very long time.
If You Loved Donât Let the Forest In:
Let me put you on some more YA Dark Academia books, including, of course:
Hazelthorn by CG Drews: a hate-to-love story between Evander, a boy locked in his room, and Laurie, the boy who tried to bury him in the garden. When Evanderâs guardian (Laurieâs grandfather) dies, Laurieâs greedy family swoops in, hungry for control over the estate. Evander hates Laurie for trying to kill him when they were kids, but Laurie may be his only ally in the estate of Hazelthorn, which had been unexpectedly left to Evander in the will.
Boys with Sharp Teeth by Jenni Howell: a âTheyâre wicked. Sheâs worseâ mystery/thriller exploring revenge and twisted philosophy. Jamie lies her way into a prestigious school to discover who killed her cousin, but she soon falls into something dangerous with her cousinâs friend group, the elite of the elite: Henry, Graves, and Baz. But itâs not just the people she has to watch out for. Thereâs something in the mirrorsâŠ
Thanks for dropping by <3

need to get into this book!!