emily’s Reviews > Don't Let the Forest In > Status Update
emily
is 40% done
my updates have mostly been critical so far but this is actually pretty good-- the bits with the monsters, and the possibly sinister dickhead teacher, are VERY good, it's just the parts where it begins to wallow in andrew's feelings that it strains credibility. also i really like both andrew's sister and her queer friend, and even the school bully feels like a realistic teenager, not evil, just kind of an asshole.
— Jan 22, 2026 08:39AM
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emily’s Previous Updates
emily
is 77% done
ohhhhhhh my god i just realized what's going on with dove. it doesn't change my earlier criticisms of the way andrew is written but it does make some things make a ton more sense.
— Jan 22, 2026 11:08AM
emily
is 45% done
see this is what i'm talking about
"Andrew followed Thomas into the garden with the weariness of a boy facing a briar noose."
similes and metaphors are supposed to make things MORE relatable by comparing them to something you're familiar with. this sentence is poetic but doesn't make any damn sense.
— Jan 22, 2026 10:17AM
"Andrew followed Thomas into the garden with the weariness of a boy facing a briar noose."
similes and metaphors are supposed to make things MORE relatable by comparing them to something you're familiar with. this sentence is poetic but doesn't make any damn sense.
emily
is 35% done
unclear why i'm supposed to believe teens at a high-pressure boarding school are THIS on fire about a kid punching a mirror one time. half these kids have prob seen and done worse-- like i believe it was a topic of gossip when it happened, but them acting like he's dangerous and scary months later, after summer break? idk. there's plenty of reasons andrew would feel alienated/isolated, this feels overdramatic.
— Jan 22, 2026 07:32AM
emily
is on page 36 of 336
i always kind of roll my eyes when teenagers, especially queer boys, are described with this kind of fey delicacy, like any seventeen year old is writing little fairy tales for his crush and hoping he somehow doesn't have the reading comprehension to understand it's a declaration of feeling?? idk. plot has me hooked though.
— Jan 20, 2026 03:45AM
