Don’t Let The Forest In

Winner of the Young Adult Book Award at the 2025 Queensland Literary Awards

‘No one would want a heart like his. But he’d still cut it out and given it away.’

On the first day back at boarding school, Andrew can’t wait to find refuge in the twisted fairy tales that he writes for Thomas – the boy with hair like autumn leaves.

But Thomas’ parents have vanished, and he has blood on his sleeve. Stranger still, Thomas won’t talk to Andrew, even though he’s always loved sketching the monstrous creatures from Andrew’s stories.

Desperate to discover the truth, Andrew follows Thomas into the forest and catches him fighting a nightmarish monster – his drawings have come to life.

To ensure no one else dies, the boys must battle the creatures every night. But as their obsession with each other grows stronger, so do the monsters, and Andrew fears the only way to stop them might be to destroy their creator.