And The Trees Crept In, by Dawn Kurtagich | Book Review #186

“Stay away from the woods…

When Silla and Nori arrive at their aunt’s home, it’s immediately clear that the manor is cursed. The endless creaking of the house at night and the eerie stillness of the woods surrounding them would be enough of a sign, but there are secrets too—questions that Silla can’t ignore: Why does it seem that, ever since they arrived, the trees have been creeping closer? Who is the beautiful boy who’s appeared from the woods? And who is the tall man with no eyes who Nori plays with in the basement at night… a man no one else can see?”

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Having heard that And The Trees Crept In was a horror novel, I of course had to read the book. However, what I read wasn’t a horror novel in my opinion at all. Really if anything, And The Trees Crept In is a psychological thriller with some mystery elements. There’s also the fantasy element to the novel overall that was entertaining too.

With And The Trees Crept In being a let down, I don’t really know how to articulate my thoughts.

The beginning of And The Trees Crept In is very normal. Once the reader gets a little further into the book, the feel of the book changes. It’s no longer a “normal” book per se, but rather a psychological thriller. While reading the first half (or so) of the book, I would have to take a break from reading the book every 50-ish pages. This was just so I could wrap my mind around what had happened, since it’s scary how fast time moved in this book. I could so easily get lost in the pages, but having time in between the times I read helped ground me a lot. Feeling like I wasn’t going crazy helped me with reading this book.

Another thing that I kept on thinking throughout And The Trees Crept In was that the Creeper Man has an uncanny resemblance to the Slender Man.

I’m not gonna lie. The plot of this book was pretty confusing for me. So I’m just going to say that I’m incredibly grateful that by the end of the book, everything is laid to rest. Nearing the end of the book, we’re given the reasoning as to why the story is as it is, by the character. Which I know sounds confusing, but to actually understand what I’m saying, I feel like you’d have to read the book. And I found the actual ending of And The Trees Crept In to be so immensely bittersweet.

My last thoughts of And The Trees Crept In is: What if your worst fear isn’t the Creeper Man, but yourself?

That’s all that I’ve got for this review. If I say anything more I’m going to spoil something!

I ended up giving And The Trees Crept In 2 of 5 stars.

Happy Reading!
Adele