And the Trees Stare Back

And the Trees Stare Back is a politically incisive YA folk horror novel set in 1989 Soviet Estonia, blending real history with a speculative twist. Sixteen-year-old Vik's younger sister, Anna, mysteriously returns from a cursed forest five years after disappearing, seemingly unchanged. Vik, grappling with PTSD and OCD from Anna's absence, must confront the unsettling truth about her sister's return and the dark secrets of the forest, all against the backdrop of a crumbling communist regime where dissent is dangerous. The book explores themes of political oppression, identity, family trauma, and mental health, offering an atmospheric and suspenseful read for mature young adults.

Nobody who gets lost in the cursed forest at the edge of Vik’s remote Estonian Village ever comes back. Until Vik’s sister stumbles through the tree line five years after vanishing… without having aged a day. 1989, Soviet Estonia. Communist regimes are crumbling across Europe—but in sixteen-year-old Vik’s isolated Estonian village, eyes are everywhere. Soldiers threaten those who so much as dream of dissent. The villagers’ words are sharp with accusations of witchcraft. And within the cursed forest lurks Soovana, the bog spirit with lantern eyes that lure villagers beyond where anyone can reach them. Five years ago, he took Vik’s sister Anna—and Vik has felt cursed herself every day since. So when Anna finally returns, it’s a miracle. A miracle… or a lie. Worn down by years of grappling with shame, guilt, and PTSD, Vik has wanted nothing more than to hold her younger sister once again—but as unsettling inconsistencies between the girl who left and the one who’s come back reveal themselves, it’s clear that no one’s out of the woods. Maybe this girl is Anna… and maybe she isn’t. Either way, she was never meant to leave the trees—and unless Vik can uncover the secrets of the forest, it’s going to take her back. Rooted in real history with a speculative twist, the horrors of And The Trees Stare Back are the ones we already know: existing as a marginalized person under a hostile state. Raising powerful questions about whose humanity counts and how to survive if the governing body decides that yours doesn't, this politically incisive YA folk horror irresistibly melds unexplored history with hot-button themes, gorgeous prose, and authentic depictions of OCD and PTSD.