Books on Our Radar: And the Trees Stare Back by Gigi Griffis

We love a book that blurs the line between history and horror, and And the Trees Stare Back by Gigi Griffis is giving us exactly that.

Set in Soviet-occupied Estonia in 1989, this folk-horror thriller is steeped in atmosphere, fear, and the dangerous weight of survival. For sixteen-year-old Vik, the cursed forest on the edge of her village isn’t just a place of spooky stories, it’s where she lost her little sister, Anna, five years ago. When Anna suddenly returns on the anniversary of her disappearance, it feels like a miracle… but Vik isn’t so sure. The girl who came back doesn’t quite feel like the sister she lost, and the forest doesn’t give up its secrets easily.

Griffis doesn’t just lean into the eerie, haunted woods aesthetic (though there’s plenty of that), she uses it to explore real-world horrors, what it means to survive as a marginalized person in a hostile regime, and the terrifying power of a state that decides whose humanity matters.

If you love your horror with teeth (and a side of social commentary), add this one to your TBR – it’s out next week!

And the Trees Stare Back

by Gigi Griffis
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Many go into the forest. Only one comes back.
1989, Soviet Estonia. In sixteen-year-old Vik’s village—and the cursed forest that looms beyond—danger is everywhere. Soldiers threaten those who so much as dream of dissent. The villagers’ words are sharp with accusations of witchcraft. And deep in the heart of the wood, a lantern-eyed spirit lies in wait to disappear those who wander too far past the trees.
Vik knows because five years ago, she led her little sister Anna over that invisible line—and never saw her again.
The only thing Vik has wished for since then is her sister’s safe return. So when Anna stumbles back through the tree line on the anniversary of her disappearance, it’s a miracle…
Or is it a lie?
As unsettling inconsistencies between this girl and the one who vanished reveal themselves, Vik starts to doubt whether this Anna is her Anna—or something else entirely. Whoever she is, one thing is clear: she was never meant to escape 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 yours doesn't, this politically incisive folk-horror irresistibly explores ever-relevant legacies of activism and solidarity.