The Darkest Part of the Forest
by Holly Black
Publication: 13th January 2015
Publisher: Little, Brown Books For Young Readers
Pages: 336
Genre: Fantasy
Age Appropriate: Young Adult
Children can have a cruel, absolute sense of justice. Children can kill a monster and feel quite proud of themselves. A girl can look at her brother and believe they’re destined to be a knight and a bard who battle evil. She can believe she’s found the thing she’s been made for.
Hazel lives with her brother, Ben, in the strange town of Fairfold where humans and fae exist side by side. The faeries’ seemingly harmless magic attracts tourists, but Hazel knows how dangerous they can be, and she knows how to stop them. Or she did, once.
At the center of it all, there is a glass coffin in the woods. It rests right on the ground and in it sleeps a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointed as knives. Hazel and Ben were both in love with him as children. The boy has slept there for generations, never waking.
Until one day, he does…
As the world turns upside down, Hazel tries to remember her years pretending to be a knight. But swept up in new love, shifting loyalties, and the fresh sting of betrayal, will it be enough?
Hazel lives with her brother, Ben, in the strange town of Fairfold where humans and fae exist side by side. The faeries’ seemingly harmless magic attracts tourists, but Hazel knows how dangerous they can be, and she knows how to stop them. Or she did, once.
At the center of it all, there is a glass coffin in the woods. It rests right on the ground and in it sleeps a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointed as knives. Hazel and Ben were both in love with him as children. The boy has slept there for generations, never waking.
Until one day, he does…
As the world turns upside down, Hazel tries to remember her years pretending to be a knight. But swept up in new love, shifting loyalties, and the fresh sting of betrayal, will it be enough?
My Thoughts.
It's hard for me to write a review for The Darkest Part Of The Forest, I didn't hate it nor did I love it, it was more of a meh read for me, I didn't feel connected to any of the characters at all which didn't help, the storyline only seemed to build to anything exciting at the very end and even then it wasn't an edge of your seat kind of action-packed ending.The tone of the book pretty much stayed the same most of the way through, and while I wouldn't say that I was bored reading it I wasn't exactly eager to pick it up once I'd put it down either.
I loved the idea of the concept and I really enjoy stories that feature fairies, but it unfortunately wasn't enough to leave me as intrigued and absorbed as much as I wanted to be.
This was my first Holly Black book ever, and I've heard so many good things about her writing that I think my expectations were so very high that I hyped myself up a bit too much, however I will give her books another go, the way I look at it the next book I read of hers may just become one of my favorite books, you never know.
I still recommend picking this book up, everyone has different tastes and most people that have read this already seem to love it.
I give this 3/5 stars.
Holly Black is the author of bestselling contemporary fantasy books for kids and teens. Some of her titles include The Spiderwick Chronicles (with Tony DiTerlizzi), The Modern Faerie Tale series, the Curse Workers series, Doll Bones, and The Coldest Girl in Coldtown. She has been a finalist for the Mythopoeic Award and for an Eisner Award, and the recipient of both an Andre Norton Award and a Newbery Honor. Her new books are The Darkest Part of the Forest, a return to faerie fiction, and The Iron Trial, the first book in a middle grade fantasy series, Magisterium, co-authored by Cassandra Clare. Holly currently lives in New England with her husband and son in a house with a secret door.
