Title: The Darkest Part of the
Forest
Author: Holly Black
Audience: YA--Some romance, fairly
chaste
Series Information: Holly Black is a
very prolific YA fantasy author, but this is a stand alone volume.
Rating: 3/5
The town of Fairfold is famous for
the weird things that happen there. Tourists come to see the horned boy in the
glass casket who has been sleeping in the forest for generations (think Snow
White or Sleeping Beauty). Rumors of fairies and other supernatural creatures
attract the tourists as well. For the citizens of Fairfold, the creatures of
the forest are known as the Folk. The people and the Folk have struck a deal
that the Folk will leave the people of the town alone, but tourists are not so
lucky. Occasionally, a tourist may show up dead or disappear in the
forest. All appears to be at a more or less copacetic place until one day
the glass coffin is broken and the horned boy inside is free. Now the town is
in a tailspin and bad things start happening to even those who have lived in
Fairfold their entire lives.
Hazel and her brother Ben were born
and raised in Fairfold. As children, they took it upon themselves to defend the
people of the town and the tourists from the dangerous tricks of the Folk.
As a child, Hazel fancied herself to be a knight and even killed some of
the Folk. As a child, the lines of justice seem clear cut. Now in her teen
years, she will learn that not everyone (or everything) would view her actions
as justice.
For the most part, this was an
entertaining read. I cared about what was going to happen to the characters.
Hazel is a strong female character to root for, but she also has flaws, which
is refreshing. Characters solve mysteries in a realistic way (well, you know,
realistic enough once you accept that their friend is a changeling). There are
definitely enough fairies, elves, and changelings to satisfy seasoned fantasy
readers. However, the reader (for the most part) is still in a world they would
recognize. This nicely saves space for story instead of world building (which
some might lament, others praise). I would have given this book a higher
rating, but the ending lost me. In the last chapter, every. single. sentence
was dripping in meaning which results in very unnatural language usage.
Read alikes: (Thanks to some
crowd-sourcing)
Wicked
Lovely series by Melissa Marr
Holly
Black books
Cassandra
Clare books
Iron
Fey series
by Julie Kagawa
Raven
Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater
Review by Olivia of the Ericson
Public Library, readalikes by RART
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