Author: Holly Black
Published: January 13, 2015
Pages: 336
Source: Library eBook
Goodreads
Rating:
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...
I'm a huge fan of Holly Black. I was first introduced to her through Tithe and The Modern Faerie Tale series. It was my introduction to the YA fantasy genre specifically on the Fae. I loved the dark tones that Holly Black took in the series and it sparked my interest in the Fae.
This book was no different for me. I've grown up, so probably the allure and nostalgia of the Modern Faerie Tale series is a bit faded with time. I didn't think this was the best novel that Holly Black was, but I was kept interested until the end. Something about Holly Black's writing always keeps me hooked to her novels.
The Darkest Part of the Forest was such a strange but really enticing tale. A story about a brother and a sister who spent their childhood fighting the fae who wanted to hurt the innocent people of their town. It was like a Medieval ballad or epic. Like the kind you would find for King Arthur. This is probably what kept me interested the entire novel. I loved how strange, but also fitting this was for the story.
The whole mystery of the horned boy was a great asset too. There was this enigmatic air to him because no one knew what he was, where he came from, how long he'd been in the casket. When he does end up breaking out, there's still this great level of mystery until maybe three quarters of the way through the novel.
I loved the relationships that were throughout the novel. They were all genuine and they all had their own flaws. It sucks when the people you think you're closest to keep the deepest secrets from you, but I feel like that happens in all relationships and it's a matter of becoming comfortable in sharing them.
The discoveries in the novel were interesting and I love how they kept connecting back to Hazel and Ben's childhood endeavors. It's great and it had this weird... heroic destiny kind of feel.
In the end, I really enjoyed how Hazel had to confront her past and what she's been keeping from herself. This is kind of spoiler ish but I'm going to stop before I actually let out a spoiler.
The Darkest Part of the Forest is a fun quick read. It's got this strangeness that's really inviting and again, Holly Black write the dark tones really, really well.
