The Darkest Part of the Forest in What's the Name of That Book???

May 26, 2023 Jessica rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fairytales, youngadult, fantasy, own

Holly knows her way around fairyland, and she knows how to tell a story that will make you simultaneously wish you could go there, and hope you never, ever, do. Here we have the story of Hazel and Ben, siblings who live in a strange little town at the edge of an enchanted forest. There's a monster in the forest, and a boy in a glass coffin, and residents of the town know to leave out milk and fill their pockets with salt and oatmeal. But Hazel wants more than just being safe from the fairies, an ...more

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Dec 07, 2014 Wealhtheow rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, queer-characters, ya, pocmaincharacters

Hazel has a secret. As a child she swore seven years of her life to the fairies of Fairhold in exchange for a music scholarship for her brother, and now the time has come for the fairies to collect. She's freaked out, but the rest of the town is having its own problems: the fairies aren't placated by bowls of milk or the occasional foolhardy tourist anymore, and more and more villagers are falling prey to the increasingly bloodthirsty fey.

I loved this book. I wanted to roll around in it and nev Hazel has a secret. As a child she swore seven years of her life to the fairies of Fairhold in exchange for a music scholarship for her brother, and now the time has come for the fairies to collect. She's freaked out, but the rest of the town is having its own problems: the fairies aren't placated by bowls of milk or the occasional foolhardy tourist anymore, and more and more villagers are falling prey to the increasingly bloodthirsty fey.

I loved this book. I wanted to roll around in it and never come out. I loved the setting, where the village and the outside world are queasily unsure about whether magic exists and how they should feel about it. I loved Hazel, who is so brave and so determined to be a knight and protect others. (She is so physically formidable and has such willpower that I would have loved just a book about one of her quests; nothing else needed.) I loved Ben, who has a fairy-given gift for music that ensorcells those who hear it, and is torn between a desperate longing for music and a horror of controlling others. I loved their sibling relationship, and how they each try to protect each other but don't necessarily know how to. Even though there's a lot of action and magic and romantic love, I felt like a backbone to this story was different sets of siblings learning to understand each other. There's so much here about the way families create and maintain illusions, how the past becomes painted over to be something it wasn't, how no one wants to disturb the precious peace of the present just to be true to the past...but I didn't realize any of that until near the end, because it coils beneath the surface of the text for hundreds of pages, informing everything but never explicit.

My only criticism is that I wish this was hundreds and hundreds of pages longer. I want to see (view spoiler) ...more

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Jan 09, 2017 Jackie "the Librarian" rated it really liked it

Shelves: teen-books-adults-can-enjoy, glbt, fairytalesretold, magic, youngadult, fantasy, humor

I loved the way there's a glass coffin with a fairy prince (a PRINCE!) sleeping away the eons in the forest, in an ordinary American town where kids go to high school. I love that the bad-ass hero is a teenage girl wielding a sword. I love the black-tinged humor that reminded me of my favorite Buffy episodes.
By the author of The Coldest Girl in Coldtown (which I loved even more), this is highly recommended for fans of magical realism and urban fantasy. ...more

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May 23, 2015 Kate rated it really liked it

Shelves: age-ya, fantasy, 2015, lgbtq

Fairfold is a town where fairies exist and have become part of the magical background of the place. At the heard is a horned boy lying frozen in a glass coffin, unable to wake. Hazel and her brother Ben have created stories about the horned boy, which seem to be just stories until the night the coffin is broken and the boy is gone and Hazel wakes up with muddy feet knowing she did it. As a child, Hazel always pretended to be a knight, wanting to slay the evil fairies. Now she takes on that role ...more

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Apr 25, 2014 Emma rated it it was amazing

Shelves: owned, bea

"But in all the stories, you have a single chance; and if you miss it, then it's gone. The door isn't there when you go back to look. There is no second invitation to the ball"

Hazel has always known that life in Fairfold is different from the glass coffin that houses a sleeping prince to the strange things that are known to happen to tourists. She has always known the the fairies that live around Fairfold can be as lethal as they are charming; that they will just as soon kill a human as they wi "But in all the stories, you have a single chance; and if you miss it, then it's gone. The door isn't there when you go back to look. There is no second invitation to the ball"

Hazel has always known that life in Fairfold is different from the glass coffin that houses a sleeping prince to the strange things that are known to happen to tourists. She has always known the the fairies that live around Fairfold can be as lethal as they are charming; that they will just as soon kill a human as they will bargain with one.

Even then, knowing the dangers, Hazel finds herself drawn to the dark things that lurk outside of Fairfold. With a sword and her brother Ben by her side, Hazel hoped once to become a knight and hunt the monsters that lurked in the Fairfold woods. But Ben put a stop to that.

Seven years ago Hazel made a bargain to try and fix things. To get back the life she thought she wanted. But that fell apart as well.

Now Hazel kisses boys with wild abandon and has fun, hoping to shore up enough in reserve for the day it all might be lost to her. But the payment for Hazel's bargain is coming due and time is running out for regrets or preparation.

That is until the coffin in the woods is broken and the prince, who has been there for as long as anyone can remember, disappears. Until Hazel wakes up in her bed surrounded by dirt and pieces of broken glass with no idea how to fix anything in The Darkest Part of the Forest (2015) by Holly Black.

The Darkest Part of the Forest is a fresh-faced fairy story where the fairies are as as entrancing as they are dangerous. Black once again delivers a thoughtful, intricate story of magic and identity in this smartly modern tale.

The Darkest Part of the Forest takes traditional fairy tale tropes (not to mention gender roles) and turns them on their heads as this story infuses familiar lore with new twists and turns. Hazel, in particular, is a stunningly authentic and multi-faceted heroine. She is flawed and impulsive. She is genuine and kind. This story expertly negotiates exactly what agency and identity really mean not just for a girl in a small town but also for a girl with a self-proclaimed charge of saving that town.

There are other relationships in this story that are equally well done. Hazel and Ben come to understand each other as equals and family for perhaps the first time while both also come to terms with a less-than-idyllic upbringing. There is romance for both Hazel and Ben in unlikely places.

This novel also wonderfully examines the nature of family and the ramifications that come when people decide to choose their own--even if it is just for a time. Throughout the quests, the adventures, and the reconciliations, Hazel remains firmly grounded at the center of this plot. Her growth, particularly in the second half of the novel, is phenomenal as the narrative explores what it means to truly know oneself and trust oneself after years of doubt.

The Darkest Part of the Forest is a wonderful fantasy but where it really shines is as the sensational story of a girl who not only finds her place in the world but also finds herself when she chooses to face the darkness in herself as well as in the forest.

*A copy of this book was acquired from the publisher for review consideration at BEA 2014*

Possible Pairings: Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson, Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey, Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones, The Shadow Society by Marie Rutkoski, Lament by Maggie Stiefvater, All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill, The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff, Dust Girl by Sarah Zettel ...more

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Oct 03, 2022 junia rated it really liked it

Fun quick creative read with a unique cast of characters, interesting plot, and satisfying end. Good job Holly Black

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Jul 10, 2017 Natalie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audio, plch, 2017

I adored this story and world. I wish this wasn't a stand alone book - I want more of this universe. ...more

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Jun 08, 2022 Lorena rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, fairies

I do love Holly Black's fae characters and worlds. Unlike her Folk Of The Air series, this one spends more time on the human side of the divide. ...more

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