Monday, December 29, 2014

Review: The Darkest Part of the Forest

THE DARKEST PART OF THE FOREST
Holly Black
Paranormal Young Adult
336 pages
Little, Brown
Available January 13th
Source: BEA

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
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?


MY THOUGHTS
The Darkest Part of the Forest is an odd sort of tale, one of those stories with a combination of elements that leaves us not entirely certain of how we feel when we reach the last page. There’s a lot to like about the world and characters Ms. Black has created, but there’s a certain unusualness–an otherness, for lack of a better word–that is both a highlight and a drawback as events unfold. There are layers upon layers to both Hazel and Ben, their relationship with one another, as well as with their parents and their respective love interests, dotted with sore spots we can’t help but want to–a little sadistically–poke to see if the resulting pain produces answers to questions we didn’t even realize we’d asked.

Hazel and her brother Ben are intriguingly protective of one another, but at the same time highly competitive in a quiet, passive way, often hiding selfish motivations inside words or actions that otherwise appear supportive. It’s not as though they’re unlikable or vindictive however, it’s more that they have a gritty and darkly beautiful relationship with more facets to it than we have time to admire in three hundred pages. While a connection to either of them isn’t overly strong, there’s still something captivating about each of them individually as well as a brother/sister pair, and even long after we’ve finished reading we’re not entirely sure how to put our feelings for them into words.

The two separate romances for Hazel and Ben aren’t quite as fully developed as lovers of romance like myself might wish, but as with Hazel and Ben themselves, there are layers to their loves we know are there but can’t quite see. Overall, The Darkest Part of the Forest is captivating in that it takes us to a place we’re not all that sure we’re comfortable being but don’t necessarily want to escape before doing a little digging to see what we can find. This is the first story I’ve read by Ms. Black, and I look forward to reading much, much more.

Rating: 3.5/5

Find Holly:

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This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review
I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

31 comments:

  1. Gorgeous review Jenny and I know just what you mean about not exactly knowing how you feel at the end with reads like this one. There were several this year that were like this for me. It makes the reviews so hard to write but of course, you did wonderfully with this one!
    I am not sure if this will be the read for me or not but I do have a feeling that I will be sucked into the story just as much as you were, whether or not that is a good or bad thing. ;)

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    1. Thanks Ali! This was definitely a tricky one for me to pin down reaction-wise, but I enjoyed the oddness of it for sure:)

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  2. sound like a good book, I add it to my TBR list for the Year 2015 :D

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    1. Looking forward to your thoughts on it Alreem!

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  3. Oooh, I'm SO intrigued now, lol! Sometimes books with those layers and layers, dark too - are my favorite, so I'm excited in a sense to read that. I'm glad you tried Holly's writing as well and that you're looking forward to more.
    Lovely review, Jenny!

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    1. I'll be interested to see what you think Kim! This was a strange, intriguing story and I'm curious to see how it goes over with other people:)

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  4. Well, I'm curious about this book but at the same I feel like it's a book I shouldn't rush to buy. I think I'm going to wait for it to become available at the library. I'm intrigued by the relationship between the brother and sister. It sounds a little twisted and weird and I'm all up for that.
    Lovely review, Jenny!

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    1. This would be a great library read Nick. I'm glad I read it to be sure, but it's not necessarily something I'll rush to reread:)

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  5. I still haven't read anything written by Holly Black, at least not solo, so this one is in my list of books to try.
    Amazing review as always Jenny!

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    1. I definitely want to read more by her Pili! I think I'll give Coldest Girl in Coldtown a try next:)

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  6. The relationship sounds a little confusing... I think I saw this one around but I don't remember the reviews exactly. It sounds a little different and interesting but not sure yet... maybe one day. Thanks for the review.

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    1. It's definitely different Melliane! It won't be for everyone and it didn't blow me away, but I enjoyed reading it overall:)

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  7. Oooh. I like the sounds of the brother/sister relationship. Mostly because I like familial relationships in books. (Hello, Julia Quinn.) :D

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  8. I feel like Holly excels at "odd" and "weird." I'm excited to check this one out though, lovely review. I need to read more stories that focus on sibling love. :)

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    1. Heh. I can't think of another word to describe this one other than odd, but I don't mean it in a negative way. It was just a curiously strange tale:)

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  9. Anytime I hear a story where you aren't quite sure about the children, are they good or bad?? I think ofStephen King's book, Children of the Corn! It gives me chills. This one has me curious? Great review Jenny

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    1. Hahaha fear not, no Children of the Corn here!

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  10. Sounds weird and I am wildly intrigued

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  11. I agree with your thoughts on this book too. I had read her other books , but this one wasn't big on the romance. I enjoyed the brother sister relationship. :)

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    1. I did too, though of course, romance lover that I am, I wouldn't have minded if that was a bigger focus!

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  12. I loved Black's Curse Workers trilogy but none of her novels afterwards have caught my eye. I'm glad you're planning to continue with Black's work, Jenny, and fantastic review--not sure this is for me but your review has shed a lot of light on this novel for me.

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    1. I definitely want to give the Curse Workers trilogy a try Keertana!

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  13. This is actually the first time I've really paid attention to what this is about, even though it seems like I've seen it a lot lately. It DOES sound odd, but kind cool and intriguing. I haven't read any Black's other work, but I want to.

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    1. Odd, cool and intriguing are all good words for this one Christy:)

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  14. I've been curious about this one. I think that what I assumed it was is pretty much how you described it. I think I'd like a bit more WOW factor but I think I'll have to give it a try one of these days.

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  15. This sounds REALLY good! Your review makes it sound even better, gosh darn it I am so excited to read this book, sounds awesome... great review :)! I love the layout of your blog, it looks so nice!

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  16. I agree that the romance wasn't the strongest, but I love Hazel and Ben's relationship, and something about Black's mix of contemporary and magical works well for me! Happy you liked this overall.

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  17. This book does sound like a really different one, where the romance isn't the main thing. I have never read a book by Holly Black but I want to because I have heard so much about her writing!

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