Sorcha is the seventh child of Colum of Sevenwaters. All six of her older siblings are brothers--and, in fact, she was supposed to be the seventh son of a seventh son. Instead, Sorcha is a girl. The siblings are incredibly close, bound by blood and spirit. This bond is threatened by the siblings' new, evil step-mother, who lays a curse on the brothers that turns them into swans. It then falls on Sorcha to save her siblings from their fate...a price bought by her silence and pain.

I have to admit that my knowledge of Celtic lore is non-existent. And I'm not at all exaggerating. I didn't even know that DAUGHTER OF THE FOREST was based on a fairy tale until I stumbled on the information at Amazon. Why did I pick up DAUGHTER OF THE FOREST? The cover, of course. Well, that and I seemed to half remember that one of the people I used to talk with about books had liked Marillier quite a lot.

I should clarify a little on the Celtic myth aspect of the novel before moving on. I've admitted to being ignorant of the Celtic basis for The DAUGHTER OF THE FOREST, but I don't think I lost all that much due to being unfamiliar with the original tale. Perhaps it would have enhanced the story, but I didn't feel as if I was out of the loop. Everything the reader needs is contained within Marillier's novel.

There are two major elements to DAUGHTER OF THE FOREST: family and romance. I'll discuss both in that order, because that's how they come in the novel, really. The aspect of Sorcha's family bond is by far the strongest and most resonant in the novel. Marillier builds the family in a way that makes it the unshakable heart of the novel. Everything Sorcha does, it's to free her brothers. I've seen people whine that Sorcha doesn't act 'strong', but I just can't see where they're pulling this opinion from. Physically she may not be a match for anyone, but certainly her strength of will cannot be questioned. Sorcha not only willingly suffers to save her family, but remains silent about her trials the entire time. Sorcha's silence is particularly a well-suited trial for her because so much of her strength is derived from her spiritual nature and the related stories. This device is used frequently with female protagonists, but I thought it was wrought particularly well in DAUGHTER OF THE FOREST. I found Sorcha's silent strength incredibly refreshing.

Although a romance is hinted at early, around the midpoint the novel seems to divert from the strong familial path. The romance is fairly obvious and changes the entire tone. I liked a lot of the elements that the romance introduced (conflict between the two cultures, etc), but because the romance storyline is after the to the sibling-centric beginning it seems to fall a bit flat in the face of the beautifully woven family story. And, I might add, feels untrue to the romance hints in the beginning. (I will be vague to avoid spoilers, could have introduced interesting conflict but is just accepted. I hope that the second book will address this red herring-esque tease.)

The only other problem I had with the novel--and this is a SPOILER--is the inclusion of the rape scene. I'm not entirely sure why this scene doesn't work for me, but I can get quite touchy about the portrayal of rape (or even just women) in fiction. Marillier tries to give the time necessary to this added trial of Sorcha's, but...well, as I said, it just doesn't quite ring true for me. This is completely a personal preference thing, I think, especially since I don't feel that I can articulate it any better than that.

I enjoyed and was pretty damn enthralled by DAUGHTER OF THE FOREST, which was surprising to me because I picked up the novel so spontaneously. Any qualms I have with it are small comparative to the entertainment value and the worth of reading about the incredible, unique family. The first book wraps up Sorcha's story nicely, but leaves enough plot threads hanging to keep the reader wondering. In fact, I found the ending quite disconcerting in that Sorcha's story was so finished, but the story of her family (who it's impossible not to become emotionally involved with) was left so open. ( )

Daughter of the Forest is the first book of the Sevenwaters trilogy, and the best. Sorcha is the youngest child of Lord Colum, an Irish war-leader, and has been brought up by her six older brothers. When their father marries the mulberry-eyed, sinister Lady Oonagh, events are set in motion that will change the comfortable pattern of life at Sevenwaters forever. To save her brothers from Oonagh's wicked enchantment, Sorcha is given a nearly impossible task that only she can perform. To restore her brothers to their human form, she must make six shirts of the prickly starwort plant. And she must never speak a word until her task is complete, no matter what happens to her, or she will condemn her brothers to their swan-forms forever.

I remember my first time reading this series. I was a shelver at the public library and picked these off my shelving cart. I was immediately addicted. I've reread this book several times, and every time I'm impressed again with the writing and characters. This story is told in the first person by Sorcha, and she is a very believable and compelling heroine. Her selfless determination to finish her task and save her brothers is inspiring and somehow very relatable. The characters feel like real people, caught up in events beyond their control and yet still making real choices that affect the outcome.

Marillier's world-building is excellent. There are a lot of pagan religious elements and some explicit scenes, but they don't take over the story. Though the prayers and druidic rituals for the forest are sometimes a little overdone (I believe Marillier has stated that her own religious convictions tend toward what her characters call "the old ways"), the slight preachiness doesn't overwhelm the story. Marillier is very fair-minded about the intrusion of other faiths, notably Christianity. It's no secret that the Christian faith was sometimes pushed on the people with violence, but Marillier tells another side of the story, that of quiet brothers who built monasteries in Ireland and helped the people without condemning them. This is quite an unusual stance in current historical fiction, and a welcome one. Though the ancient pagan religion is portrayed as the true one in this tale, Marillier doesn't condemn all adherents of other beliefs as slavering fanatics. Father Brien and Father Dominic are admirable characters, though they certainly aren't perfect.

There is a fairly explicit rape scene in this story. It serves a definite purpose in the plot and doesn't bother me overmuch, but I imagine a rape victim would find it hard to read. There is another sexually explicit scene later in the book and it is handled fairly tastefully. There is also a torture scene, though it happens offstage. I wouldn't recommend this series to young readers; it's definitely for adults.

It's too bad that Marillier's later books after the Sevenwaters trilogy are just recycled from it. I think she's done writing her books; everything I've read that came after this series is just the same thing, only weaker. Pity.

This beautiful retelling of the fairytale is an enjoyable read for lovers of historical fiction and fantasy, and one that I revisit often. Recommended. ( )

Very enjoyable. It was nice to read a well-written but traditional story. For all I enjoy meta-fiction and good ol' breakin' down of the hierarchies...well, it was nice to sink into a fantasy world. ( )

Sorcha is the seventh child of a seventh son, Lord Colum of Sevenwaters. Her elder six brothers adore and watch out for her as her mother died delivering her. Her life has been happy and full of wonderment until her father becomes enamored of a wicked sorceress who has him under her spell. Things begin to change quickly for Sorcha as her stepmother seeks to control their lives and pit father, brother and sister against one another. In an act of true inhumanity, the stepmother transforms Sorcha's six brothers into swans and Sorcha's only hope of lifting the curse is to weave six shirts, one for each brother, out of the painful starwort nettle and to not utter a word until her task is complete. Agreeing to the monumental task, Sorcha sets off on a long road full of suffering to restore her brothers and her family. But along the way she meets those will aid and alter her story forever.Set in a pre-Christian Ireland, Marillier's work is full of Celtic mythology and descriptions of people and place that I felt myself right there along Sorcha as she traveled across the land. Marillier's characters never have a easy time of things and this book is certainly no exception - Sorcha pays dearly to gain what she wants with many casualties along the way. This was no easy read for me and is definitely recommended to mature readers only. I find that Marillier can create some truly good characters. They prove themselves time and again. But Marillier allows even her good characters to face challenges and difficulties that forever change them - usually for the better, but not always. Likewise, Marillier's villains are truly evil. There are some folks in this book that are too creepy to think about. It's an amazing book though - based on a Brothers Grimm fairy tale - but competely unique and spellbinding in its heartbreak and joys. ( )

I'm modestly recommending this book not only to the fantasy fans, or just to those who can not do without a great Irish enchanted story, or only to Marion Zimmer Bradley's fans who see the "The best Celtic romance since The Mists of Avalon" advertising on the cover and get intrigued by it, or only to those who love fairytales retold, but to everyone, EVERYONE reading this... because this is one of those books that make our hearts beat furiously through all the chapters that seem so scarce, that fill our eyes with tears and wash our face with them at the last pages, that make us feel brave because that's what the protagonist needs to be; and for all this, this is one of those books that live long and lovingly in our imagination. When you read Daughter of the Forest you become her, you become Sorcha (or Jenny =)...) you feel with her, and for her, for she wins the reader's appreciation both with her unflinching courage, and understandable vulnerability. Only 5? nah ... a million stars ... ( )