The Darkest Part of the Forest

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 show more 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 Hazel with her memories as a knight acting as Severin's champion, and what the court ruled by Severin is like, and more of Ben and Severin's relationship, and how Jack reconciles with his fairy mother, and just...more of everything! EVERYTHING. show less

There is a lot of cleverness and humor in this modern day fairy tale in which characters text on their phones for help fighting evil faeries. There are also some wonderful inversions of gender expectations, expectations of gender preference, and conflict driven not by the diversity of color (of which there is plenty in this book), but between Fae and non-Fae.

The main character is Hazel Evans, almost 16, who has a good relationship with her older brother Ben, even though they keep many secrets from one another. Hazel and Ben live in the unusual town of Fairfold, a wooded place full of faeries (also known as The Folk). The Folk more or less leave the townspeople alone, only bothering tourists, who they consider fair game, because - after show more all, they act like tourists. And there are many tourists; they come to see the elfin prince sleeping in a glass coffin in the forest. Many have tried to break the glass, but none have succeeded. Hazel and Ben have always had a protective attitude toward the prince, and both dreamed of rescuing him one day. Hazel in particular is resolved to become a Knight, who slays monsters and saves princes.

When Hazel is not thinking about the prince, she thinks about - or tries not to think about - her crush on Jack, Ben’s BFF. Jack looks almost like his twin Carter, because Jack was a changling. When the boys were infants, the faeries tried to substitute Jack for Carter. Carter’s mother intervened and kept them both, reasoning that any mother who would give away her baby was not a suitable mom.

Hazel has another secret besides her feelings for Jack. Five years ago, when Hazel was nearly eleven, she’d made a bargain with The Folk, agreeing to give up seven years of her life if Ben could go to music school in Philadelphia. Music can tame faeries, and it would help them in their quest to do good. The deal was made surreptitiously, so it came as a surprise to Ben when he received a scholarship to the school. Unfortunately, an event very traumatic to Ben happened there, leading him to break his own fingers so he couldn’t play music anymore, and they all returned home to Fairfold.

Meanwhile in Fairfold, something has gone radically wrong. The Fae are not only attacking just tourists now, and the residents, scared and feeling powerless, look for a scapegoat. Hazel, Ben, and Jack are all in terrible danger, but if they survive, they all have the chance of making their dreams come true.

Discussion: Hazel is a wonderful heroine. As Ben observes, she is bigger than life, always trying to protect people and protect the town. But in fact, all of the four main protagonists are brave and resourceful, and capable of the kind of love you fear that might only be true in fairy tales. [Yes, I’ve only referenced three of them above so as not to be too spoilery.]

The author often employs a delightful sense of humor as she mixes the two worlds together. For example, at one point, Hazel and Jack talk about what it would be like if Jack were to return to the faeries who gave him up at birth:

"‘Eh, it wouldn’t be so bad. I wouldn’t have to study for the SATs or get a summer job or figure out my major. I can drink Elderflower wine all day, dance all through the night, and sleep on a bower of roses.’

Hazel made a face. ‘I’m pretty sure there are some colleges where you can do that.’”

The author also includes two beautiful declarations of love that by themselves make the book worth reading.

Evaluation: I struggle with warming up to stories about Fae, but Holly Black does a great job of creating teens who keep their wits and sense of humor about them no matter what the [bizarre] circumstances, and it is because of those characterizations that I keep returning to her books. show less

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…

I’m realizing I’ve now read four Holly Black books in two months. Woo. Totally unintentional, yo. I found myself absolutely riveted to this audiobook after several false starts show more where I just couldn’t get hooked in, but once I did I really enjoyed myself. It’s an interesting take on the urban fantasy fairy interactions -- complete with female warrior, believable LGBT characters. Whimsical, beautiful, dark, fun. The mechanic that the story depended on was awesome, though I did see the twist coming from a mile away, darnit. show less

This contemporary fantasy stars Hazel and Ben who live in Fairfold. It is a town where humans and the Folk mingle and most humans survive as long as they are careful. The local kids party at the coffin of a boy with horns and pointed ears. He's been sleeping for generations. Both Hazel and Ben love him and spend time with the coffin talking about their hopes and dreams.

Hazel and Ben have been raised by their artist parents in a way that could best be described as benign neglect. They were free to run wild in the woods but they were also not sure that their parents would remember to feed or clothe them.

Ben was gifted by a one of the fey with a gift for music. Hazel makes a bargain with the fey so that he can get the education he needs. show more At age eleven, she gives up seven years of her life for this wish. However, things don't go well when they move to the city for Ben's schooling. He is afraid of his music which can hold his audiences spellbound and breaks his hand to make it impossible for him to continue his music. Ben giving up his music doesn't change Hazel's agreement with faerie though she keeps it a secret from Ben.

Ben and Hazel are good friends with Jack who was a changeling substituted for Carter. When Carter's mother noticed the substitution, she forced the fey to give Carter back but also decided to keep Jack because she said a mother who would give him away wasn't fit to have him. Jack has grown up with Hazel and Ben and seems human.

But one day everything changes. Someone has finally managed to break open the horned boy's glass coffin and now the alderking wants him back. Hazel learns that she's been spending her nights paying off her debt to faerie and has been training as one of the king's knights. Now she has been instructed to return the horned boy to the king or he will unleash the worst of the fey on Fairfold.

This was a wonderful story which masterfully combined our world with the world of The Folk. It pulls from all sorts of faerie stories for its inspiration. The characters - Hazel, Ben, Jack, and the horned boy whose name is Severin - were all well-developed and were all interesting people. The story had adventure and romance. show less

Holly Black has been one of my favourite urban fantasy YA novelists since Tithe, so I was very excited to see her going back to the genre after years spent on other series. (Not that they aren't likely great as well, but there's a reason why they never quite made it to the top of my reading pile).

In this latest story, Black takes a Borderlands-esque approach to give us a story where humans and faerie live close to each other, but not close enough that there's integration. The humans of Fairfold have become acustomed to carrying fey-wards and not "acting like tourists" to draw the ire of the faerie-people, but the faerie are much more bloodthirsty than they ever imagined. Our protagonists are a brother and sister duo with an odd show more obsession with the sleeping prince - an elf lad entombed in a crystal coffin in the middle of the forest. The pair have always dreamed of waking him, but when Hazel finally does she sets off a chain of events that will almost cost her brother's life and that of his changeling best friend. Like all good faerie-stories, Black wraps up the tale with the hero's triumph but with much more to happen in the future. I would not be at all surprised if Black revisited the town of Fairfold in future novels - in fact I hope that she does! show less

"Lords and ladies who walk unseen,
lords and ladies all in green,
three times I stomp upon the earth.
Let me in for the sake of mirth."

[a:Holly Black|25422|Holly Black|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1261867163p2/25422.jpg] never fails to surprise me. And, her more recent releases completely woo me. Her writing is amazing. Lyrical and lovely without trying. But above all, she always takes a genre or story I think I know and shows me how much I really don't know.

The folklore, fairtales and and wonderful fae in this story were ugly and cruel and lovely and dangerous and sweet and...all the ways and things I've known them to be but this was a whole new slant. A prince in a casket, a town cursed but also blessed with a magical twist.

The show more story of Hazel and her brother, Carter the changeling and Jack the offering held - I loved them all. I'm sad to leave them and their world behind. show less

Recensione sul blog: http://thereadingpal.blogspot.it/2017/10/recensione-140-darkest-part-of-forest.h...

“Once, there was a girl who vowed she would save everyone in the world,
but forgot herself.”


Per me è sempre difficile parlare di un libro che mi è piaciuto, soprattutto quando mi è piaciuto così tanto. Non riesco a mettere i pensieri in frasi che abbiano senso!
Quando Julienne mi ha regalato questo libro non sapevo cosa pensare. So che Holly Black piace a molti, ma non sapevo se mi sarebbe piaciuto. Come ho detto con Wings, in realtà non leggo molti libri con le fate. Questo romanzo potrebbe aver cambiato le cose!

Hazel vive a Fairfold, una strana cittadina in cui gli abitanti devono convivere con le fate. Le creature show more solitamente lasciano in pace gli abitanti e se la prendono con i turisti, ma le cose cambiano in fretta.
Nella foresta c'è una bara di vetro, dove un giovane dorme indisturbato da generazioni. È una fata, forse un principe, forse malvagio; i bambini si inventano storie su di lui. Perché è lì? Nessuno lo sa. Tant'è che nessuno è mai riuscito a liberarlo. Quando la bara viene aperta, la relazione tra le fate e gli abitanti di Fairfold peggiora, e solo Hazel potrebbe riuscire a cambiare le cose.
Era da un bel po' che non trovavo un personaggio femminile che mi piacesse davvero. C'era sempre qualcosa che non mi piaceva. Hazel invece mi ha fatto tornare ad amare un certo tipo di protagonisti. È certamente una ragazza forte, coraggiosa, una guerriera. Ma nel corso del libro vediamo anche le sue debolezze, i suoi desideri, la vediamo piangere ed avere paura. Cosa che la rende molto più umana e interessante rispetto a quei personaggi femminili che ci sono ultimamente: ragazzine perfette senza difetti, abili in qualsiasi cosa facciano, tanto che Mary Sue può solo inchinarsi rispettosamente. Hazel bilancia la sua forza e la sua debolezza in modo credibile.
Rischio di fare parecchi spoiler se non sto attenta, e non voglio. Devo dire però che gli incontri tra Hazel e le fate sono stati particolari ed interessanti, e che nessun tipo di consiglio o regola può aiutarti quando il tuo mondo è in pericolo.
Le fate qui non sono benigne. La maggior parte sono crudeli, malvagie, assetate di sangue. Le altre sono per lo più in campo neutro, un grigio che tende al nero più scuro. Le benedizioni che elargiscono sono piuttosto maledizioni, le loro parole non sono mai interamente veritiere. In certi punti sono davvero terrificanti nella loro indifferenza al destino umano e nel loro rallegrarsi per i dolori causati a vari malcapitati. Anche le loro descrizioni li rendono così diversi, sinistri. Ho adorato questo tipo di dettagli e il cercare di capire come stessero usando Hazel.
Un altro personaggio che mi è piaciuto davvero tanto è stato Ben. E forse mi sono legate più a lui che alla sorella. Il dono che gli è stato dato dalle fate per lui è una maledizione, lo odia, cerca in tutti i modi di non utilizzarlo. Ha paura di ciò che potrebbe fare utilizzandolo. Come Hazel, anche lui è esplorato davvero bene. Coraggioso quanto Hazel, ma allo stesso tempo molto diverso. Il suo desiderio non è quello di diventare un guerriero, di essere forte. Quello che davvero desidera è colmare un vuoto che pare impossibile colmare quanto la possibilità che il principe delle fate contraccambi il suo amore.
Una cosa che mi è davvero piaciuta è stata il rapporto tra Ben, il fratello maggiore di Hazel, ed Hazel stessa. C'è sicuramente quella rivalità tipica tra fratelli, ma in entrambi vediamo il desiderio di poteggere l'altro a tutti costi, anche mentendo e mantenendo segreti pericolosi. È un legame forte, anche se sono divisi da un muro di menzogne che a poco a poco dovranno distruggere. Un pochino mi ha ricordato mia sorella e me, anche se non abbiamo segeti così grandi a dividerci.
Il personaggio su cui sono stata un po' più inscura, all'inizio, è stato proprio il giovane principe delle fate. All'inizio era davvero strano, ambiguo come il resto della sua razza, non capivo se era lui ad essere malvagio o chi gli dava la caccia. Poi tutto ha avuto un senso.
Per quanto riguarda la storia, l'ho trovata interessante e "nuova": insomma, è molto diversa da quello che leggo di solito, quindi può essere stato anche questo. Ma ad un certo punto c'è un plot twist che mi ha lasciata inebedita. Giuro che non me lo aspettavo, ed è una cosa che mi ha fatto piacere. Ultimamente, leggendo un libro capisco già cosa accadrà dopo per filo e per segno...
Il tutto è scritto molto bene. Lo stile di scrittura è fluido e mi ha catturata fin da subito, e inseme alla storia ha fatto sì che divorassi questo libro in pochi giorni, pur con poco tempo a disposizione! show less