The Darkest Part of the Forest

I fell hard for Holly Black after reading [b:White Cat 6087756 White Cat (Curse Workers, #1) Holly Black https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1358274572s/6087756.jpg 6264661], and since I have a tender spot in my heart for faeries and creepy little towns this felt like a good fit. The Darkest Part of the Forest is not as tightly wound as the books I've read from Black in the past, but I still enjoyed it quite a bit.I think that Hazel is the kind of main character we want in YA, but as such doesn't always fit into a YA book. Since she was a little girl, she always wanted to be a knight. She wanted to vanquish evil faeries, while her brother hypnotized them with his music. Her longing to be this person, to remain strong in an environment that is apathetic at best to her well-being, leads her to make a very foolish decision. One that makes her into the kind of protagonist that I keep seeing over and over in YA - the girl afraid of herself.Maybe it has to do with the coming of age aspects of YA lit. Maybe it has to do with as women we are brought up to keep ourselves, our bodies, our best qualities, at arm's length. We grow up with a misunderstanding of ourselves and our desires, and when those things manifest themselves despite all our best efforts, the only way to respond is fear. Hazel, in a way, becomes a young woman's worst nightmare - she becomes someone else when she goes to sleep.But Hazel is both afraid and not afraid, because she is what she is - a knight. She's the girl who falls in love with the rejected changeling, not the prince. She's the one who marches right into faery court to figure out what's going on. She faces a monster head on even though she knows she can't stop it. She's a very fun, satisfying character to see through the eyes of, but sometimes things were a little less dire as a result. I never really worried about Hazel. That's nice to read, but not as riveting.The setting is great, the mythos and folktale nature of the town immediately takes you in. The supporting characters are delightful. Jack is simultaneously relatable and mysterious, and I totally get why Hazel adores him. Her brother's romance with Severin, the horned boy, is a thin side plot, but it's just enough to feel sexy and interesting. The overall story is on the thin side, to be fair. There a lot of characters, back stories and motivation to pack into 300 pages. All that means though is that it makes for a swift, lighthearted read, and considering that the mythology of faeries can get into some pretty heavy territory, I think that's perfectly fine.

Oh! I loved this.

“There's a monster in our wood. She'll get you if you're not good. Drag you under leaves and sticks. Punish you for all your tricks. A nest of hair and gnawed bone. You are never, ever coming... home.”

This book focuses on a town called Fairfold. The town is right next to a forest filled with faeries. Within the forest lies a “glass” coffin with a strange horned boy. The coffin has been there since everyone can remember. Our two main characters Hazel and Ben have grown up talking to the coffin and the boy inside falling in love with him along the way. They are knights to his prince. Then one morning the town wakes up to find the coffin broken and the boy gone. We later learn that the boy's name is Severin.

The characters in this book were amazing. We had Hazel who has never let anyone in and kisses every boy in sight. We have Ben her brother who also happens to be gay. There is Jack, Ben's best friend and Hazel's old crush, who also happens to be a changeling. And finally we have the horned boy Severin. You also have the townspeople and the tourists who all play a role in what it means to live Fairfold with the faeries in the forest.

The characters alone were interesting, but what I really liked was the relationships between the characters. A lot of the story focused on the sibling relationship between Ben and Hazel. This was not a simple romance between different characters in the book. It was more about Ben and Hazel and what they were willing to do for each other. And of course it was about saving the town from the faeries and their mischief.

Part of this review needs to focus on the sheer awesomeness of this book. It is just over 300 pages but still has incredible world building and an amazing story. Holly Black's ability to write a paranormal stand-alone book is astounding. Not only do I love her writing, I also appreciate what she did with this book. It had the faerie lore along with modern culture.

I've always loved fairy lore and for me Holly Black is one of the best when it comes to fairy books. I loved this book. It was the right mixture of creepy, dark, and happy.