The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

-Kenneth Patchen; the beginning of The Darkest Part of the Forest

Oh. My. God. THIS BOOK!!! I fell in love with fantasy a long time ago. Longer than I care to admit lol. I grew up living in the country for a good part of my older childhood. I was always riding horses when I was younger and it was never a huge stretch of the imagination to think that there were things that weren’t human that shared the woods with us. That in fact, probably had more of a right to it than I did. And that was always a source of both excitement and terror, even before I started reading fantasy books. But when I did start reading fantasy I realized what I loved about it. It made me believe in magic. Of course it makes sense that there are fey and hobs and water hags out there. It felt right, the way that these books described magic. As inevitable, woven into the daily fabric of life.I originally read Tithe way back in the day and adored it. It brought that magic back, but it didn’t sugar coat it. These aren’t benign fairies with sparkly wings, these are creatures who are not human and who have a code of honor and rules that you must tread lightly around. Just because you live near the fey does not mean that you are safe from them. Picking up The Darkest Part of the Forest was like stepping back into that world, magical and so so dangerous.

Hazel and Ben grew up in Fairfold and thought they knew the ways to stay safe, even if things had been getting worse for the humans who lived there than it had been. They carried their protections, they were smart, they knew to be polite and respectful to the fey. They weren’t tourists and so they thought they were safe. In fact, they used to hunt the dangers of the forest. But things are getting very weird, even for Fairfold, and things are happening to Hazel. When she wakes up covered in mud and broken glass and the sleeping horned prince in the glass casket in the woods is missing, worry turns to fear.

The writing in this book is a magic of it’s own. Every word and phrase is lyrical and essential to the story. I was swept up by the storytelling, so anxious to find out what happened next. From the beginning, I saw that this was not a harmless fairy tale, but it gets downright creepy in some places.

“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.”

“A syrup-sweet voice came from Molly’s mouth, speaking in sing-song. Her head tilted to one side. ‘I loved him and he’s dead and gone and bones. I loved him and they took him away from me. Where is he? Where is he? Dead and gone and bones. Dead and gone and bones. Where is he?’ With every word, clumps of dirt fell from her tongue.”

And Hazel. I couldn’t love Hazel more if I tried. Hazel has always known that she wanted to be a knight. Ben would be her bard and they would fight evil and save everyone. She acts first and then thinks about it later, until a bargain made with the fey turns her world upside down. She doesn’t take her fate lying down though and is determined to live her life fully. She kisses the boys she wants to kiss and doesn’t make room for pointless regrets. In short, she’s a badass.Second only to my love for Hazel is my love of Jack. He’s a changeling, and Holly Black wove his story so convincingly. No one human trusts him and none of the fey trust him either. He is so very separate from everyone else and I was so impressed by the way we got to see his journey and thoughts throughout this book. And even more than that, I loved how he and Hazel found each other.

Ben was such a great character as well. He and Hazel are as close as twins and have always taken care of each other. Hazel has sacrificed a lot for Ben and he in turn has always tried to protect her. I loved that Holly Black included a LGBT character in her book and it was awesome to see his sexuality portrayed in such a positive light. More diverse role models in YA!!! I love it! And not only were the characters awesome, there was enough witty dialogue and great conversations to keep even the pickiest entertained.

“Well fine, then. I could send you out to win my favor. Possibly on a quest involving bringing a large mug of coffee and a doughnut. Or the wholesale slaughter of all my enemies. I haven’t decided which.”

I can’t recommend this book enough. It’s definitely moved up to the top of my 2015 list and even though it’s not very long yet, I have the feeling it will hold it’s own throughout the year.