Darkest Part of the Forest

TITLE: The Darkest Part of the Forest
AUTHOR: Holly Black
RELEASE DATE: January 2015
PUBLISHER: Little, Brown, and Company
PAGES: 328 pages
GENRE: Fantasy
OVERALL RATING: 5/5
APPROPRIATE AGE: grades 9-12

SUMMARY: Hazel Evans and the rest of the residents of Fairfold know all the rules: Don't go out after sunset on a full moon, Don't act like a tourist, Don't go into the woods, and definitely Do not make a deal with one of the Fair Folk. But other than that, Fairfold is a great place to live. All of the kids hang out at the glass casket of the horned boy, drinking and dancing, as if it is the most normal thing in the world. Because in Fairfold it is. But Hazel understands the negative side of Fairfold and she will do everything it takes to protect it. As a child, she carries a golden sword and slays the monsters that terrorize her town. But after a few years of slaying monsters, she breaks the number one rule and now has seven years to pay the price. 

FAVORITE QUOTE: "They were in love with him because he was a prince and a faerie and magical and you were supposed to love princes and faeries and magic people. They loved him the way they'd loved Beast the first time he swept Belle around the dance floor in her yellow dress. They loved him as they loved the Eleventh Doctor with his bow tie and his flippy hair and the Tenth Doctor with his mad laugh. They loved him as they loved lead singers of bands and actors in movies, loved him in such a way that their shared love brought them closer together." (Black, 85-86)

WHAT I LIKED: Starting from the first page, I absolutely loved the town of Fairfold. I even went as far as doing a Google search to see if there really was a town with the same name! I didn't find anything. And its not like I would go visit if I had found it, because the book is very specific about what happens to tourists in Fairfold! I mean, seriously; faeries, changelings, water hags, barghests, horned boys and Alderkings. What more could you ask for? 

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: I didn't like the ending, as in the book had to end. It ended with such a "Happily Ever After" that I was disappointed there was no room for a sequel. Holly Black, if you're reading this, could there ever be a continuation to the story of Fairfold? What happens to Ben and Severn, Jack and Hazel? 

READALIKES: Modern Faerie Tale series by Holly Black,  Need series by Carrie Jones

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