-
Your next favorite book
is waiting.
by Holly Black
In the woods is a glass coffin. It rests on the ground, and in it sleeps a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointed as knives....
Hazel and her brother, Ben, live in Fairfold, where humans and the Folk exist side by side. Tourists drive in to see the lush wonders of Faerie and, most wonderful of all, the horned boy. But visitors fail to see the danger.
Since they were children, Hazel and Ben have been telling each other stories about the boy in the glass coffin, that he is a prince and they are valiant knights, pretending their prince would be different from the other faeries, the ones who made cruel bargains, lurked in the shadows of trees, and doomed tourists. But as Hazel grows up, she puts aside those stories. Hazel knows the horned boy will never wake.
Until one day, he does....
As the world turns upside down, Hazel has to become the knight she once pretended to be. But as she's swept up in new love, with shifting loyalties and the fresh sting of betrayal, will it be enough?
The Darkest Part of the Forest, is the bestselling author Holly Black's triumphant return to the opulent, enchanting faerie tales that launched her YA career.
Indie Booksellers’ Choice Awards, 2015
"Starred Review. You may be ready to put a stake in vampire lit, but read this first: It's dark and dangerous, bloody and brilliant." - Kirkus
"Starred Review. Teens with a yen for dark, futuristic novels, and maybe even a few Anne Rice readers, will find this a refreshing take on vampire lit. As always, Black's writing is quick paced and thought-provoking. A must-have for any teen collection." - School Library Journal
Starred Review. With rapid-fire dialogue, lavish details, and a wildly imagined world, this will enthrall Black's fans from start to finish and leave them hoping for another bone-chilling vicarious tour of Coldtown." - Booklist
"A wickedly entertaining mash-up of genre conventions and enthusiastic subversions in which the perennial adolescent desire to be seen as normal takes on a whole new meaning…the novel's…real delights lie in its main characters' relationships. Hazel and Ben's twinned sibling rivalry and love is beautifully complex, and their relatable human yearnings for the objects of their affections anchor the novel in the believable, despite the fact that said passions are for a comatose enchanted prince and a fairy changeling. What begins as a freewheeling romp becomes, in Black's capable hands, a genuinely moving meditation on grief, falling in love and growing up." - The New York Times Book Review - Sarah McCarry
"It's an enjoyable read with well-developed characters and genuine chills, though perhaps not as original as Black's earlier supernatural excursions. Ages 12+." - Publishers Weekly
"This book is highly recommended for selection, as it is an imaginative and emotional journey for the characters and audience. Ages 13+." - Voya
This information about The Darkest Part of the Forest was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photo: Sharona Jacob
Holly Black is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of over thirty fantasy novels for kids and teens. She has been a finalist for an Eisner Award and the Lodestar Award, and the recipient of the Mythopoeic Award, a Nebula, and a Newbery Honor. Her books have been translated into 32 languages worldwide and adapted for film. She currently lives in New England with her husband and son in a house with a secret library.
If you liked The Darkest Part of the Forest, try these:
by Heather O'Neill
Published 2025
From the hugely acclaimed author beloved by literary lights, including Emily St. John Mandel, Kelly Link, and Mona Awad, a dark dystopian fairytale about an idyllic country ravaged by war—and a girl torn between safety and loyalty.
by Daniel Mason
Published 2024
A sweeping novel about a single house in the woods of New England, told through the lives of those who inhabit it across the centuries—a daring, moving tale of memory and fate from the Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of The Piano Tuner and The Winter Soldier.
by Mark Lawrence
Published 2024
Two strangers find themselves connected by a vast and mysterious library containing many wonders and still more secrets, in this powerfully moving first book in a new series from the international bestselling author of Red Sister and Prince of Thorns.
I like a thin book because it will steady a table...
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
Can you name the title?
Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
