The Darkest Part of the Forest
Children can have a cruel, absolute sense of justice. Children can kill a monster and feel quite proud of themselves. A girl can look at her brother and believe they’re destined to be a knight and a bard who battle evil. She can believe she’s found the thing she’s been made for.
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 pointy 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…
As the world turns upside down and a hero is needed to save them all, Hazel tries to remember her years spent pretending to be a knight. But swept up in new love, shifting loyalties, and the fresh sting of betrayal, will it be enough?
AWARDS
Nominated for a Mythopoeic Award and winner of the Rainbow Project Book List Award, Darkest Part of the Forest also won an Indies Choice Book Award—Young Adult Book of the Year from the American Bookseller’s Association in 2015. It was a Junior Library Guild Selection and received a starred review from School Library Journal.
Book Trailer
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Praise
“Black returns here to the dark faery realm that spurred her initial success, and if anything, she’s only gotten better, writing with an elegant, economical precision and wringing searing emotional resonance from the simplest of sentences.”
—The Bulletin, starred review
“Black returns to the realm of faerie for her latest novel, and the results, as any of her fans would expect, are terrific.”
—VOYA, starred review
“Black’s stark, eerie tone; propulsive pacing; and fulsome world building will certainly delight her legion of fans.”
—Booklist
“Close in tone to some of Charles de Lint’s work, it’s an enjoyable read with well-developed characters and genuine chills…”
—Publishers Weekly