The Darkest Part of the Forest

By: Holly Black

Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang

Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's Summary

A girl makes a secret sacrifice to the faerie king in this lush New York Times best-selling fantasy by author 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. 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.

The Darkest Part of the Forest is best-selling author Holly Black's triumphant return to the opulent, enchanting faerie tales that launched her YA career.

©2015 Holly Black (P)2015 Hachette Audio

Critic Reviews

"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)

"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)

"You may be ready to put a stake in vampire lit, but read this first: It's dark and dangerous, bloody, and brilliant." ( Kirkus)

Another Perfect Adaptation of Classic Fairytales

Holly Black has, from her first book, been a master at weaving classic fairytale (the truly classic kind, not the Disney retellings many of us grew up with) into stories set in the Modern age. she doesn't create a new world so much as tease the reader with the idea that, right at the edge of the reality we know, lurks a world of magic and ancient beings that has always been there.
My boyfriend and I listened to this audio book last week on a road trip. He is not a fan of audio books but agreed to try one while it was my turn to drive, and chose this from my collection almost at random. He's never read a Holly Black novel, but this book has converted him, to both wanting to read her other books and to wanting to give audio books a try in the future. We did not finish the book during drive but he insisted we finish before the whole trip was over, choosing this book over his podcasts or movies. He was absolutely hooked until the very end.
The story is delightfully dark, a tale of family and love and the bonds those create, but without ever feeling heavy. All the characters are complex, with goals and flaws and pasts that have made them who they are and shape the choices they make as the story unfolds. The Narrator brings out every emotion and nuance in the characters, not just reading the lines but acting them out.
Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good adventure, who wants to believe that there is magic all around but just out of sight, and who is ok with knowing that fairies may have wings and may sparkle but also probably may bite.

should have been listed as a children's book.

it wasn't horrible, I just think it was for a much younger age group. maybe ages 10-12.

Great as usual

I love the way Holly writes! She describes without boring or overdoing it. You can picture the people and worlds they live in. She sucks you in and make it hard to stop listening!! This is a creative and imaginative book. Thought maybe another story could have come after this one...maybe someday.
The narrator is great as well! Had me hooked!

Holly Black does it again

A dark tale with a fast moving storyline. The pieces of the puzzle are all there for you to put them together, but will you? Lauren Fortgang does a great job as a reader and most of her character voices are fitting. Mostly. I really appreciate a stand alone fantasy tale that leaves me sated just as much as most trilogies do.

Cute Story- Awesome Narration!

Fans of YA fiction like Mortal Instruments and Divergent will love this cute fairytale re-telling! This narrator is fantastic- 2nd series I've heard by her and she's still surprising me with new accents!

Beautiful

This is my favorite book of all time. I reread it every year. Highly recommended!!

Good listen

It's racy enough to interest the teens and wholesome enough to listen as a family. Good story with lots of twists.

meh

I didn't love it, but it was nice to venture back to Fairfold and hear some familiar names from other stories. Cruel Prince kept me so on edge, it is hard to beat.

The Horned Boy

Was not what I expected but anticipated every drive to school to drop my daughter off and pick her up again as listening to this audio book is greatly

My favorite dark fairytale

The story is unique, and I loved every piece of it, the narration on audible is so grand I want the narrator to read to me any story every night.