Reviews

A Dark and Starless Forest by Sarah Hollowell

junereadsbooks's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse

thebakersbooks's review against another edition

4.0

Liked the fat MC whose fatness didn't go away as part of her character growth and proved to be a source of power. Disliked the author including the appropriated Indigenous mythos of the cannibal monster who steals voices, since my understanding is that one isn't even supposed to think the name of said creature, much less write it a bunch in a book.

evelyn_mosby's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Damn this got dark! It was a bit hard to differentiate between all of the girls, and I don't think we needed the last couple of chapters. Still a great read that RAMPS UP! 

igood54's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

nicoles_reading_corner's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Gore, Emotional abuse, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Mental illness, and Injury/Injury detail

thesingingbook's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

bronwyn's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

rory18's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

A lot to like about this book but also a lot to not like, so I'm rating it 3 stars. It's compelling and the relationships between the characters are as well, but the excessive use of Native folklore from an author I can't find anything about being Native is not good. It's also really predictable. I wrote that diversity was complicated because the two trans characters are somewhat stereotypical, with the non-binary one having shapeshifting/glamouring powers and the trans woman having anger that can take up a room, generally being the angriest character, and being the

Spoiler

computer whiz

of the group. She also

Spoiler

leaves them without saying goodbye.

And in the audiobook, the narrator reads her parts with a voice about as deep as the adult men even though she's been on blockers for years. So like, is it really all that diverse if the representation is questionable and there's cultural appropriation? It's also kind of weird how she has so many characters of color with next to no background of their pasts other than "oh, this Mexican-American character knew some Spanish". 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Trafficking, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Medical trauma, Sexism, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Medical content, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Fatphobia, and Stalking

Minor: Vomit, Cursing, Incest, Pedophilia, and Xenophobia

The "there's nothing Frank wouldn't do" and fact that there's no video footage of Frank's room with Elle in it and the general non-sexual first stages of grooming is enough to imply an adult/minor relationship with 16 year old Elle being Frank's favorite, so I'm tagging adult-minor relationship. The main character was in a puppy love relationship with one of her sisters before they grew to consider each other sisters and talks about remembering the feel of her mouth which is sort of pseudo-incestuous. Frank doesn't let the girls learn Spanish for some reason. Excessive mentions and usage of w/nd/gos for a non-Native author.

janienefe's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

cakt1991's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 Having recently read Sarah Hollowell’s more recent sophomore novel, I wanted to go back and check out her previous book, A Dark and Starless Forest. While this book is in more of an urban fantasy vein, it similarly deals with dark, real-world themes through use of the supernatural. There’s a darkly enchanting, atmospheric vibe, which drew me in immediately, even as the characters were increasingly isolated, and while the psychological themes are intense, I appreciate the way they were navigated. 

I also loved the large, diverse cast of characters and the found-family aspect among them. There’s a strong focus on the sibling bonds and wanting to bring their group back together, and Derry really has special relationships with each of them, making them all feel distinct. The group itself consists of many queer people, a Deaf character, and different body types. Derry herself is fat and queer, without it being aspects of herself she hated and felt the desire to change. 

Not only is this story about Derry being determined to find answers and find her family, it’s also about her coming into her own, and going on her journey to break the shackles of abuse and manipulation to come into her full powers. 

The pacing is pretty solid, with a lot going on. There’s rarely “lull” moments, and even the slower moments are interesting as well, thanks to the atmospheric writing. 

I really enjoyed this book, and I’d recommend it if you’re looking for a dark YA  urban fantasy.