A review by modernmatilda
A Dark and Starless Forest by Sarah Hollowell

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

4.0

 
The Dark and Starless Forest fit perfectly onto my creepy-flower-girl-forest-ya-horror-queer shelf and I enjoyed the SUPER wild ride. I loved Derry as our narrator, I loved the diverse cast of her siblings, and I LOVE LOVE LOVED the forest spookiness going on. It's like a dark dark dark version of House in the Cerulean Sea.


--SPOILERS AHEAD--
 
I wasn't a big fan of the parental abuse plot point in this novel (not that I'm a fan of it in any novel, I just think it was a rough landing here). It rode that fine line of being twisted and being too hard to stomach. I think this could have been remedy's if the father figure was more sinister in a cartoonish or outlandish way, rather than being so realistic. I don't know if that makes sense.


I really enjoyed the ride of reading this book, but I wish things were fleshed out and explored more.

Content warning for parental physical and mental abuse, confinement, child death, car accident 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings