A Dark and Starless Forest was not what I thought it was going to be at all, which ended up being a good thing, I was absolutely entranced by this book. I didn't realize how prevalent a horror element was going to be (maybe it's just me, but I do get freaked out by things that go bump in the night if we don't know what they are).

The girls in this book are so strong. The girls in this book are also broken. Being able to see them pick up the pieces once their reality is shattered was utterly gripping, because they don't know that they're actually living for a groomer. Literally gross. But again, setting these types of stories amongst the backdrop of magic can make them a tad more palatable, or even just persuade readers to pick up the book in the first place. I've somehow managed to be on a kick of books wherein the main characters are facing insurmountable odds when it comes to how horribly they are being treated by their "families," and pulling awareness to this sort of child abuse is frankly scary. But it's also real. Which is even scarier.

10/10 stars couldn't put it down

Didn't capture my attention and engagement. Interested in trying it again though and hopefully it will take.

Great for fans of darker fantasy who desire a bit of self reflection through the less than mundane. Derry is brilliantly written. She and her siblings are all vibrant, wonderful characters in a story that is genuinely spooky and genuinely heartwarming. When her siblings start disappearing one by one, Derry knows it’s up to her to find the answers. Can Derry find the strength to resist her temptations and help save her siblings?

This book focuses on Derry, a fat protagonist, and her siblings who grew up in an abusive household with a man using their magic powers in order to preserve his immortality. The dynamic between the siblings was so well-written and relatable, but I wished there was a little more distinction between their individual characteristics. With so many characters, sometimes their personality traits and individuality were lost. The magic system was beautifully done, but I wanted to see more of it! I think a large part of this book was focused on the trauma the family experienced, and it was deftly handled, with the siblings taking back their power in an amazing consulsion. I would have just loved to know a lot more about the magic and worldbuilding to immerse myself more fully in the book. Regardless, I'm excited to read more from this author and will recommend this book to teen readers.

although this had so many things I ordinarily love, it fell flat and I was bored - I even put it down for a few months around the 20% mark. Love the queer rep and fat rep, and the cover is incredible but it's by far the best thing about the book.

This was a strange read. I kind of liked that about it. The idea of the forest and Claire was really unique.

Before you read this review, please note that the entire time, this book and I never clicked. There is no obvious reason for it, it's not an awful book, I just never fully got into it. So I have many little nitpicks but nothing severe.

Derry is our main protagonist but we have an entire cast of diverse characters that surround her. Sadly, all the sisters blur together, Violet only stands out because they use a different set of pronouns. Since we spent the entire book just in the house (and the surrounding forest), I was disappointed that I feel like I understand and know Jane, the missing one, the most, aside from the brief pointers we are giving at the beginning. Derry does not spend much one-on-one time with any of them and they don't play a role in the larger story that is being told. I did enjoy the focus on platonic connections between them all.

The book also features a lot, a lot, of mundane moments. The siblings are making breakfast, watching movies, brushing their teeth, Derry takes showers, does the laundry et cetera. Hollowell is not a bad writer but you can tell it's her debut: why were all these moments included, how did drive the narrative forward or offer deeper insight into the character? I don't mind some breathing time in between the tenser scenes but if I notice they are doing boring stuff, you haven't fooled me it should be there.

And for all the tension and mystery the story tries to create, I was never pulled into it. Again, could just have been the mood I was in since apparently, something was holding me back, but the forest scenes do not give what the title promises. The villain is done well enough even if he never convinced me fully.

Overall, I struggled to pick this book up (starts and stops over several months), I struggled to get into it.
I would still recommend this to the right person if you like a focus on siblinghood and learning to stand up for yourself, a book that explores mistreatment from authority figures. I am just not that person.

Thank you @smhollowell for this amazing ARC .
A dark and starless forest was such a different read from my usual fantasy ones. For one it has plenty of mystery behind our already packed action. We have a small group of characters that bring essence and creativity to the plot.
Derry and her 8 sisters live in a cabin, deep in the forest with Frank, their caretaker. They stay away from the real world in fear of being killed...or are they kept away?They all posses a unique power that labels them as different from the others.
Things start to go downhill when girls start to go missing and no one knows who will be next to dissapear in the forbiden forrest. In the mist of this all Derry has to face the secrets she keeps and to grow to save her sisters.
I never felt the pages dissapear when reading this book. I became so engrossed in the story and in the mystery of the girls, that I couldn't bear to leave the book down.
What started as a simple day in the life of the girls soon transforms into a nightmare when one of them goes missing. We can see from the start that they are sisters in all but blood. They are radicaly different, from age to color to gender. It was a plus for me to read a LGBTQ+ book as I haven't read many queer books and I intend to chance that.
Now to talk about Derry. Derry is our main protagonist, the teenager that suffers such a change until the end of the book. Derry herself says she struggles with anxiety and that she isn't perfect in controlling her powers. The author did a great job at creating real characters. Derry is a plus size character and I felt close to her because I am a chubby too. But never once did I read about her thinking bad about her body and she is not the only plus size character in the book.
She grows up a lot and she showed me how strong and protective she is about her sisters. She is willing to do everything to keep them safe, even if that means she has to suffer. Derry will face lots of choices that would make anyone hesitate.
Would you be willing to take her choices? Read the book to find out what Derry will discover about the forest and about her life.

A wonderful novel that follows Derry and her 8 siblings. They all live together with Frank, the man who has raised them ever since their parents abandoned them.

All of these characters were well fleshed out and made the cast very diverse. There's lots of great representation in this novel. There's many queer people, fat people, people of color, and much more. None of the characters were reduced to just their diversity and that was great to see.

The plot was very interesting and the magic system was easy to comprehend. I found the plot and characters both work together very well to make this an enjoyable novel. I hadn't been expecting it to be so dark but after I got used to it, it was great.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for mg honest review.

So, so good! A Dark and Starless Forest is full of queerness, found family, fat rep, themes of abuse and finding your power, beauty and horror. So many good words! I love Derry and her siblings so much!

Let me start by saying that this book is perfect for people who loved House of Hollow! It gave me very similar vibes but with a little more magic.
A Dark and Starless Forest follows Derry who lives with her eight siblings and Frank who adopted each of the siblings when they were abandoned by their parents. Each of the siblings has their own magical power which they have to hide from the outside world by staying cooped up in their house next to an eerie forest. But, when her siblings start going missing, Derry has to use her powers and confront the forest to find out what's happening to her family.
This book really hooked me straight away - it was really atmospheric and tense which loved! There's plenty of mystery and supernatural stuff to keep you intrigued throughout.
The diversity in the cast of characters was spectacular. Derry herself is fat; there are several siblings who are queer, including a non-binary pansexual Mexican-American character and a trans girl; some of the siblings are black; one of them is deaf. There's also mental illness rep such as anxiety, ADHD and depression.
This is the perfect story for people who like the found family trope and aren't so big on romance.

This one just wasn't for me. First of all, it was in present tense which is a big strike against it. Secondly, while I applaud diversity, the agenda came thick and fast, distracting from actual storytelling.

The first chapter was bogged down with 'telling' and all over the place which made it difficult to connect with the character. It's no use 'telling' me a character is "trans" without having them do something to 'show' me how that affects them in context of the story (or black, or fat, or whatever comes next on the diversity checklist).

The concept was good, especially about found family and having a plus size protagonist makes a nice change, but when the obvious agenda outweighs the story development, it just doesn't make for good reading.

I really enjoyed this one! It was such a refreshing change to read a book where the main character is explicitly and unapologetically plus sized. The diverse cast of character was so wonderful and added so much to the story and to the sisterly/sibling bond they all shared! The plot was so eerie, and I loved how the storyline progressed! Seeing Derry come into her own power was especially satisfying and made for a wonderful ending!

I think this a intersting book, the main charachter is a curvy girl with who I can relate with and this is a really important part for me.

There isn't much fantasy, but the writing is flawless and immersive, so i enjoyed it a lot!

"Something twists in my gut and tells me to ask her. Just ask her. It's probably nothing, but what if it's not?
I don't ask her. I water the peppers and when Jane keeps looking back to the forest, I keep not asking."

The alchemists - Jane, Derry, London, Winnie, Brooke, Irene, Violet, Olivia, and Elle - all came to Frank's house, from various parts of the country, when their magic manifested. Their powers are unique, but Frank trains them all to increase their power. He has no power himself, but he does have authority over them. It is never clear how Frank will react to anything the alchemists do, and if he feels someone is being disobedient, they may find themselves in the time out room, set up specifically to be punishing for that person. But Frank is here to protect them from the outside world, where magic is hated.

Jane and Derry have a secret. Something happened recently in the forest - but they're not talking about it. Partly because no one in the house aside from Frank is allowed in the forest. But Derry can tell that Jane is still thinking about it, as her gaze is constantly drawn towards the forest. And then Derry wakes up in the night and finds that Jane is gone. This has never happened before. Frank has sometimes left the house on trips, but none of the siblings have ever disappeared.

Derry secretly returns to the forest, hoping for some sign of Jane. Derry thinks she sees her sister, and is sure she hears her voice, but she can't be found. Instead, Derry is surprised by a strange girl. Everything about her seems wrong - her voice lags behind the movement of her mouth, she doesn't move naturally, and then she vanishes in front of Derry's eyes. And yet, Derry feels drawn back to the forest night after night. Something is calling her and her magic feels different here - stronger, not just because her power is over nature, and free. Oh, and of course, she's here to find Jane.

I found this a pretty enjoyable light fantasy. Nothing too surprising plotwise. Lots of diversity in characters - race, gender, orientation, body type, hearing ability, and mental illness. With all the siblings in this house, I can't remember much about many of them. Our protagonist Derry, is fat, queer, and has anxiety. I was glad to read a story with no romance plots (I mean, they are isolated in a house surrounded by only lake and trees). Some folks are calling this horror, and I don't know that I'd agree with that. Some suspense or mystery for sure.

I could see this appealing to folks who enjoyed Teeth in the Mist or The Lost Coast.

Thank you to Clarion Books and NetGalley for the eARC. A Dark and Starless Forest was published this September.

3,5 stars

I was expecting a bit more fantasy, less trauma and abuse, but man was that well written! I was astonished by the incredible way this story captured our main character's conflicting thoughts and feelings. Loved it. I also loved the fat rep. It was unapologetical. As it should be.

But my, there was waaaaay more gore than I expected. Jeez. This was hardcore for a bunch of teens under the age of sixteen.

Why this book wasn't totally IT for me: I'm more of a high fantasy kind of girl. And while I don't mind urban fantasy, I feel like this book wasn't marketed correctly. Did that make it any less good? No, but I just know that it's not necessarily my thing. So, yeah. Wasn't an enormous fan of the story, but it was well written and I would pick up any forthcoming books by this author.

I really enjoyed this novel. Derry is a self proclaimed fat, bespectacled girl with dirty bare feet.. She has always been drawn to the forest. As the twists begin, she must decide to give into the darkness within her or come completely undone. This novel centers on a
Sisterhood of 7 witches living in a shared living space. They each arrived there when their magic became too much for their parents to handle. I Loved the female friendships and how well each of them nurtured and cared one another. They learned to lean on and trust each other, I appreciate the growth the characters experienced throughout. This book is LGBTQ+ friendly and I can appreciate the proper use of pronouns to identify each character.

I was granted an eARC of this novel through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

When I saw that cover, I was like “yes! Curvy girl MC!” So I was kinda going in the book with high hopes. I did enjoy the foster system aspect (we don’t see this a lot in novels.) the magic system was easy to understand. Would at some point read more about the siblings!

I loved this easy to read, adventurous and mysterious YA dark fantasy. We follow Derry and her seven siblings. She has been adopted by Frank who takes in abandon witches and helps them hone their powers. But suddenly the siblings start to go missing one by one.

If you are looking for a good entry point into fantasy I think this is a great book to do start with. The basics of each character and their powers are plainly laid out and there isn't any big world building to grapple with. The chapters are short and fast paced for the most part.

Of course the part I loved most of this read was the representation. Derry as a fat teen is not grappling with her size but has accepted it and it is just who she is. There is no trauma or bullying to over come, she is just a fat character existing in this world which I loved! There are also characters with disabilities, a nonbinary character, queer, Mexican, mixed-race and black characters.

I only had issues with the pace and it felt like a debut novel at most points during my read. There was too many characters to give any fully fleshed out story arcs. There is definitely opportunity to make this into a series. Around the 60% mark the book really picked up and from then on I was on the edge of my seat.

Overall I highly recommend this diverse read that has some great magical and spooky elements!!

Thanks to Netgalley and HMH Young Readers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was truly delightful to experience. Amazing found family vibes, unique and diverse forms of magic, mysterious and creepy plot, and pacing that will have readers flipping pages as fast as possible.

The story is much darker than I expected, but Hollowell balances it out with beautiful found family moments so the book never ends up feeling too heavy. Things get super dark, the danger feels real, but the things worth fighting for always remain the forefront of the story, which I appreciate.

Hollowell is definitely an author to watch. There are so many things to applaud about her debut, including the broad diversity of her cast. The main cast includes characters of many different races, sexualities, gender identities. There are characters who are deaf, characters who are fat, and characters dealing with many different aspects of mental health. There’s something for everyone and aside from the beginning of the book where all the characters and their traits are listed, it never comes across as anything other than a naturally occurring microcosm of individuals.
It was especially cool to see sign language featured so prominently in the story, as I feel we don’t often encounter that. I personally found great joy reading a book where the fat girl was the fully capable hero, rather than a nerdy sidekick or someone to mock.

Another great quality of this book is the intricate plotting. This story isn’t afraid to go places, unraveling a ton of additional mysteries along the way. I constantly found myself questioning the things happening, trying to map out what was connected and to anticipate what was coming next. It was all great fun. Just as soon as I thought I’d figured something out and hit a comfortable stride in the story, something exciting would happen to shake things up and drag more questions to the surface. It was a wild ride that was always difficult to put down.

I also really enjoyed the magic system in this book. Hollowell leaves a lot to our imaginations (which is fine) but I liked how each character had their own individual, seemingly random set of abilities to nurture. No ones magic was even remotely similar and some were inherently stronger than others, but that was always framed as being perfectly okay. I loved how natural and fluid it all seemed. I always really enjoy forms of green magic, so following Derry’s growth was especially enjoyable to me.

Overall, a super strong debut from an author I’m sure to check out again in the future. Great characters, exciting plot, a quick and twisty ride. Would definitely recommend without reservation.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Clarion Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.