The darkest part of the forest by Holly Black

Orion Books, 2015. ISBN 9781780621739
(Age: 14 years+) Highly recommended. 'I am a knight. I am a knight. I am a knight...'
In strange Fairfold, a prince sleeps in a glass coffin in the middle of the forest. He had been there since forever, for as long as anyone could remember. He was not human, but then again, not a lot was in Fairfold.
Hazel and Ben were born into the strangeness of their hometown, Fairfold, where tourists disappeared daily. Fairfold, where residents knew spells and held charms. Fairfold, where humans and fae coexist. Fairfold, where the prince in the glass coffin sleeps - and they loved it, the prince especially. Whispering promises, conjuring up tales, they had wished to free him as knight and bard, but little did they know, their prince has something even more dangerous lurking in his shadow.
Fanciful and whimsical, The darkest part of the forest reinvents the beloved fairytales and adds a streak of the darkness no folktale will be complete without, with characters that win your heart and monsters that make you rethink saying your desires out loud.
Black takes your inner child and flies you among the pages with her detailed and wonderfully written tale of heroes and heartaches, about family bonds, sacrifices and sorrow. This story leaps you off cliffs in a rush of shocks that astound and clever twists that leave one gasping, never a boring moment, you will be left out of breath, completely taken by the peculiarity of Fairfold, as Hazel, Ben, fae and humans band together and fight the evil of the dark forest.
Clarissa Cornelius (Student)