Page Count: 304
Published on: August 7, 2018
Published by: Clarion Books
Genre(s): Fantasy, Retelling, YA
Source: Paperback - ARC provided by publisher
Source: Paperback - ARC provided by publisher
Age Rating: 12+
TW: domestic/physical abuse, elder abuse, rape, sexual harassment, suicide/suicidal thoughts
TW: domestic/physical abuse, elder abuse, rape, sexual harassment, suicide/suicidal thoughts
My Rating: 5 stars
Goodreads synopsis:
When sixteen-year-old Sylvie’s brother takes over management of their family’s vast estates, Sylvie feels powerless to stop his abuse of the local commoners. Her dearest friend asks her to run away to the woods with him, and soon a host of other villagers join them. Together, they form their own community and fight to right the wrongs perpetrated by the king and his noblemen.
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Hey, guys!
An advanced reading copy was sent to me for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you HMH/Clarion Books for sending me this fantastic book.
In The Forest Queen, the main character, Sylvie, feels absolutely powerless when it comes to her older brother. After her brother becomes the Sheriff of their area and begins to take over management of their family estate, she becomes even more unhappy and afraid of his behavior. After John decides to marry her off to one of his friends, she has to make the decision to run away or be unhappy and fear for her life. She decides to run away with her best friend, Bird, to the woods. In the woods, she finds safety, hope, and community. Sylvie and Bird soon recruit other villagers to their ragtag group and together, they create a rebel group to insight change in Woodshire.
This book has quickly become a new favorite of mine. I absolutely adored every bit of this book. The characters were so well thought out, the world was lush and beautiful, the writing style was lyrical and descriptive, the pacing was perfect, and the topics and themes that were discussed in this novel were so well done. I really really loved how diverse and fun the people in this book were. It seemed that people with darker skin were in the more wealthy families, however, families also had no issue with inter-mingling so everyone had different traits from different ethnicities. Betsy Cornwell has created a literary masterpiece.
Sylvie, Mae Tuck, and Little Jane are such inspiring characters. Little Jane was such an inspiration throughout this book. She goes through so much turmoil and trouble and her growth as a character was so much fun to read about. I just absolutely adore her. I cannot say more without spoiling, but she is definitely a new favorite character. Sylvie! My girl! Oh my goodness I just loved her. She also goes through some intense and scary stuff, but her growth and the experiences she has really shape her positively. Her journey to fully understanding what her people went through under her brother's regime was really great to follow. Sylvie is a naturally wonderful and caring character and to see the abuse that her people were enduring was a hard blow to It was just so wonderful to follow. Mae Tuck is, honestly, a badass. She is also a new favorite character. I absolutely love how strong and accepting she is. She just held herself so well and she just tries to love everyone for who they are.
I also really enjoyed Bird and Sylvie's relationship. Their friendship is so lovely to read about and their blooming romance was so sweet. It was an intensely slow burn sort of romance, but I really enjoyed how their story wrapped up. Bird is such a lovely character. He wasn't as prevalent in the story for me (the strong and wonderful female characters had my focus), but I really enjoyed what he added to the story.
Overall, this story was freakin' fantastic. I had the best time reading it. The story was so addicting and I didn't want it to end. I'll definitely have to pick up Betsy's other books: Mechanica and Venturess. I read Mechanica when it first came out, but it's been a hot minute so I'll definitely have to eventually reread it. I highly recommend that you pick up The Forest Queen. It's an absolute gem. Please read it. If you enjoy the tale of Robin Hood, you'll love this book.
My Review of Mechanica {click here}
I hope you enjoyed this review! Happy reading!
Olivia
~Liv the Book Nerd~
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