A Dark and Starless Forest - Paperback

by Sarah Hollowell (Author)

In this "stunning and atmospheric"* contemporary fantasy and 2022 Locus Award Top Ten Finalist, when her siblings start to go missing, a girl must confront the dark thing that lives in the forest--and the growing darkness in herself. (*Buzzfeed)

Derry and her eight siblings live in an isolated house by the lake, separated from the rest of the world by an eerie and menacing forest. The man who raised them after their families abandoned them, says it's for their own good. After all, the world isn't safe for people with magic. And Derry feels safe--most of the time.

Until the night her eldest sister disappears. Jane and Derry swore to each other that they'd never go into the forest, not after their last trip ended in blood, but Derry is sure she saw Jane walk into the trees. When another sibling goes missing and their guardian's true colors start to show, feeling safe is no longer an option. Derry will risk anything to protect the family she has left. Even if that means returning to the forest that has started calling to Derry in her missing siblings' voices.

As Derry spends more time amidst the trees, her magic grows more powerful . . . and so does the darkness inside her, the viciousness she wants to pretend doesn't exist. But saving her siblings from the forest might mean embracing the darkness. And that just might be the most dangerous thing of all.

• Atmospheric Fantasy: An isolated lake house, a forest that whispers in the voices of the missing, and a darkness that calls to Derry from within the trees.
• Sisterhood and Secrets: Derry would do anything to protect her eight siblings, but their bond is tested when a trip into the woods ends in blood and sisters start to disappear one by one.
• LGBTQ Representation: Featuring a found family that includes nonbinary and trans characters, this is a coming-of-age story about finding yourself, your magic, and your place in a world that fears you.
• Psychological Suspense: The man who raised them, Frank, insists the isolation is for their own good. But as his true colors begin to show, Derry realizes the greatest threat might not be in the forest, but in the house itself.