Review: Forest Born

Forest Born by Shannon Hale

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I enjoyed all four books of the Bayern series in a casual sort of way. Each of them started out as 3 star reads but ended up as 4 stars once I looked back. They were a bit slow to get through in parts, but somehow the endings always pulled things together and won me over.

The series started out with a fairytale retelling in the Goose Girl, but then moved into pure high fantasy in the sequels. They are all set in the same world, loosely connected by the rotating main characters who are all friends, and each book reveals a different sort of elemental magic (air, fire, water, earth). They are really more like companion novels so I didn't feel in a big rush to read them all at once.

It wasn't until this last book that I realized there's a larger connection between them - and was pleasantly surprised. Seeing how this book ties all of them together makes the series feel much more cohesive. Now looking back, the others become fuller somehow. Plus, I got a bigger payoff for reading this book than I expected from a standalone-ish companion novel.

In this last book, I started out really not liking the main character, Rinna. Yet again, it felt like a 3 star book that I'd have to persevere a little bit with. I knew it was on purpose, but it still made it hard to identify with her at first. But as Rin found her way, I really ended up liking her. Her process of self-discovery is so entwined with the plot that I can't really say any more, but it ended up being worth a little patience for me.

The part that did suck me in from the beginning was the magic, which this time involves trees. (I love books that involve trees and woods for some reason.)

I also liked that all three girls from the previous books played a large role, and that their friendships were an important aspect of the story. They still felt like individual characters, not just like cardboard cut-outs with the same name that get referred back to but don't feel real.

Each of the previous books included a minor, sweet romance. Definitely not the main focus of the story, but only where it fit. This book really doesn't have any romance at all - it just doesn't have a place in Rinna's story yet and so it's not forced to be there. I do recommend this whole series for YA Fantasy readers who don't want heavily romance-focused plots.



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