The Good Neighbors: Kin (book one) by Holly Black
The Good Neighbors: Kin (book one)
by Holly Black
I have a whole lot of respect for Holly Black’s stories. She does a great job of taking small but key aspects of legends and incorporating them into her own world and mythology. As I read her books, I come across a little detail like that and pause and say “yeah, that’s right! That’s exactly how the fae are!” because I’ll have picked up on something based on some bit of lore I remember from some legend or poem. The point is, she is a master at creating a rich world.
The characters in this book are interesting to get to know. The book opens shortly after teenager Rue’s mother has disappeared and her father pulls a Bella and goes practically comatose in her absence. So she knows something strange is going on. But when she finds out that her mother is a faerie, her world turns upside-down. However, it would certainly explain why she keeps seeing odd beings all over the place. The creatures are drawn beautifully but wildly, and I had to wonder more than once why she didn’t just freak out sooner about seeing them!
Her life isn’t all just about finding this dark world of magical creatures and characters, however. She’s got friends and a boyfriend and depends on them for fun and normal teenager relationship drama. She’s also got an adult friend of her father’s who, she realizes, is more than she seems as well.
Poor Rue. Nothing especially good happens to her in this story. She essentially falls down the rabbit hole she didn’t know existed and keeps falling and falling, getting hit by tree roots and rocks along the way.
I’d been wanting to read this ever since it came out (I have an autographed copy I got signed at FaerieCon years ago). I’m glad I finally made a point to tackle the series.