The Forest of Stolen Girls
By
June Hur
2021 • 384 pages
Ratings11
Average rating4
15
Ratings11
Average rating4
Suspenseful and richly atmospheric, June Hur's The Forest of Stolen Girls is a haunting historical mystery sure to keep readers guessing until the last page. 1426, Joseon (Korea). Hwani's family has never been the same since she and her younger sister went missing and were later found unconscious in the forest near a gruesome crime scene. Years later, Detective Min—Hwani's father—learns that thirteen girls have recently disappeared from the same forest that nearly stole his daughters. He travels to their hometown on the island of Jeju to investigate... only to vanish as well. Determined to find her father and solve the case that tore their family apart, Hwani returns home to pick up the trail. As she digs into the secrets of the small village—and collides with her now estranged sister, Maewol—Hwani comes to realize that the answer could lie within her own buried memories of what happened in the forest all those years ago. Praise for The Forest of Stolen Girls: A Junior Library Guild Selection A 2022 Edgar Allan Poe Award Nominee A YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Selection A 2022 White Pine Award Nominee A 2022 ALA Rise Selection A 2022 CCBC Choices Selection "The Forest of Stolen Girls is a haunting, breathtaking tale that will have readers on the edge of their seats. ... Hur is an absolute master of mystery, and I will be reading her gorgeous books for years to come." —Adalyn Grace, New York Times-bestselling author of All the Stars and Teeth "Rich, exquisite, and deeply atmospheric, The Forest of Stolen Girls draws the reader in from the very first page and doesn't let go. A dark and utterly engrossing mystery, beautifully drawn from start to finish." —Kathleen Glasgow, New York Times-bestselling author of Girl in Pieces "Haunting and lyrical. Beware, this tale will draw you deeper into the forest than you want to go." —Stacey Lee, award-winning author of The Downstairs Girl "A brilliant historical fiction mystery that is suspenseful, gorgeous and absolutely riveting! Hur brings Jeju Island during the early Joseon period completely to life in a rich, evocative manner that reminds me of watching my favorite historical Kdrama.” —Ellen Oh, author of the Prophecy series
Reviews with the most likes.
That feeling when one of your “most anticipated” 2021 reads lives up to the hype and then some
The why of the mystery is fairly straightforward, but the who of the mystery was a twisty path that didn't really end where I expected. The relationship between the sisters and their relationship to the island is a strength of the story. Visiting ancient Korea was interesting, but the story felt fairly universal in a lot of ways.
So if you are looking for a story about sisters overcoming hard feelings and bad guys, you will enjoy this story.
3.5 stars!!!!!!
Historical fiction has always been one of my favorite genres to read and I have never read anything like this before. This book was set in the 1400s in Korea and it was super interesting to explore this world with the main character. Despite being the main plot line, I wasn't very interested in the mystery. I was more interested in the characters, since they were all so realistic and it was easy to root for the main character and dislike a lot of the side characters.
Thank you to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Feiwel & Friends, and NetGalley for providing me with an eBook copy to review.
Featured Prompt
15 booksThe mystery genre favors bringing the truth to light. That focus on revealing a story slowly over time knows no age, yet many stories are too serious for young adults. Which mysteries do you think ...
