Shadow Forest: Samuel Blink and the Forbidden Forest by Matt Haig

OSKAR: The children! Who are they? What are you doing with them"

AUNT EDA: They are my sister's children. The have come from England. My sister and her husband died in a terrible accident and they have no one else. No one. They must come and live with me.

OSKAR: Near the forest?

AUNT EDA: Yes, near the forest.

OSKAR: Then you might as well kill them now. It would be kinder. Because you know if they go into the forest they won't ever come back. As soon as they hear about the creatures that live there--the huldres and the pixies and the trolls and all the others--they will want to see them. You know what children are like.

And, of course, Oskar the cheese monger is right. Despite the overwhelming loss of their parents that has rendered Martha mute and Samuel despairing, the children are drawn toward the dark evergreen woods that border Aunt Eda's little white cottage. When Martha hypnotically follows Eda's windblown laundry into the trees and Samuel follows and fails to bring his sister back, the two are enveloped in a deep and dark fantasy forest, filled with the weird beings of Nordic folklore, all under the spell of the evil Changemaker, a man who has lost his soul in his quest to keep the perverted Shadow Forest for himself, under his evil domination.

Wonderful characters are there--three headed birds upon whom the enslaved and evil huldres feed, cruel and comic trolls, including a benevolent family who share a single eyeball and secretly help Samuel in his quest to rescue Martha, enthralled sister witches who serve the wicked Changemaker but retain a remnant of goodness in their hearts--and Samuel and Martha dodge death and destruction in the hands of the evil master of the forest until they discover secret powers and allies within and without that lead to their salvation.

It's a wonderful northern brew of folklore, fantasy, and allegory in which children, clad in innocence and a courage of their own, once more confront and best the dark side. Samuel Blink and the Forbidden Forest brings an engrossing tale to its audience in an easy, readable style that moves along briskly from adventure to adventure, with some arch asides from the author in the manner of Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events with which it shares a wryly humorous, matter-of-fact willing suspension of disbelief. Unlike the Snicket series, however, this fantasy novel takes a deeper look at the dark side of nature and humankind hinted at when Hansel and Gretel and Red Riding Hood first stepped into the shadows of the deep woods. Winner of the Nestle' Prize, the British children's choice award which first catapulted Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Book 1) into prominence, this novel is clearly to be first in a series, as the author signals when Samuel, Martha, Aunt Eda, and the restored-from-enchantment Uncle Henrik return to the little cottage beside the wood:

"So," said Uncle Henrik in his melted butter voice. "Here we are again."

As they walked down the grass slope, Samuel gently squeezed his sister's hand, and she gently squeezed it back.

This is it. This is our home.

As he had that thought, Samuel looked up to the sky and saw a raven flying high above. The raven circled in the air and waited for the four of them to reach the house. Samuel waited for a moment, on the doorstep, and cast one final glance at the bird. To any other eyes, it could have been the most natural sight, just a bird, flying near a perfectly ordinary house.

Samuel smiled.

He knew it was the Shadow Witch watching them safely home.

THE END.
(Which was really just the beginning.)