Review Detail
Where the Dark Stands Still
Featured
Young Adult Fiction
924
Favorite Read of the Year
Overall rating
4.7
Plot
5.0
Characters
5.0
Writing Style
4.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
N/A
I don't think I'll ever emotionally recover from this book.
Where the Dark Stands Still by A.B. Poranek is a YA fantasy stand alone that can best be described as Echo North meets Into the Heartless Wood (or, if Howl's Moving Castle, if Howl turned into a tree instead of a bird). Raised both in a village on the outskirts of the spirit-wood and with the belief that magic is dangeorus, Liska wants nothing more than to be rid of her magic. Thus, sparks an adventure into the spirit wood to find a flower that is able to grant any wish. But instead of finding the flower, Liska encounters to the guardian demon of the woods, the Leszy, who offers her a bargain of one year of servitutde in exchange for her wish. Whisked away to his crumbling manor, Liska soon discovers the sinister roots of their bargain. And if she wants to survive the year and return home, she must unravel her host’s spool of secrets and face the ghosts of his past. Those who enter the wood do not always return…
I basically sobbed when I finished this book. Which is quite the accomplishment, as I rarely cry over a book. I think the last one I did, was John Green's The Fault in Our Stars back in 2014. The story is incredible and I absolutely loved the Leszy. Even though he infuriated me with how much of dummy he was with his secrets and constant need to keep Liska away. Just everything about this book was amazing.
The only thing that tripped me up about this book, was it's writing style. But I blame that on my ignorance of slavic mythology, as Poranek throws a lot at the reader. But once you're used to the style and the language it's quite the easy read. I both wanted to finish this book so it was another added to my reading goal, and not because I didn't want it to end.
This was hands down, my favorite book of 2023. Which is quite the title, given I've read over 400 books this year. But this one is certainly up there in my top ten. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who would dare listen to my mad ravings. Read this book. You'll thank me later.
Where the Dark Stands Still by A.B. Poranek is a YA fantasy stand alone that can best be described as Echo North meets Into the Heartless Wood (or, if Howl's Moving Castle, if Howl turned into a tree instead of a bird). Raised both in a village on the outskirts of the spirit-wood and with the belief that magic is dangeorus, Liska wants nothing more than to be rid of her magic. Thus, sparks an adventure into the spirit wood to find a flower that is able to grant any wish. But instead of finding the flower, Liska encounters to the guardian demon of the woods, the Leszy, who offers her a bargain of one year of servitutde in exchange for her wish. Whisked away to his crumbling manor, Liska soon discovers the sinister roots of their bargain. And if she wants to survive the year and return home, she must unravel her host’s spool of secrets and face the ghosts of his past. Those who enter the wood do not always return…
I basically sobbed when I finished this book. Which is quite the accomplishment, as I rarely cry over a book. I think the last one I did, was John Green's The Fault in Our Stars back in 2014. The story is incredible and I absolutely loved the Leszy. Even though he infuriated me with how much of dummy he was with his secrets and constant need to keep Liska away. Just everything about this book was amazing.
The only thing that tripped me up about this book, was it's writing style. But I blame that on my ignorance of slavic mythology, as Poranek throws a lot at the reader. But once you're used to the style and the language it's quite the easy read. I both wanted to finish this book so it was another added to my reading goal, and not because I didn't want it to end.
This was hands down, my favorite book of 2023. Which is quite the title, given I've read over 400 books this year. But this one is certainly up there in my top ten. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who would dare listen to my mad ravings. Read this book. You'll thank me later.
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