Fat Forward Books | A Dark and Starless Forest

A Dark and Starless Forest

Sarah Hollowell

Save to Your Books

100% of affiliate revenue supports Fat Forward Books

In this “stunning and atmospheric” contemporary fantasy and 2022 Locus Award Top Ten Finalist, when her siblings start to go missing, a girl must confront the dark thing that lives in the forest—and the growing darkness in herself. ( Buzzfeed)

Derry and her eight siblings live in an isolated house by the lake, separated from the rest of the world by an eerie and menacing forest. Frank, the man who raised them after their families abandoned them, says it’s for their own good. After all, the world isn’t safe for people with magic. And Derry feels safe—most of the time.

Until the night her eldest sister disappears. Jane and Derry swore to each other that they’d never go into the forest, not after their last trip ended in blood, but Derry is sure she saw Jane walk into the trees. When another sibling goes missing and Frank’s true colors start to show, feeling safe is no longer an option. Derry will risk anything to protect the family she has left. Even if that means returning to the forest that has started calling to Derry in her missing siblings’ voices.

As Derry spends more time amidst the trees, her magic grows more powerful . . . and so does the darkness inside her, the viciousness she wants to pretend doesn’t exist. But saving her siblings from the forest and from Frank might mean embracing the darkness. And that just might be the most dangerous thing of all.

Get the Bindery app

Posts about this title from Fat Forward Books

Fat Forward Books\ \ Samantha Puc\ \ • Jul 26 2025

Fat Forward Books: Disability Pride Recommendations

Happy Disability Pride Month! 🙌 Today marks 35 years since the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law. This year especially, disabled people and our allies are fighting for our rights with everything we have—and as fervid readers and advocates for more and better intersectional disabled representation in media, we know how much of an impact reading disabled stories can make. 📖

In collaboration with author and fellow fat, disabled babe @laurelhollbooks, #FatForwardBooks presents 36 books with intersectional fat and disabled representation! 📚✨

How many of these titles have you read? How many are new to you? Let us know in the comments! For more, tap the 🔗 in the usual place and join FFB on @bindery_books for fat+ refs all year long.

#DisabilityPrideMonth #ADA35 #DisabledAndCute #ReadFatBooks

[Image ID: Carousel consists of four images. The first three are 4x3 book grids featuring fat & disabled book recommendations for Disability Pride Month. The last page explains how to follow Fat Forward Books on Bindery, which is also reflected in the caption above.]

36 books

Fat Forward Books\ \ Samantha Puc\ \ • Jun 4 2025

Fat Forward Books: Pride Recommendations 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

Happy Pride from Fat Forward Books! 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ If you’re looking for fat & LGBTQIA+ books to add to your TBR, we’ve got you covered.

71 books

Fat Forward Books\ \ Samantha Puc\ \ • May 19 2025

Do Our Tastes Align? 📚 Fat Books Edition

How many of these #FatForwardBooks are on your shelves?

48 books

Posts about this book from across Bindery

Fat Forward Books\ \ Samantha Puc\ \ • Jul 26 2025

Fat Forward Books: Disability Pride Recommendations