The Forest Queen
3/5
()
About this ebook
From a New York Times bestselling author, a fresh, female-centered take on the Robin Hood legend in which a young noblewoman, like the legendary hero, becomes an outlaw fighting for social justice. Perfect for fans of Marissa Meyer and Sarah J. Maas.
When sixteen-year-old Silvie’s brother takes over management of their family’s vast estates, Silvie feels powerless to stop his abuse of the local commoners.
Her dearest friend asks her to run away to the woods with him, and soon a host of other villagers join them. Together, they form their own community and fight to right the wrongs perpetrated by the king and his noblemen.
Perfect for fans of fairy tale retellings or anyone who loves a strong female lead, this gorgeously written take on the Robin Hood tale goes beyond the original’s focus on economic justice to explore love, gender, the healing power of nature, and what it means to be a family.
Betsy Cornwell
Betsy Cornwell is the New York Times best-selling author of The Circus Rose, The Forest Queen, Mechanica, Venturess, and Tides. She graduated from Smith College and was a columnist and editor at Teen Ink before receiving an MFA in creative writing from Notre Dame, where she also taught fiction. She now lives in Ireland with her son. www.betsycornwell.com Instagram: @BetsyCornwell
Read more from Betsy Cornwell
Mechanica Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Venturess Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tides Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Circus Rose Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
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Reviews for The Forest Queen
25 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5The most generous thing that I can say about this book is that it was fast paced and easy to read in one sitting. Heavy-handed, it threw you through the plot unevenly. It was disappointing since I was looking forward to a gender-bent retelling of Robin Hood and while this promised so many things it didn't deliver on most of them. Perhaps others at different points in their lives will have more enjoyment of this book than I did.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This is a retelling of Robin Hood with most of the gender roles reversed. The characters aren’t all that fleshed out, but it’s still entertaining to read this version of a rousing revolutionary story from a female perspective. Silvie, the soon-to-be “Queen of the Forest” takes on her role as “Robin Hood” after discovering another female, “Little Jane,” despondent over having been in a #MeToo situation. Rape, in most previous eras and even today in many cultures, was regarded as evidence that the female was "wanton," and she was thereafter scorned and “dishonored.” Silvie has [thus far] escaped the same fate, although she doesn’t feel totally safe in her home situation. But as Silvie muses, “Surely there’s more honor in - in going on.” Little Jane can’t go home, and so Silvie opts to join her in exile in Woodshire Forest.They don’t go alone; they are joined by Robert Falconer, known as Bird, who is trustworthy and totally devoted to Silvie, as well as being devoted to the welfare of their city. After the threesome spring a midwife out of the jail in order to help with Little Jane’s impending childbirth, others soon join their ranks in the forest. In order to feed and care for everyone, they start robbing from the coffers of the Sheriff and even of the King, and redistributing the money to their band as well as the poor of the town.Most of the characters from the original Robin Hood’s Merry Men make an appearance. There are almost no women in the classic Robin Hood stories, so many of them are transformed here to women. For example, the name of the midwife is Mae Tuck. Alan-a-Dale is now Alana Dale. There is even a switch of species, as with Much and Scarlett. Discussion: There isn’t a lot of world-building, but there really doesn’t need to be. The underlying plot of rich, oppressive, and abusive overlords doesn’t need much in the way of embellishment. Except for Silvie and Little Jane, the characters aren’t well developed either, but most readers will know the original stories of Robin Hood. The delight comes from the fundamental changes in form the author makes, rather than from any deepening or rounding out of the different actors in the story.Evaluation: This gender-switched Robin Hood makes for a fun and satisfying read.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5I was excited to check out this book. The reimagined concept of Robin Hood with a gender reversal role was a thrilling thought. That is exactly what should have happened is "thrills". However, this book barely got afloat. None of the characters were that interesting. Yeah, I could keep them straight and knew who was who only because of the roles they portrayed but if this had been a regular story not reimagined; I would have not remembered any of them. What saddened me was Silvie. I wanted her to pull out a win and knock it out of the park. Yet, she was mild at best. She didn't really act like a leader. Although, she was not the only one that lacked in strength. Her brother; Sheriff John. He was not the "evil" character that I imagined. Overall, you could say that I was "underwhelmed".