Samuel Blink And The Forbidden Forest (2007) - Plot & Excerpts
My first audiobook for this year. I still prefer reading physical books but I trusted the taste of my friend LS who liked this so much. She is our supplier of audiobooks in our book club. I also decided to listen to this audiobook this week because my favorite morning radio program has become boring because the two lady DJs seem to have permanently left the station. I think their reason was they could no longer stand the nastiness and arrogance of their fellow but boss DJ. I liked this fairy tale children's book, Samuel Blink and the Forbidden Forest partly because of its good-triumph-over-evil theme but more especially for the talented narrator. He could change his voice from a boy, a girl, a mother, a witch, an old aunt, a wicked professor, two types of witches, a troll, a pixie, a couple of huldres, etc and he could also sing in various voices! Listening to this talented storyteller is a real treat because for most of the time, I thought I was listening to the audio of the fantasy movies of my young man's life like The Neverending Story or The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. The narrator has this ability to create a picture in your mind through his narration. The characters come alive while listening to him and for a couple of instances while driving, I almost hit speeding cars trying to overtake my lane. Don't worry, LS. Bad grass withers last.My favorite scene is the one towards the ending when the villain gets teary-eyed because for the first time in his life somebody has just greeted him on his birthday. You see, it was my birthday last Wednesday and just a day after that (yesterday), I heard that character in this audiobook singing "Happy Birthday" from my car's stereo. I said, whoa it's as if even this audiobook also knows my birthday! You see, with the current technology, one gets too many greetings nowadays: Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter, texts, emails, e-cards. I no longer received any Hallmark card nor phone call except when I called up my mom in the evening and I my opening was my singing "Happy birthday to mee, happy birthday to mee..." and she laughed. How nice it is to hear your old (she is now 76) mother laugh at the end of the line. Nothing can beat cheering up your old mom and hear her greet you on your birthday.It was so different though when I was a young boy. You see, I came from a poor family. I have 2 older brothers and a sister. If you are the youngest among several children, you know how the financial string of your parents becomes shorter and shorter when it is your turn to ask money from them. Not that they celebrated my older siblings' birthdays in any grandiose ways but there was a time that I got jealous of my classmates whose parents invited me to their houses for a dinner and when my birthday was nearing, I was asking God to make my mom cook nice dinner and also invite over some of my classmates.So, a day before my birthday, I was just silent continuously hoping for my heart's desire to happen. However, I knew that money was scare and seemed that my birthday would pass like an ordinary day. So, when the day came, I kept silent about it. Then in the morning, my mom greeted me "Happy Birthday" and I pretended that I did not remember that it was my birthday. Up to now, my mom used to tease me that there was a time in my young boy's life that I forgot my birthday. It is only now that I divulge this secret: I did not. I just wanted something to happen and I pretended not to remember it because I got sad realizing that it would not come true.Looking back, I still cherish those times when we were really poor and our family of six only had cans and cans of sardines for many meals. I am now in the middle of my life and I will probably not become a rich man but I nevertheless consider myself and my own family luckier. As they say, success is not what you've reached but what you went through to get where you're at. I still can't say that I am a successful man at all fronts but at least, I can say that I am happy.
Amazon Product DescriptionWhen Samuel and Martha are sent to Norway to live with their Aunt Edna after their parents' deaths, they soon learn her most important rule: NEVER-UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES-GO INTO THE FOREST. She doesn't offer an explanation, but Samuel suspects it might have something to do with a strange guidebook he finds in her attic: The Creatures of Shadow Forest. And when Martha wanders into the trees and is captured by some of the creatures described in the book, Samuel has no choice but to go in after her. What he finds there is an eerie world populated by trolls, truth pixies and other fantastical creatures.I have to say I loved the narrator for this audio book. Simon Vance does an excellent job of bringing each character to life. He has a wonderful accent that draws the listener into the story. Yet, I must say that at first I had a hard time with the story. I found it hard to like Samuel in the beginning. He was not a very likeable character. Granted he has just lost his parents in a terrible car accident. He has a right to be angry at the world. However, he seemed to be that way before the car accident. The charm of this story is that Samuel’s character grows. He becomes concerned about something other than himself and eventually, the anger falls away to reveal a rather likeable young boy. The subject matter is a little scary. Haig is an excellent story teller and tells a truly scary and somewhat gruesome story. Shadow Forest is a dark and scary place. Yet the reader/listener can’t help but feel sympathetic toward all the characters that have been forced to give up their good natures to become as evil as the “Change Maker.” However, I would not recommend this story for the very young. It is perhaps a little too dark and scary.Recommended for 3rd Grade and up.
What do You think about Samuel Blink And The Forbidden Forest (2007)?
The only flaw in this story is that a reader has to be patient to get to the point where the story takes off. As a kid's book I think it is a great story. The story starts darkly with the death's of both parents, then the now orphaned kids are stranded both: socially and culturally in Norway. Neither the kids nor their quirky aunt are really sympathetic at first. The sense of mystery and foreboding builds as the kids are tempted by the dark forest that surrounds them. Of course Samuel has to go into the forest to retrieve his sister who has wandered into the forest and gotten lost. This is where the real story starts as Samuel and Martha become pawns in a dark Nordic faire tale world. It is a heroic quest in the best sense of the word. I liked the story because it has unpredictable twists and turns. While clearly meant as children's literature, the story does not talk down to kids, nor is it too simplistic for an older reader. The ending is satisfying and neatly ties up a lot of strands.
—A Michaels
I was intrigued by this book because it is set in Norway and uses Norse folklore about trolls and huldre folk instead of the more standard YA fantasy Celtic or British mythology. However, the writing was nothing to excite and the characters, especially the main character Samuel, were unlikable. I'm all for giving characters life-like flaws, but the Blinks took it a little too far: needlessly rude, quarrelsome, ungrateful, and selfish. Possibly this would appeal to younger readers who fantasize about insulting adults, but I wouldn't give it to those sorts of kids anyway, in case it encouraged bad behavior.
—Miriam
You can also read this review and others on my blog, Caught Read Handed.What I thought:Chances are if you follow my blog, you are aware that I kind of (hahaha. Kind of. Yeah, right) LOVE Matt Haig’s The Humans. I also quite enjoyed The Radleys. I’ve been trying to find his other books here in the US, but some of them are a little hard to come by. I found Samuel Blink and the Forbidden Forest in our library system and immediately checked it out. Just like the other two, I LOVED it.Matt Haig’s writing style is, well… magical. It is lyrical, full of life and meaning, and completely enchanting. It’s actually pretty conversational and includes two interruptions for the author (I think young kids would like this as it gives them a break and it also tells them what’s coming so they want to keep reading and get to that part – I mean, it worked on me. Ha). The story is full of fascinating humans and creatures alike. The novel felt like it opened its pages and pulled me into them much like the forest does to those who enter it. It didn’t want to let me go (and, honestly, I didn’t want it to anyway). The characters are fully developed and so well-done (just like in his other two books). I loved Aunt Eda especially. On her character: “Aunt Eda had a slight accent that sounded slightly surprised, as if the words had never expected to be used.” Isn’t that an amazing description?Of course, one of my favorite things was the humor. Matt Haig has an uncanny ability to make me laugh out loud while I read. I think my favorite funny bit was the family of trolls who share only one eye amongst them. It has some dark humor, which I also quite enjoy.Also, much like his other books that I’ve read, Samuel Blink and the Forbidden Forest is full of deep feelings. You’d think I’d be used to how much Haig’s books make me feel by now, but I’m not. I always find things I relate to in them in a deep, emotional way that is just wonderful. The story is about Samuel as he goes on a journey to accept the sadness and anger after losing his parents and finding happiness and hope with his new life.Two favorite quotes:“Martha Blink, with a universe on every side, to defend herself against all the pain and tears and happiness of the world.” – page 47“You can find happiness anywhere, son, if you look hard enough.” – page 314What I want to know is why was the title changed from Shadow Forest (its UK title) to Samuel Blink and the Forbidden Forest (its US title)? Especially since the forest is always called “Shadow Forest” in the book. So dumb.The bottom line: This is a wonderful story about moving through some of the most difficult things you can experience which also happens to include some amazing, magical creatures (and two interruptions from the author). Read it. :)Rating: 9 – practically perfect
—Stefani Sloma
