Forest Born

By Shannon Hale

Growing up in the Forest, Rin always turned to the trees when she needed peace or reassurance, even direction, until the day they seem to reject her. Rin is sure something is wrong with her, something that is keeping her from feeling at home in the Forest, keeping her from trusting herself with anyone at all.
When her brother Razo returns to the city after a visit home, Rin accompanies him to the palace in hopes of finding a new sense of herself. But a mysterious threat haunts Bayern, and Rin joins the magical girls she thinks of as the Fire Sisters- Isi, Enna, and Dasha- as they venture into the woods toward the kingdom of Kel…where someone wants them all dead.

This is the fourth book in the Books of Bayern series by Shannon Hale (who rocks by the way). I was rather surprised at this latest installment, because I didn't really like "Enna Burning" or "River Secrets" nearly as much as "The Goose Girl". But this book was right down my alley and was reminiscent of "The Goose Girl". It wasn't quite as good, but if you liked Goose Girl, you will definitely like "Forest Born". It clicked with me because Rin has a hard time trusting herself and she is pretty hard on herself. It was easy to relate to her because I feel much the same. I really think lots of people will relate with the heroine of this book; it's quite the journey of finding yourself and learning to trust in yourself and believe you're worth the trouble. :)