The Forest of Stolen Girls

There were so many things I really liked about this book. The case of the missing girls was obviously the major plot point of the story but there was so much more to it. What I’d like to clear up that the summary doesn’t really is that the incident of the sisters going missing between the current events was 5 years. The story takes place a year after Hwani’s father is missing with her returning to her village. Hwani runs away from her Aunt to investigate her father’s disappearance by looking into the cases of the thirteen missing girls because she feels like it will lead her to the answer of what happened to her father. The events of this story play out so well. A little bit of clues are dropped as Hwani furthers her investigation without ever revealing too much. I don’t know if it’s because I love thrillers so much but I figured out who it was about halfway through the story. However, this did not dampen my experience with the novel at all. It was interesting to see Hwani discover all the clues and unravel this mystery with the help of her sister, Maewol. Besides the mystery itself, Hwani and Maewol’s relationship is what also drove this story for me.

The book follows Hwani’s point of view in which it’s obvious that all she ever wanted was her father’s approval. In fact, she states it many times that is what she wants for her life, to make her father proud. After the incident in which her and her sister disappear, Maewol is actually left behind in the village with a shaman who took her in and raised her. Hwani doesn’t remember much about that time when they were lost in the forest and her memories resurface as the story unfolds. This is crucial in the investigation, but also in restoring her relationship with Maewol. I absolutely loved how the sister’s relationship is intertwined into this story. Hwani was all set on doing this by herself but Maewol refused to not be involved. One of the reasons I really liked their story is because it shows that no matter what happened between these sisters, they are family to each other. Even without speaking with each other for five years, they learn how to rely upon each other as they did when they were little. So even though this was a mystery story, the family dynamic was a huge part of this story as well. Hwani did some stupid things but it really made her character more believable at that point. While she may have read and studied her father, she never had formal training as a detective and some of her actions prove it. If she would have flawlessly solved this case, I don’t think the ending would have been as satisfying. And even though they still technically “won”, the loss that they endured hit them hard also.

FINAL THOUGHTS
Overall, The Forest of Stolen Girls by June Hur was absolutely amazing. I devoured this book so quickly because I wanted to know what was happening. The beginning maybe slower for some people, I enjoyed learning about the past and the development between the sisters. And as the clues began to drop more and more, the importance of solving this case took precedence. There were so many different driving factors in this book that just blended so well together. While the setting itself was somber due to what was happening, I loved the world that was created and the details that Hur put into this book. I highly recommend this book if you enjoy historical mystery with a huge family dynamic subplot.

AUDIO REVIEW
NOTE: The narration does not affect my rating of the book
If you like audiobooks, then please consider this book on audio. I definitely had a good variety of physically reading and listening to this book due to the options given to me. But the audio narration is done so well that I would absolutely recommend it. I would have finished the book in audio format but I wasn’t able to listen and I needed to finish. Anytime I read a book that has language I am not used to reading, it is always amazing to actually hear the words the way they are supposed to be pronounced. And the way Sue Jean Kim brought these words to life, just made it so much better. I never felt lost listening to this story and could easily follow along.