Bibliography: Hale, Shannon. (September 2009).  Forest Born.  New York: Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books. ISBN: 978-1599901671

Plot Summary:  Rin is restless, she loves her mother and her extended family but she doesn’t feel at home in the forest with them anymore.  When her city-dwelling brother Razo comes for a visit, she begs to go back with him.  She is hoping for peace at the palace but finds war instead.  Joining with the queen and her closest friends, Razo discovers her true self and worth when faced with a seeming impossible life or death situation.

Critical Analysis:  This is the fourth book in the Books of Bayern series.  Shannon Hale has said that she never planned for there to be a series, which perhaps explains why each volume stands so well on it own.  The first book, The Goose Girl was based on a Grimm fairytale, but the latter volumes have all been born of characters that appeared in that and the succeeding tales and, as Hale puts it, would not leave her alone.

In Rin, we have another strong female character struggling to accept who she is that Hale does so well.  Rin has a magical power of sorts, but she doesn’t recognize or understand it, and instead is scared to even be herself, to let her feelings out.  Embarrassed and ashamed, she just wants to go away where she can be a nobody and keep to herself.  But again, as other Hale heroines, her kind heart will not let her ignore what is happening in front of her, and when the worst happens, she steels herself to do whatever it takes to make it right, even if it means using her power.

I don’t know that Hale would call her books feminist, and maybe that isn’t the right word exactly, but there is a definite vibe of girls taking charge of themselves, their lives, and not letting something or someone else control them.  In this volume especially, as Rin sees and is mentored by the three other girls who have appeared in previous volumes and have their own stories of struggle, of dealing with power and hardship and heart ache.  Also interesting about the Bayern series is that the happy ending is never in doubt.  It reminds me of reading a romance novel, you turn the pages and are enthralled by the story, but in your heart you know that everything will be all right in the end.  Perhaps in this way, even though the latter volumes are not based on fairy tales, they are fairy tale like.

My only negative comment has to do with the use of Bayern as a setting.  Not because I don’t like Bayern the Baravian part of Germany (actually, it is the German name for Bavaria), and is a definite nod I think to the Grimm tale that inspired the first book.  But Hale does not do much with it beyond naming it I think.  I mention this because another recent book based on a fairy tale Princess of the Midnight Ball used a sort of Bavarian setting, and also added other elements such as names and speech patterns and architecture and more to contribute to the feeling of place.

Review Excerpts: “Fans of the earlier titles as well as admirers of the genre will find Rin’s journey a compelling read.”–School Library Journal

“Rin’s inner demons-connected to powers she does not yet grasp-are fascinatingly explored. An evil nemesis rises again from an earlier tale, and while she is not as fully drawn as the other characters she will be recognized. One doesn’t need to have read the earlier books to become enraptured by this one, but doing so adds to the richness of these very satisfying tales.”–Kirkus Reviews