Review: How The King Of Elfhame Learned To Hate Stories by Holly Black

How The King Of Elfhame Learned To Hate Stories is an addition to Holly Black’s Folk of the Air series. It follows Carden
through his childhood and how he develops as a person. In the beginning, he is just a young boy looking for someone
to love him and as he grows up he feels he isn’t able to give any love just as he hadn’t received any in his childhood. So he becomes consumed by hate.

Though this story is written in third person, Holly Black has a way of making you feel all the emotions her characters betray. The way the story is told reminds me of the classic fairy tales. The amazing illustrations by Rovina Cai only add to how beautiful the book is.

I would give this book an eight out of ten and definitely recommend it to anyone who has read the Folk of the Air series. However it could be confusing if you have little backstory or have not read the Folk of the Air series.

Aoibhe O’Dwyer, teen reviewer