content: Although the Forests of Serre is not my favorite McKillip book, her stories are always a pleasure to read, and this is no exception. Her lyrical prose creates vivid pictures (I love the image of the witch running off with her house of bones!) and the story is beautiful and wonderfully strange, bringing to mind a fairy tale by the Grimms. I was a little disappointed, however, by the lack of intensity in the story and felt that characterization was sacrificed for story development. The characters don't seem fully realized and Sidonie especially seems like a caricature, as the beautiful, golden princess. Still, definitely worth reading for McKillip and fairy tale fans!