REVIEW: The Hazel Wood
The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert
Page Count: 359 pages
Release Date: January 30, 2018
My Rating: 4/5 stars
Goodreads Synopsis:
Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother have spent most of Alice’s life on the road, always a step ahead of the uncanny bad luck biting at their heels. But when Alice’s grandmother, the reclusive author of a cult-classic book of pitch-dark fairy tales, dies alone on her estate, the Hazel Wood, Alice learns how bad her luck can really get: her mother is stolen away―by a figure who claims to come from the Hinterland, the cruel supernatural world where her grandmother's stories are set. Alice's only lead is the message her mother left behind: “Stay away from the Hazel Wood.” Alice has long steered clear of her grandmother’s cultish fans. But now she has no choice but to ally with classmate Ellery Finch, a Hinterland superfan who may have his own reasons for wanting to help her. To retrieve her mother, Alice must venture first to the Hazel Wood, then into the world where her grandmother's tales began―and where she might find out how her own story went so wrong.
My Review:
WHAT DID I JUST READ?! *explosions in distance* THIS BOOK WAS ABSOLUTELY INSANE AND WEIRD AND 500% NOT WHAT I EXPECTED. Me after finishing this book, summed up in one photo:
This is what I was expecting: woods, magic, manor houses, fairytale-writing. This is what I actually got: New York City, sharp, interesting writing, contemporary references, creepy thriller vibe. BUT SO GOOD. I couldn't put this book down! I finished it in less than a day, and found the story completely thrilling and creepy and fascinating. It was both gritty and lush at the same time, even though sometimes the writing felt strange: either jarring or too rambling. Perhaps this was done on purpose, as the whole book I felt tense and on edge, thrown into this gorgeous but horror-filled fairytale land - just as main character Alice feels. I did want MORE of three things: 1. I wanted more of the stories from Tales from the Hinterland! They're mentioned so much throughout the book; in fact, the whole novel hinges on them. But only two are actually told in detail. I would've loved to read all of them, set amongst the rest of the story. 2. Ellery Finch. He was SUCH a big character, such a big part of the story, and then just...boom. Gone. And by the time he returned, it was completely different. It felt a little bit like a cop-out, and like he never got the ending he deserved. 3. The ending. I wanted more. I felt like the book ended way too quickly, with everything getting tied up neatly. Overall, this book was gritty and atmospheric, a strange world of grim fairytales come-to-life, and completely drew me in! RECAP: DARK, GRIM FAIRYTALES. MURDER. STALKERS. SUPER CREEPY VIBE. KIDNAPPERS. WHAT IS REALITY?