The Hazel Wood

Real rating: 4.25 stars

Since it came out sometime this year, I’ve heard LOTS of people raving about it, especially from the likes of EpicReads. I almost bought it at Barnes and Noble (should’ve done it, now that I know how good it is), but brushed it off because a) I wasn’t really hooked in that moment, and b) the hardcover was unreasonably expensive for a book. Now I simultaneously regret and delight in the fact that I got it at the library. Delight, because man, this book was a treasure; regret because now I’ll have to return it in a week’s time.

I didn’t have super high expectations, but MAN, “The Hazel Wood” blew it out of the water! Near-perfectly executed magical realism...was that magical realism? I mean, it’s been shelved as fiction and fantasy, but I’d say it was a pretty perfect blend of both. The fantasy element, towards the end of the book, was a little more prevalent, but...I guess that would be magical realism? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Either way, the author made it work almost flawlessly.
Honestly, I was hooked from start to finish. The writing was spectacular, and the world building was so enchanting, that I felt like I never wanted to leave. (That is, until I got to the Hinterlands...hehehe...) I found myself growing attached to Alice, and I loved exploring her backstory. The other characters, whether I liked them or not, were incredibly well thought up, and the chemistry between them was perfectly executed. I loved the lore that came along with “Tales from the Hinterland”, and all of the dark, creepy fairy excerpts we got throughout the course of the book. I’d like to see more of those, and apparently, “Tales from the Hinterland” is going to be published as a separate book in a few years’ time...

And finally, I REALLY enjoyed all of the little pop culture references that were thrown in there, especially the music related ones. I’ll admit that I thoroughly enjoyed the description of Lana from the coffee shop, and the subsequent interaction between her in the customer who mistook T. Rex for the Stone Roses. I cracked up at the latter.

All in all, “The Hazel Wood” is most definitely worth a read, whether you like fantasy, fiction, or both.

I don't know how else to describe this book other than "atmospheric and weird". It's dark and strange and aggressively not romantic in a way that is very refreshing for a YA book, and I finished it feeling, honestly, kind of sad that there's going to be a sequel, because this book is so odd and vividly realized that I almost wanted it to just exist by itself out in the world without any follow-up or resolution. I realize the words I'm using to describe this don't necessarily sound that complimentary, so please just trust me when I say that I mean "weird" in the best possible way.

Alice has been on the run with her mother ever since she can remember; always running from the nameless bad luck that always seemed to follow them. After her mother Ella received a letter stating Ella’s mother Althea died, they finally settled down and the bad luck seemed a memory of the past. All that changed when Alice came home and found out her mother has been kidnapped by the Hinterland, a strange fairytale land where most stories end in death. Now, with the help of her classmate Ellery, she is not running away from a nameless something. She is running towards the Hazel Wood, the house where Althea Prosperine first wrote her novel, Tales from the Hinterland. Will she be able to rescue her mother or is there death in their future? A strange story full of adventure and mystery, it is a story to be enjoyed by teen and adult alike. Warning: does contain (needless) character death.

I was on board with the creepy and weird until her Black friend gets killed - seriously?? There's a trope that needs to vanish. It was overhyped for me, and didn't quite do it.

Fully creepy. My childhood is ruined.

Alice Proserpine is used to living her life on the run. Living with her wild mother, leaving town at the slightest disturbance or hint of "bad luck" has become all too familiar. But when her mother is kidnapped by dark agents of The Hinterland, a fairy-tail world created by her grandmother, the search leads her to the one place she has always been told to keep away from; The Hazel Wood. Dark tales meet the real world, where doors can open anywhere, where stories can kill, and where you can get a free drink for any song, post 1972, that you can sing from start to finish.

So, I think this book is 4 or 5 stars until you hit the last third of it. Then I felt the writing got really weird. There were some descriptions of things that were cringe worthy. It basically just really fell apart for me, which was disappointing because I really liked the first two thirds of the book.

Very intriguing premise, although I did feel that Melissa Albert got a bit overly descriptive at times and that caused me as a reader to zone out of the story. However, when this book was great, it was GREAT and I couldn't put it down during parts.

I didn't pick up on the "Alice in Wonderland" with a twist- to me it felt more like a brand new fairy tale. Melissa Albert does realistic fantasy very well.

Overall, an interesting and engaging story.

I read this for the "A Book Published in 2018" part of my 2018 reading challenge. I found this book so fascinating that I read it in one day. The story line was really original, and while the ending wasn't exactly happy, it did end better than I thought it was going to.

What if you were told, that your life is actually entwined with that of fairy tales? Having faced too much bad luck for it to be "bad luck," Alice (protagonist) comes to shocking realizations one day after school. On a mission one can only call "spun by fate," she is determined to change her destiny. This book was very captivating overall, and I liked how it didn't try to appeal to a huge audience. It had its quirks and darkness, and unless readers enjoy it fully, it is not worth continuing. Fair warning, it does not shy away from blood/gore. -@Siri of the Hamilton Public Library's Teen Review Board