Review: The Hazel Wood

Book written by Melissa Albert, published 2018.

Alice’s grandmother, Althea Proserpine, is a celebrated author of a collection of fairy tales. But Alice has never read them. Her mother, Ella, has strictly forbidden it. It’s just another mystery that Alice wonders about, alongside why she’s never even met her grandmother, and why bad luck seems to follow her and her mother like a loyal pet. Alice and Ella move at least twice a year, traveling all over the country, so Alice has never had a lot of friends; she’s neither wanted nor needed them. But one day, Ella is kidnapped, and the only clues seem to come from Althea’s forbidden stories. Now, Alice’s only hope is her fellow classmate, and a fan of her grandmother’s, Ellery Finch. Together, Alice and Finch make their way to the Hazel Wood on a path that leads to something more than a simple “happily ever after.”

Quick disclosure, these are not going to be like any fairy tales you have ever read. Unlike the Grimm stories, for example, there are no morals here. Just a lot of horrific happenings. That being said, I like it when authors make up their own tales and legends just because it’s something new. That also being said, I’m not sure how I felt about this book as a whole. I can talk myself through the characters and the plot, and the elements work together well enough, but I think it’s the writing style for me.

First of all, profanity. There’s quite a bit of it. Lots of f-bombs and the like. Second of all, Albert uses a lot of metaphors. Metaphors are crucial, don’t get me wrong, but Albert’s metaphors . . . draw too much attention to themselves. There were several times when I read a sensation or a feeling that Alice was trying to describe, and I would kinda shake my head and go, “um, okay,” and read on. It disrupted the flow of the reading for me. There was also a point in the book where Alice mentions that she has a memory associated with honey—there were a lot of honey-themed metaphors after that.

All in all, this one is toward the bottom of the pile. The writing style is the biggest deciding factor, and the plot and characters weren’t exciting enough to balance it back in my favor. Which means I most likely won't be moving on with the rest of the series either.

Aside from language, this book also contains violence such as supernatural murder.

If you’ve read The Hazel Wood, you may continue on to the Halfway Wood.

"Books want to be read, and by the right people. There's nothing surprising in it, not to me."

We always read about what would happen if humans found their way into some of these magical lands, but rarely do we explore what would happen if the magical land found its way back to us. It was an interesting idea, but I did start to lose interest when Albert started introducing the concept of refugees. It makes sense within the context of the story, and I felt bad for all of these poor people who wander into a different world but can’t seem to wander back out again. But for me, I think it just took away from the magic of it all. In the end, Alice is just another ex-Story living as a refugee in the human world, and I didn’t understand what was so special about her story in particular. It’s certainly unconventional compared to the way other Stories escape the Hinterland, but it’s nothing really groundbreaking. In short, this book wasn’t quite what I expected it to be, and that was more disappointing in this case.

Also disappointed because I apparently invested too much in Alice and Finch. Albert did a great job with Finch’s story. I honestly shouldn’t be too disappointed because it was obvious how his story was going to end. I should have known all along that once he got to the Hinterland, he wouldn’t want to leave. But I’m still disappointed because I like the way he and Alice fit together. Alice kind of gave Finch purpose, and Finch was able to absorb all of Alice’s anger without adopting it as his own. I had really been rooting for something more between them. But then again, I suppose this isn’t one of those “once upon a time” kind of fairy tales, so it makes sense that it wouldn’t have one of those “happily ever afters.”

So I guess it's safe to say that I probably wasn't one of the "right" people to read this book as Albert indicates. But I know that lots of you out there were. So, I would love to hear your thoughts, especially if you read the rest of the series. No spoiler warning needed, feel free to gush!