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janaw71's review against another edition
4.0
Loved this!! I want a book of truly dark fairy tales now!!
jessisquishy's review against another edition
4.0
Un libro sin duda interesante. Esta novela nos narra la historia de Alice una chica que ha pasado la mayor parte de su vida en la carretera y que tiene una abuela famosa por un libro que escribió del que curiosamente no existe practicamente ninguna copia. Un día la madre de Alice desaparece y junto con un compañero de clase llamado Finch se embarca en un viaje por carretera para encontrar "El Bosque de los Avellanos".
Sin duda el libro me ha parecido arto extraño pero me ha entretenido mientras lo leía.
Sin duda el libro me ha parecido arto extraño pero me ha entretenido mientras lo leía.
wristex's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
iterdei's review against another edition
4.0
This is a story about fairytales while simultaneously being a fairytale in itself but also not. Yes, that is confusing. If that intrigues you, definitely read this book.
It constantly had twists and turns I wasn't expecting and an ending I would never have seen coming when I started reading it.
It constantly had twists and turns I wasn't expecting and an ending I would never have seen coming when I started reading it.
obaketeatime's review against another edition
2.0
Not the book for me.
I felt like The Hazel Wood was a book with a great premise that wasn’t quite executed as well as it could have been. The first half of the book was suspenseful, exciting, and well paced. But, the second half of the book felt off. It felt like I was reading an entirely different book. The story unfolded so fast in the second half that I sort of felt like I was getting cheated out of part of the plot. I think it would have felt less choppy if this book had been divided into two.
I also wasn’t crazy about the characters. Alice was mean, unlikable, and boring. She had some pretty yikes-y moments that made me cringe along the way. Finch wasn’t much better. While he wasn’t as unlikable as Alice, he certainly wasn’t any more interesting than her. None of the other characters were memorable enough to leave much of an impression.
I felt like The Hazel Wood was a book with a great premise that wasn’t quite executed as well as it could have been. The first half of the book was suspenseful, exciting, and well paced. But, the second half of the book felt off. It felt like I was reading an entirely different book. The story unfolded so fast in the second half that I sort of felt like I was getting cheated out of part of the plot. I think it would have felt less choppy if this book had been divided into two.
I also wasn’t crazy about the characters. Alice was mean, unlikable, and boring. She had some pretty yikes-y moments that made me cringe along the way. Finch wasn’t much better. While he wasn’t as unlikable as Alice, he certainly wasn’t any more interesting than her. None of the other characters were memorable enough to leave much of an impression.
samanthahumphrey's review against another edition
4.0
I might've read this in less than 24 hours. Very fun. Reminded me of Stiefvater's Raven Cycle, which I love, with a smattering of Funke's Inkworld, which I LOVE. Good stuff!
jonesy516's review against another edition
3.0
I'm torn on this one. It's an interesting story and I do love the dark fairy tales but I don't think I could have read this book. I listened to it and enjoyed the narrator and felt the pace was better for me.
ladyblackmead's review against another edition
3.0
The Hazel Wood is not the kind of fairytale that you were told as a child. It is a story full of mystery, intrigue and horrors you don't want to imagine. The Hinterland is nothing like Wonderland, and Alice most definitely does NOT want to fall down the rabbit hole, but if she is to save her mother, that's exactly what she'll have to do.
It took me a long time to read this book, and once I finished, I wasn't all that impressed. I started reading this book a little bit before Halloween, and didn't finish it until the very end of the year. I never found myself needing to read this book to find out what would happen. In fact, I almost had to force myself to finish it just so that I could enter the new year on a clean slate and not in the middle of any books.
I think that this story will appeal to many readers, but it wasn't for me. There are a lot of parallels to Alice in Wonderland, and at times it felt like it drew too much influence from other works. Overall the book felt slow, and dragged on forever in the first 2/3 of the book, and then the end felt so rushed and like everything was being tied up hastily without much thought for the story.
I think because this book is so hyped, I had really high expectations going into it, which made me all the more disappointed when I couldn't get into it. I give The Hazel Wood 2.75/5 stars, and that's really only because I liked the dark fairytales from Alice's grandmother's book, Tales from the Hinterland. It's a shame the rest of the book couldn't live up to my expectations.
*I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.*
It took me a long time to read this book, and once I finished, I wasn't all that impressed. I started reading this book a little bit before Halloween, and didn't finish it until the very end of the year. I never found myself needing to read this book to find out what would happen. In fact, I almost had to force myself to finish it just so that I could enter the new year on a clean slate and not in the middle of any books.
I think that this story will appeal to many readers, but it wasn't for me. There are a lot of parallels to Alice in Wonderland, and at times it felt like it drew too much influence from other works. Overall the book felt slow, and dragged on forever in the first 2/3 of the book, and then the end felt so rushed and like everything was being tied up hastily without much thought for the story.
I think because this book is so hyped, I had really high expectations going into it, which made me all the more disappointed when I couldn't get into it. I give The Hazel Wood 2.75/5 stars, and that's really only because I liked the dark fairytales from Alice's grandmother's book, Tales from the Hinterland. It's a shame the rest of the book couldn't live up to my expectations.
*I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.*
katyslifestory's review against another edition
4.0
This is a dark fantasy YA book. I didn't realize just how many dark fantasies I would be drawn towards this year. But I definitely give this one 4.5 stars. Not quite one I would pick up again, but I did thoroughly enjoy.
Alice is the main character. She and her mother have been traveling from place to place for most of her life. She has never met her grandmother, an eccentric recluse who is best known as the author of a book of dark fairy tales (which is a book Alice has not been allowed or able to read). They find out that her grandmother has died on her estate called The Hazel Wood. Shortly after, Alice's mother is kidnapped and sends Alice a message not to go to The Hazel Wood. Alice goes after her, with the help of a fellow student, Ellery Finch, who is a huge fan of her grandmother's fairy tales. Using the stories as clues and insight, Alice finds herself getting closer and closer to The Hazel Wood, and more truths are revealed.
The measure I use for character assessment is whether or not I care about the characters. I definitely got caught up in the stories of Alice and Ellery. The transformation and growth that Alice goes through are really well done. Ellery, not so much, but is still a character I wanted to know more about. The rest of the characters, which I don't really want to go into without spoilers, are not quite as complex, some being used to move the story along, but I liked how they were used.
The plot has twists. Some I figured out pretty quickly. But even the ones that were predictable, I liked where the author took them.
The writing at times could get convoluted, but it was absolutely beautiful. The imagery was harsh and gorgeous at the same time. Weaving fairy tales into real-life situations made the whole story seem like a fairy tale, itself. And I loved the concept of using the fairy tale structure, especially towards the end. Also, some of the dark stories that were written by the grandmother are shared in the book. I thought that was pretty neat as well.
There is profanity in the book, particularly with one supporting character. I don't know if it was absolutely necessary or not.
There is not much in the way of sexual content. I didn't feel like there was a strong romance in the book. Alice is briefly kidnapped as a little girl, and people who find out tend to ask whether he touched her (which he didn't).
There is a lot of violence, being a dark fantasy. The fairy tales that are shared are violent. Alice has a gun pulled on her. There are deaths and mentions of death. But part of the story is actually fighting that violent nature.
Overall, I would recommend with the caveat of the amount violence and profanity. Though I felt like the profanity is minor, and the violence is necessary to understand the plot and character development. Really entertaining read.
Alice is the main character. She and her mother have been traveling from place to place for most of her life. She has never met her grandmother, an eccentric recluse who is best known as the author of a book of dark fairy tales (which is a book Alice has not been allowed or able to read). They find out that her grandmother has died on her estate called The Hazel Wood. Shortly after, Alice's mother is kidnapped and sends Alice a message not to go to The Hazel Wood. Alice goes after her, with the help of a fellow student, Ellery Finch, who is a huge fan of her grandmother's fairy tales. Using the stories as clues and insight, Alice finds herself getting closer and closer to The Hazel Wood, and more truths are revealed.
The measure I use for character assessment is whether or not I care about the characters. I definitely got caught up in the stories of Alice and Ellery. The transformation and growth that Alice goes through are really well done. Ellery, not so much, but is still a character I wanted to know more about. The rest of the characters, which I don't really want to go into without spoilers, are not quite as complex, some being used to move the story along, but I liked how they were used.
The plot has twists. Some I figured out pretty quickly. But even the ones that were predictable, I liked where the author took them.
The writing at times could get convoluted, but it was absolutely beautiful. The imagery was harsh and gorgeous at the same time. Weaving fairy tales into real-life situations made the whole story seem like a fairy tale, itself. And I loved the concept of using the fairy tale structure, especially towards the end. Also, some of the dark stories that were written by the grandmother are shared in the book. I thought that was pretty neat as well.
There is profanity in the book, particularly with one supporting character. I don't know if it was absolutely necessary or not.
There is not much in the way of sexual content. I didn't feel like there was a strong romance in the book. Alice is briefly kidnapped as a little girl, and people who find out tend to ask whether he touched her (which he didn't).
There is a lot of violence, being a dark fantasy. The fairy tales that are shared are violent. Alice has a gun pulled on her. There are deaths and mentions of death. But part of the story is actually fighting that violent nature.
Overall, I would recommend with the caveat of the amount violence and profanity. Though I felt like the profanity is minor, and the violence is necessary to understand the plot and character development. Really entertaining read.