Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
This book is very enjoyable and definitely took me by surprise.
I can see why so many people say that there seems to be two distinct parts to this book as the first half read like a creepy paranomal mystery while the second was very OUAT meets the Other Mother's world from Coraline.
I absolutely adored the relationship between Alice and her mum throughout the story and liked how the reveals seemed to bring them closer together while other author's may have used it as an excuse to estrange them. (Love reading about positive Mother/Daughter relationships!)
I'm really intrigued to see how the story is continued in 'The Night County' as this could be read as a satisfying standalone.
I can see why so many people say that there seems to be two distinct parts to this book as the first half read like a creepy paranomal mystery while the second was very OUAT meets the Other Mother's world from Coraline.
I absolutely adored the relationship between Alice and her mum throughout the story and liked how the reveals seemed to bring them closer together while other author's may have used it as an excuse to estrange them. (Love reading about positive Mother/Daughter relationships!)
I'm really intrigued to see how the story is continued in 'The Night County' as this could be read as a satisfying standalone.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Hmmmmm, how to review this one...?
This is a story about a book of fairy tales that's basically haunting some chick. Which sounds freaking fantastic, right? But it's tough because the atmosphere and the premise is everything I've ever wanted, but the overall plot may have gone off the rails a bit. Let's break it down. (Also, let's see how many times I can add the words 'story', 'book,' and 'plot' to this review, shall we?)
The Good Stuff
Best believe I love some weird and randomness added to my stories, and you can definitely count on The Hazel Wood to provide just that. The fairy tales from the Hinterland (the world these stories come from, sort of like the Enchanted Forest in Once Upon A Time ) are super dark and creepy and well executed. I would actually really enjoy a copy of these stories bound up separately from the entire book. Can we make that happen? They give a depth to Alice's journey that I loved, and I think they were the high point of this book. The bits of magic they brought to the real world setting were super fun to see. I was constantly questioning what new weird thing or person would appear around every corner or at every turn of the page. Granted, I was confused because most of this took place in the first half of the book, and I didn't understand who these people were or why they were there...but more on that later in the review. In general, the aesthetic of these fairy tales made me very happy. I thoroughly appreciated the creepy aspect of these because it made it feel like I was reading classic fairy tales. Very Grimm-like.
I also loved precious lil' Finch. He had a good heart and I quite enjoyed his hipster-ness. He was a great character, but he was a bit underutilized in my opinion. I would have enjoyed getting to know him more, but I appreciated what I was given. So, there's that.
The Not-So-Good Stuff
For the first half of the book, I enjoyed the nuggets of magic that were mysteriously thrown into the mix, but I was really confused about the reason for all the strange people following Alice. Were they fairy tale people? Were they mega-fans of her grandmother's? Were they imaginary and Alice was just a bit paranoid from the constant moving her and her mom did when she was younger? And then the whole road trip plot came into play, and I was like, can we get going with the answers? Are we going to make some startling discoveries any time soon? I was ready to climb into the fairy tale world and be done with the real world setting. As they say kids, be careful what you wish for.
Once we fell head first into the fairy tale aspect of things...well it got confusing and I started to zone out. To be completely honest, I may have to reread the second half of this book and make an update on this review, because characters from the various fairy tales that we had not yet been introduced to started to interact with Alice and I couldn't keep everyone straight. I forgot what the mission was and why were there in the first place. I forgot why I needed to be concerned instead of excited to be in a completely new world. So by the time the ending hit me, I wasn't exactly following the story so much as just trying to figure out everything that went down. In short, I finished the book with a lottt of questions, and not questions like "ohhhh I wonder what will happen in the next book? How will things get sorted out?" More like "wait, is that character still alive?" or "How did we end up talking to this person? Actually, who is that person?"
Overall,
I thought this was a perfect spooky read for the month of October. The atmosphere and the general weirdness makes for a good time. The confusing execution of the story and the pacing kind of put a dent into the fun of it all. That being said, I do think I will go back and reread the second half of the book just to see if I can sort things out a little bit better than I initially did. I guess that says a lot about the book though? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
This is a story about a book of fairy tales that's basically haunting some chick. Which sounds freaking fantastic, right? But it's tough because the atmosphere and the premise is everything I've ever wanted, but the overall plot may have gone off the rails a bit. Let's break it down. (Also, let's see how many times I can add the words 'story', 'book,' and 'plot' to this review, shall we?)
The Good Stuff
Best believe I love some weird and randomness added to my stories, and you can definitely count on The Hazel Wood to provide just that. The fairy tales from the Hinterland (the world these stories come from, sort of like the Enchanted Forest in Once Upon A Time ) are super dark and creepy and well executed. I would actually really enjoy a copy of these stories bound up separately from the entire book. Can we make that happen? They give a depth to Alice's journey that I loved, and I think they were the high point of this book. The bits of magic they brought to the real world setting were super fun to see. I was constantly questioning what new weird thing or person would appear around every corner or at every turn of the page. Granted, I was confused because most of this took place in the first half of the book, and I didn't understand who these people were or why they were there...but more on that later in the review. In general, the aesthetic of these fairy tales made me very happy. I thoroughly appreciated the creepy aspect of these because it made it feel like I was reading classic fairy tales. Very Grimm-like.
I also loved precious lil' Finch. He had a good heart and I quite enjoyed his hipster-ness. He was a great character, but he was a bit underutilized in my opinion. I would have enjoyed getting to know him more, but I appreciated what I was given. So, there's that.
The Not-So-Good Stuff
For the first half of the book, I enjoyed the nuggets of magic that were mysteriously thrown into the mix, but I was really confused about the reason for all the strange people following Alice. Were they fairy tale people? Were they mega-fans of her grandmother's? Were they imaginary and Alice was just a bit paranoid from the constant moving her and her mom did when she was younger? And then the whole road trip plot came into play, and I was like, can we get going with the answers? Are we going to make some startling discoveries any time soon? I was ready to climb into the fairy tale world and be done with the real world setting. As they say kids, be careful what you wish for.
Once we fell head first into the fairy tale aspect of things...well it got confusing and I started to zone out. To be completely honest, I may have to reread the second half of this book and make an update on this review, because characters from the various fairy tales that we had not yet been introduced to started to interact with Alice and I couldn't keep everyone straight. I forgot what the mission was and why were there in the first place. I forgot why I needed to be concerned instead of excited to be in a completely new world. So by the time the ending hit me, I wasn't exactly following the story so much as just trying to figure out everything that went down. In short, I finished the book with a lottt of questions, and not questions like "ohhhh I wonder what will happen in the next book? How will things get sorted out?" More like "wait, is that character still alive?" or "How did we end up talking to this person? Actually, who is that person?"
Overall,
I thought this was a perfect spooky read for the month of October. The atmosphere and the general weirdness makes for a good time. The confusing execution of the story and the pacing kind of put a dent into the fun of it all. That being said, I do think I will go back and reread the second half of the book just to see if I can sort things out a little bit better than I initially did. I guess that says a lot about the book though? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Reread from 2018
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I had mixed feelings going into this book's fairytale-meets-reality concept, but I was also intrigued to see how it would play out. The first half was fast-paced and interesting enough to keep me reading, but the second half was a bit of a letdown. It started to feel a little dragged out and repetitive without much action. The writing wasn't bad, but it also didn't really help me to visualize what was happening in a way most dystopian novels do. The ending was a little hasty and inconclusive for me as well. Overall, not a bad book, but I probably wouldn't recommend it to many people.
dark
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Kidnapping, Murder
This is one weird book. I'm not sure yet if I liked it or not. I do think reading it on my phone did it a disservice. I might come back to this one as a physical book before I decide whether or not to read the second book.
The tale is told well, with all kinds of twists and turns. There is some foul language, which was completely unnecessary in what's marketed as a YA novel.
The tale is told well, with all kinds of twists and turns. There is some foul language, which was completely unnecessary in what's marketed as a YA novel.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated