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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
I purposely don't read reviews before the book if I can help it, because you people are almost never right (by which I mean you aren't me). So I didn't realize this was YA until I had it in my hands. I'm a little old for YA, as it turns out, so I didn't love this, but it beat the hell out of Sunburn, which is what I finished just before this. Besides, I'm trying to read more widely.
Alice is a teenage girl, and if you read the book with that in mind, having both been and raised a teenage girl, the fantasy elements become allegory. Don't expect fairy tale; expect coming-of-age journey. It's no accident Alice is nearing 20 at the end of the book.
The resolution is fresh.
No children are raped in this book.
Alice is a teenage girl, and if you read the book with that in mind, having both been and raised a teenage girl, the fantasy elements become allegory. Don't expect fairy tale; expect coming-of-age journey. It's no accident Alice is nearing 20 at the end of the book.
The resolution is fresh.
No children are raped in this book.
Really loved this story. It is classified as YA but I find it more fantasy. Not predictable at all. Love the writing style and the tension that it builds.
I liked the world and the characters, but the plot itself was a bit simplistic, even with the convoluted "surprise" waiting for the reader about 3/4 of the way through the book. It had a great spooky feeling, but I honestly like the book of short stories better. She wanted to feature the Hazel Wood, but she had to bring in the human world and it just didn't work right, squishing them together.
This is the most unique fairy tale inspired novel I have read in a long time. Not sure how much I like it but it will probably stick with me for a long time.
I didn't love the ending. I think it could've/should've been a bit more tragic. But I did genuinely enjoy it. Also the cover on my copy is gorgeous.
⭐3⭐
I think I gained schizophrenia from reading this. Good or bad? I honestly don't know.
I think I gained schizophrenia from reading this. Good or bad? I honestly don't know.
Wow, I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It started out a little slow and was hard to get into because I just did not love Alice. She is really not the nicest character, but I never thought she was horrible like a lot of 1-star reviewers said. Also, her coldness is an integral part of the story that I understood and could appreciate by the end. I also tried to empathize with her. I'd probably be kind of a jerk too if I'd spent my whole life running from some unseen thing (what her mom refers to as "bad luck") causing literal tragedies (people literally died around them!!) I think it makes sense that she would try not to get too close to the people around her, thereby she isn't always nice to them in case the bad luck strikes. Anyway! Less on her meanness and more on the story. I loved the mystery of Althea and why her stores were so hard to get your hands on and what would happen when Alice finally found Hazel Wood. The characters in Hazel Wood were interesting and there were a few twists that I guessed but they way they were revealed still left me reeling. The only reason I'm not giving this 5 stars is because I feel like it could have been shorter. There were a lot of parts where I was just bored and needed to get on with the story. Other than that, I loved it!
Alice and her mother have always been chased by bad luck. After her grandmother, the reclusive author of a book of dark fairy tales with a cult following, dies, Alice's mother thinks their bad luck is over. However, it only gets worse. Her mother disappears and Alice starts seeing her grandmother's fairy tales come to life. Along with a super-fan from her school, Finch, Alice must find her grandmother's estate, the Hazel Wood, to find her mother and solve the mystery of her family's past.
The Hazel Wood is one of my favorite twisted fairy tale stories because it captures the essence of fairy tales, but instead of retelling old tales, Albert invents new ones. Her tales are dark and imaginative. The world pulls you in. There is an ominous atmosphere to the whole book. The stakes feel real. Also, the characters are real standouts. Alice is fierce and independent, but her brashness makes her flawed. Her chemistry with Finch, a sweet but sheltered rich boy, is natural and fun. They balance each other nicely. This novel is great to anyone who loves fairy tales, but also darker adventures.
The Hazel Wood is one of my favorite twisted fairy tale stories because it captures the essence of fairy tales, but instead of retelling old tales, Albert invents new ones. Her tales are dark and imaginative. The world pulls you in. There is an ominous atmosphere to the whole book. The stakes feel real. Also, the characters are real standouts. Alice is fierce and independent, but her brashness makes her flawed. Her chemistry with Finch, a sweet but sheltered rich boy, is natural and fun. They balance each other nicely. This novel is great to anyone who loves fairy tales, but also darker adventures.
Thanks to Netgalley for providing a copy of this book for review.
I wolfed this book down during a vacation. It's portal fantasy, but with a twist, and portal fantasies and fairy tales are my jam. It didn't feel especially YA to me, although I suppose there's no real reason it couldn't be marketed that way. The themes of regret and loss felt more adult to me. There's more Elizabeth Hand in this book than there is of "The Magicians", although there's a bit of that too.
Alice and her mom, Ella, have been on the move for all of Alice's life. When Alice was young, she was kidnapped. She's got the sense that her mom keeps them moving so that her kidnapper won't find them again, but also that it's more than that, somehow. Back in the day, Alice's grandmother wrote as series of short story/fairy tales set in the Hinterlands that brought her notoriety. Since the book came out, the grandmother has lived as a recluse in the Hazel Wood. Hiding? Lurking? Who knows?
I really enjoyed the writing craft in this book. Alice is an unhappy girl and she's not an especially nice person. I liked that about her! She wasn't sassy, she was damaged, and the difference is that between an overdone trope and an original character. I was interested in Alice instead of annoyed- and annoyed is an emotion I often get with YA main characters. There was more depth to her darkness.
I also really dropped into the descriptions. From the coffee shop where Alice works to her companion Ellery Finch's bedroom/library to a road trip to the boonies, everything felt real and lived-in. It felt beautiful and dark, which is how I like my fairy tales. The author managed to evoke a sense of foreignness and dread from small details.
Alice's grandmother's books are almost impossible to find. Alice herself has never been able to get her hands on a copy. Ellery Finch, though, is a big fan of the Hinterlands and has the stories memorized. Alice must pull the details she needs to survive from Finch's memory. The stories are dark and gothic, not really stories with morals but stories about survival. The moral of the stories, I suppose, is that whatever it takes to survive, you do.
Part of the point of the story is that the reality of a world and the romance of the idea of a world are not the same. You can't really be a tourist in Fairyland- Fairyland doesn't care if you're visiting for fun. I am so very guilty of wanting to fall into the books that I love and experience them firsthand. Despite all the warnings, I still want to fall into the world of the Hazel Wood and I'm looking forward to the next book that takes me there.
I wolfed this book down during a vacation. It's portal fantasy, but with a twist, and portal fantasies and fairy tales are my jam. It didn't feel especially YA to me, although I suppose there's no real reason it couldn't be marketed that way. The themes of regret and loss felt more adult to me. There's more Elizabeth Hand in this book than there is of "The Magicians", although there's a bit of that too.
Alice and her mom, Ella, have been on the move for all of Alice's life. When Alice was young, she was kidnapped. She's got the sense that her mom keeps them moving so that her kidnapper won't find them again, but also that it's more than that, somehow. Back in the day, Alice's grandmother wrote as series of short story/fairy tales set in the Hinterlands that brought her notoriety. Since the book came out, the grandmother has lived as a recluse in the Hazel Wood. Hiding? Lurking? Who knows?
I really enjoyed the writing craft in this book. Alice is an unhappy girl and she's not an especially nice person. I liked that about her! She wasn't sassy, she was damaged, and the difference is that between an overdone trope and an original character. I was interested in Alice instead of annoyed- and annoyed is an emotion I often get with YA main characters. There was more depth to her darkness.
I also really dropped into the descriptions. From the coffee shop where Alice works to her companion Ellery Finch's bedroom/library to a road trip to the boonies, everything felt real and lived-in. It felt beautiful and dark, which is how I like my fairy tales. The author managed to evoke a sense of foreignness and dread from small details.
Alice's grandmother's books are almost impossible to find. Alice herself has never been able to get her hands on a copy. Ellery Finch, though, is a big fan of the Hinterlands and has the stories memorized. Alice must pull the details she needs to survive from Finch's memory. The stories are dark and gothic, not really stories with morals but stories about survival. The moral of the stories, I suppose, is that whatever it takes to survive, you do.
Part of the point of the story is that the reality of a world and the romance of the idea of a world are not the same. You can't really be a tourist in Fairyland- Fairyland doesn't care if you're visiting for fun. I am so very guilty of wanting to fall into the books that I love and experience them firsthand. Despite all the warnings, I still want to fall into the world of the Hazel Wood and I'm looking forward to the next book that takes me there.
YA in a similar vein to Holly Black of modern dark faerie tales