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brittney_tyler 's review for:
The Hazel Wood
by Melissa Albert
Star Rating: 4.5 stars
Re-Read Star Rating: 4 stars
Have you ever wondered whether the characters that live in your favorite stories like where they reside and the choices, they have to make in order for the story to turn out the way that you love? What if they didn’t? What if they were desperate to get out and to have the freedom that we enjoy in our lives? What would happen if a character was stolen out of their natural world and brought to ours? These are the questions that Melissa Albert tackles in her debut novel, The Hazel Wood. I saw and heard about this book on Thoughts on Tomes’s channel, and I thought it sounded so good and up my street that I immediately requested that my library get a copy for me to read. When it came in, I started reading and was swept away into a story that I will never forget.
The Hazel Wood tells the story of Alice Proserpine and her mother, Ella who have been drifting from place to place for Alice’s entire life, never living anywhere for longer than a year. Alice thought that they were moving so much because of her mother’s rocky relationship with her grandmother, and she hopes, after they received a letter saying that Althea, the aforementioned grandmother, has died, that they will be able to stay in one place long enough for her to put down roots. However, one day when she comes home from school, her mother is nowhere to be found, a weird smell permeates the air, and there is an envelope lying against her pillow. When she opens the envelope, she finds a page from the book that ruined Ella and Althea’s relationship. You see, Althea was an author and wrote a book called Tales from the Hinterland, while living a reclusive lifestyle in a massive estate in the middle of the woods called the Hazel Wood. The book became an over-night sensation and hordes of crazed fans descended, ripping the idyllic existence that Ella and Althea have enjoyed away. Angry at her mother for using the bedtime stories that she grew up with for fame and fortune, Ella flees the Hazel Wood, vowing to never return. She has told her daughter that they have to keep moving to ensure that Althea will never locate them, but after her mother disappeared, Alice starts to suspect that something more is going on. She teams up with Ellery Finch, the boy that keeps popping up every time she turns around. He is a member of the hordes of fans that her mother has always tried to avoid, but she is desperate for someone to help her as she is starting to question everything she knows. In order to find answers, she travels to the Hazel Wood and realizes that Althea and Ella’s relationship is a lot more complex than she thought and it all revolves around the magical land that Althea created, Hinterland. What is it isn’t a creation? What if the Hazel Wood is much more than just an estate located in the deep woods?
Re-Read Note: When it comes to the character of Ellery Finch, on re-read, I realized that instead of being a completely fleshed out character like he should have been, he was really just there to further the storyline of the main character and not to have his own arc. Actually, there was really no logical reason for him to be in the narrative as he didn’t add anything that was actually beneficial.
I loved the ideas that this book was playing with- what are stories, just words on a page or different worlds that you can step into if you can just find the door? What if the characters are unhappy in the story that was created for them and want out? What if they found the door and choose to go through? What if they tried to change the story that was written for them? Who determines what fiction is and what is reality? Within this narrative, Albert tries to tackle those issues, and she does a really good job. If you have ever pondered these questions or if finding out the answers seems like it would be interesting, then you should read this book. Also, there a lots of cool allusions to discover while you’re reading. I don’t want to go into how she explores those questions as that would spoil the entire book, so I am just giving you an overview of some of the issues that Albert tackles to try and quip your attention.
Re-Read Note: This was the 1st book that I read that had these themes/troupes and is what led me to realize that I really liked them, but I will say that after reading a lot more books in this genre, this is not the best book that I have read with these troupes.
I loved this book for the ideas that it made me ponder and how well the author handled them. Although, I had to take a ½ star off because there were some slight troupey moments, but other than that, it was an awesome read. 4.5 stars!
Re-Read Note: I will admit that this book did help me discover some of my favorite troupes/themes/ideas to explore in literature, so it is still a good book, although after reading others who do this far better, my love of this narrative has gone down considerately.
Re-Read Star Rating: 4 stars
Have you ever wondered whether the characters that live in your favorite stories like where they reside and the choices, they have to make in order for the story to turn out the way that you love? What if they didn’t? What if they were desperate to get out and to have the freedom that we enjoy in our lives? What would happen if a character was stolen out of their natural world and brought to ours? These are the questions that Melissa Albert tackles in her debut novel, The Hazel Wood. I saw and heard about this book on Thoughts on Tomes’s channel, and I thought it sounded so good and up my street that I immediately requested that my library get a copy for me to read. When it came in, I started reading and was swept away into a story that I will never forget.
The Hazel Wood tells the story of Alice Proserpine and her mother, Ella who have been drifting from place to place for Alice’s entire life, never living anywhere for longer than a year. Alice thought that they were moving so much because of her mother’s rocky relationship with her grandmother, and she hopes, after they received a letter saying that Althea, the aforementioned grandmother, has died, that they will be able to stay in one place long enough for her to put down roots. However, one day when she comes home from school, her mother is nowhere to be found, a weird smell permeates the air, and there is an envelope lying against her pillow. When she opens the envelope, she finds a page from the book that ruined Ella and Althea’s relationship. You see, Althea was an author and wrote a book called Tales from the Hinterland, while living a reclusive lifestyle in a massive estate in the middle of the woods called the Hazel Wood. The book became an over-night sensation and hordes of crazed fans descended, ripping the idyllic existence that Ella and Althea have enjoyed away. Angry at her mother for using the bedtime stories that she grew up with for fame and fortune, Ella flees the Hazel Wood, vowing to never return. She has told her daughter that they have to keep moving to ensure that Althea will never locate them, but after her mother disappeared, Alice starts to suspect that something more is going on. She teams up with Ellery Finch, the boy that keeps popping up every time she turns around. He is a member of the hordes of fans that her mother has always tried to avoid, but she is desperate for someone to help her as she is starting to question everything she knows. In order to find answers, she travels to the Hazel Wood and realizes that Althea and Ella’s relationship is a lot more complex than she thought and it all revolves around the magical land that Althea created, Hinterland. What is it isn’t a creation? What if the Hazel Wood is much more than just an estate located in the deep woods?
Re-Read Note: When it comes to the character of Ellery Finch, on re-read, I realized that instead of being a completely fleshed out character like he should have been, he was really just there to further the storyline of the main character and not to have his own arc. Actually, there was really no logical reason for him to be in the narrative as he didn’t add anything that was actually beneficial.
I loved the ideas that this book was playing with- what are stories, just words on a page or different worlds that you can step into if you can just find the door? What if the characters are unhappy in the story that was created for them and want out? What if they found the door and choose to go through? What if they tried to change the story that was written for them? Who determines what fiction is and what is reality? Within this narrative, Albert tries to tackle those issues, and she does a really good job. If you have ever pondered these questions or if finding out the answers seems like it would be interesting, then you should read this book. Also, there a lots of cool allusions to discover while you’re reading. I don’t want to go into how she explores those questions as that would spoil the entire book, so I am just giving you an overview of some of the issues that Albert tackles to try and quip your attention.
Re-Read Note: This was the 1st book that I read that had these themes/troupes and is what led me to realize that I really liked them, but I will say that after reading a lot more books in this genre, this is not the best book that I have read with these troupes.
I loved this book for the ideas that it made me ponder and how well the author handled them. Although, I had to take a ½ star off because there were some slight troupey moments, but other than that, it was an awesome read. 4.5 stars!
Re-Read Note: I will admit that this book did help me discover some of my favorite troupes/themes/ideas to explore in literature, so it is still a good book, although after reading others who do this far better, my love of this narrative has gone down considerately.