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A review by okevamae
The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert
4.0
I received a copy of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Alice and her mother Ella have been on the run from "bad luck" for her entire life. When they receive notice that her grandmother Althea, a notorious author of a book of fairy tales, has died, Ella proclaims that they are safe, and don't need to run any more. But when Ella goes missing, Alice finds that the world of Althea's stories is not as made up as she thought, and she must go on a journey to save her mother.
I really enjoyed this read overall. The writing is absolutely beautiful - I frequently found myself highlighting an especially clever or poetic turn of phrase - and the fairy tales woven throughout the novel are dark and deliciously creepy in that distinctly fairy-tale way.
The book is not without its problems, though. Browsing through other reviews, it seems like people either love the first half and hate the second, or love the second half and hate the first. This might be because the two are very different types of stories, and there is something about the way they're stitched together that doesn't hang quite right. The result is that the pacing is uneven and the transition between the two parts is a little bit jarring. In a way, though, that fits with the stark contrast between the "real world" and the Hinterlands that Alice feels as she moves from one to the other.
Another problem often cited is the unpleasantness of Alice as a character, which often makes it hard to root for her. She seems very self-centered and judgmental and is prone to fits of anger, often lashing out at those close to her. However, I found a little sympathy for her in the fact that she seems regretful and somewhat confused by this part of her personality. "...the anger burned away. Itchy regret took its place. I'd let myself drift too close to the dark continent at the core of me, a lawless place I tried never to visit." To me, this implies that she does try to curb her anger, and regrets when she hurts others, but there's something dark in her that just can't help it. And later in the book we discover exactly why she seems so bitter all the time, and discover that in fact, she really *can't* help it. But if you're the kind of reader who can't deal with an unsympathetic character who sometimes acts in problematic ways, this may not be the book for you.
Overall, not perfect, but still an interesting and enjoyable read.
Alice and her mother Ella have been on the run from "bad luck" for her entire life. When they receive notice that her grandmother Althea, a notorious author of a book of fairy tales, has died, Ella proclaims that they are safe, and don't need to run any more. But when Ella goes missing, Alice finds that the world of Althea's stories is not as made up as she thought, and she must go on a journey to save her mother.
I really enjoyed this read overall. The writing is absolutely beautiful - I frequently found myself highlighting an especially clever or poetic turn of phrase - and the fairy tales woven throughout the novel are dark and deliciously creepy in that distinctly fairy-tale way.
The book is not without its problems, though. Browsing through other reviews, it seems like people either love the first half and hate the second, or love the second half and hate the first. This might be because the two are very different types of stories, and there is something about the way they're stitched together that doesn't hang quite right. The result is that the pacing is uneven and the transition between the two parts is a little bit jarring. In a way, though, that fits with the stark contrast between the "real world" and the Hinterlands that Alice feels as she moves from one to the other.
Another problem often cited is the unpleasantness of Alice as a character, which often makes it hard to root for her. She seems very self-centered and judgmental and is prone to fits of anger, often lashing out at those close to her. However, I found a little sympathy for her in the fact that she seems regretful and somewhat confused by this part of her personality. "...the anger burned away. Itchy regret took its place. I'd let myself drift too close to the dark continent at the core of me, a lawless place I tried never to visit." To me, this implies that she does try to curb her anger, and regrets when she hurts others, but there's something dark in her that just can't help it. And later in the book we discover exactly why she seems so bitter all the time, and discover that in fact, she really *can't* help it. But if you're the kind of reader who can't deal with an unsympathetic character who sometimes acts in problematic ways, this may not be the book for you.
Overall, not perfect, but still an interesting and enjoyable read.