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A review by sorrenbriarwood
Hazel Hill is Gonna Win This One by Maggie Horne
5.0
I received an ARC from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
It's a bit of a cliche to call a book "important," but that's the first word that comes to mind to describe this book. Horne tackles the thorny subject of sexual harassment with such grace, care and empathy. Without talking condescendingly to her readers, or minimizing how awful it can be to deal with, the book remains appropriate reading for its target audience, but never becomes a miserable reading experience, thanks to plenty of fun and touching moments as the girls become friends. Horne struck a fantastic balance in demonstrating that adults won't always listen or be sympathetic, and will often even victim-blame, but reinforcing that it is their responsibility to do something about harassment and that the girls were in the right by continuing to speak until someone heard them out. That Horne did this without condemning or assigning guilt or blame to those too afraid to speak out was incredibly impressive. Reflecting on this book, it's obvious how much careful thinking went into every aspect, but the book itself is so full of heart that the scaffolding vanishes when you dive in, and even divorced from all that, it's a really successful story.
One of the huge strengths of this novel is the characters- all so memorable and true to life that I found a wealth of memories from my own experiences at this age rushing back to me. Hazel in particular was such a fantastic protagonist, with some really witty narration but also realistic flaws and insecurities. I also really appreciated that Hazel's being gay was something that contributed to those worries, but by no means her whole struggle, and that this book didn't also try to be a love story (the beginnings of romantic development between Hazel and a friend was adorable and perfect, as far as I was concerned) or a coming-out narrative. Hazel's own confidence in her identity will no doubt be comforting to young queer readers, yet her (not unfounded) worries about being outed or treated differently by her peers as a result, make this a realistic, relatable depiction of what it's like to know you're queer at such a young age. Horne also really grasps the nuances of how tweens interact with one another- some of the bullying is really insidiously subtle, and some of is more overt, but at no point did this feel like the "bad health class videos," this book (rightly) mocks.
This is probably going to end up being one of my favourite books of the year: it was so compelling, and I raced through it. I will absolutely be rushing to grab a copy for my little cousin who's Hazel's age, the moment that this book is out, and couldn't recommend it enough. I want this book in every school and local library.
It's a bit of a cliche to call a book "important," but that's the first word that comes to mind to describe this book. Horne tackles the thorny subject of sexual harassment with such grace, care and empathy. Without talking condescendingly to her readers, or minimizing how awful it can be to deal with, the book remains appropriate reading for its target audience, but never becomes a miserable reading experience, thanks to plenty of fun and touching moments as the girls become friends. Horne struck a fantastic balance in demonstrating that adults won't always listen or be sympathetic, and will often even victim-blame, but reinforcing that it is their responsibility to do something about harassment and that the girls were in the right by continuing to speak until someone heard them out. That Horne did this without condemning or assigning guilt or blame to those too afraid to speak out was incredibly impressive. Reflecting on this book, it's obvious how much careful thinking went into every aspect, but the book itself is so full of heart that the scaffolding vanishes when you dive in, and even divorced from all that, it's a really successful story.
One of the huge strengths of this novel is the characters- all so memorable and true to life that I found a wealth of memories from my own experiences at this age rushing back to me. Hazel in particular was such a fantastic protagonist, with some really witty narration but also realistic flaws and insecurities. I also really appreciated that Hazel's being gay was something that contributed to those worries, but by no means her whole struggle, and that this book didn't also try to be a love story (the beginnings of romantic development between Hazel and a friend was adorable and perfect, as far as I was concerned) or a coming-out narrative. Hazel's own confidence in her identity will no doubt be comforting to young queer readers, yet her (not unfounded) worries about being outed or treated differently by her peers as a result, make this a realistic, relatable depiction of what it's like to know you're queer at such a young age. Horne also really grasps the nuances of how tweens interact with one another- some of the bullying is really insidiously subtle, and some of is more overt, but at no point did this feel like the "bad health class videos," this book (rightly) mocks.
This is probably going to end up being one of my favourite books of the year: it was so compelling, and I raced through it. I will absolutely be rushing to grab a copy for my little cousin who's Hazel's age, the moment that this book is out, and couldn't recommend it enough. I want this book in every school and local library.