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    The Hazel Wood: A Novel
    The Hazel Wood: A Novel
    The Hazel Wood: A Novel
    Ebook414 pages6 hours

    The Hazel Wood: A Novel

    By Melissa Albert

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    Welcome to Melissa Albert's The Hazel Wood—the fiercely stunning New York Times bestseller everyone is raving about!

    Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother have spent most of Alice’s life on the road, always a step ahead of the uncanny bad luck biting at their heels. But when Alice’s grandmother, the reclusive author of a cult-classic book of pitch-dark fairy tales, dies alone on her estate, the Hazel Wood, Alice learns how bad her luck can really get: Her mother is stolen away—by a figure who claims to come from the Hinterland, the cruel supernatural world where her grandmother's stories are set. Alice's only lead is the message her mother left behind: “Stay away from the Hazel Wood.”

    Alice has long steered clear of her grandmother’s cultish fans. But now she has no choice but to ally with classmate Ellery Finch, a Hinterland superfan who may have his own reasons for wanting to help her. To retrieve her mother, Alice must venture first to the Hazel Wood, then into the world where her grandmother's tales began—and where she might find out how her own story went so wrong.

    Don’t miss the bestselling sequel to The Hazel Wood, The Night Country or the illustrated collection of twelve fairy tales, Tales from the Hinterland!

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateJan 30, 2018
    ISBN9781250147912
    Author

    Melissa Albert

    Melissa Albert is the New York Times and indie bestselling author of the Hazel Wood series (The Hazel Wood, The Night Country, Tales from the Hinterland) and Our Crooked Hearts, and a former bookseller and YA lit blogger. Her work has been translated into more than twenty languages and included in the New York Times list of Notable Children’s Books. She lives in Brooklyn with her family.

    Read more from Melissa Albert

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    Reviews for The Hazel Wood

    3.5/5

    753 ratings68 reviews

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    • 4/5
      This was one CRAZY story, and I mean that in the best way possible, but be sure to keep your head about you or you may end up lost to the Hinterland!

      Alice is our leading lady. Just another teen trying to get by with a mother that loves her fiercely and bad luck that follows them everywhere. Sounds great, right? Yeah, no. Every time they seem to falling into a comfortable pattern, something goes wrong. Whether epic or mundane, it matters not, the result is the same...they pick up and get out of dodge. One day, they receive a letter that a relative passed away, and while you'd think tears would be shed, they were of joy not sadness because according to Alice's mother, they were finally free. But WERE they? I mean, did the bad luck stem from their existence or that of someone else's and the why still remains too? So many questions and so few answers...at least in this world. It seems the dark fairy tales that the dearly departed penned are perhaps more than fantasy and fiction with flair. Now, they may be the only way for Alice to discover what's truly behind their family's rotten luck, and just maybe finally be free...

      There is a lot of suspended belief needed to fully immerse yourself in this one, but hey...it IS fiction with quite a lot of fairy tale fantasy (even if it's not filled with sleeping princesses and singing dwarfs), so that kind of goes with the territory. Once things get really in depth and the characters existences start coming to light, as well as her as well as her mother's past, that's when things get really curious...but if you can hang on just a bit longer, you'll find an ending that will satisfy even if it doesn't completely clarify...at least for now. Hey, it lists as BOOK 1, meaning there should be more to come!


      **from my personal library
    • 4/5
      Alice and her mother Ella have lived on the road, moving somewhere new each time their strange bad luck has caught up with them. When Ella is mysteriously abducted, Alice is desperate to get her back. To do so, Alice has to uncover the truth about her grandmother’s weird fairytales and her grandmother’s estate, the Hazel Wood.This is such a sharp, compelling story about fairytales and fate and family, with a sharp, compelling voice. If I hadn’t listened to the audiobook, I’m sure I would have been bookmarking quote left and right. The ending felt oddly anti-climactic and I’m reserving judgement on some things until I see how the sequel resolves them -- but otherwise, this is excellent.My grandmother’s estate, which I’d only seen in photos, felt like a place I remembered from some alternate, imaginary childhood. One where I rode horses and went to summer camp. It was the daydream I disappeared into when I needed a break from the endless cycle of highways and new schools and the smell of unfamiliar houses. I’d paste myself into its distant world of fountains and hedges, highballs and a pool so glittering bright you had to squint against it.
    • 3/5
      I liked certain parts of this book and really enjoyed the premise but I just didn't love it as a whole. I didn't find the characters to be very likable and often times their actions didn't quite make sense to me. The relationship between Alice and Finch was a weird dynamic. Alice was just mean and rude and not likable. Melissa Albert's writing was unique at times and I enjoyed her descriptions but overall this book was okay. The ending felt rushed and super confusing. I enjoy the tales of the hinterland and the departure from basic fairy tales that every is so familiar with, but story just wasn't my favorite. The cover art is amazing though!
    • 4/5
      Seventeen-year-old Alice has lived a life constantly on the move as her mother and herself are constantly plagued by "bad luck." The worst of that luck catches up to them one day when Alice comes home to discover her mother kidnapped. The kidnappers claim to be from "The Hinterland," a made-up place from Alice's estranged grandmother's book of fairy tales. Except perhaps that fantasy location and its characters aren't just make-believe after all...I really liked the premise of this book, as well as the writing style. The characters were compelling and much of the fantasy lore was supremely interesting, even for someone like me who isn't super into fairy tales. The reason I hold back from calling this a five-star read is that it seemed like some of the rules of this world were underdeveloped, and I was left with too many questions about the whys and wherefores of the events that happened. Still, it was interesting enough that I enjoyed it despite the unanswered questions.For the audiobook aficionado, the reader of this title was absolutely wonderful.
    • 3/5
      Hmm. Where to start with this one? I have to say that when I initially started reading, I didn't quite know what to expect. Where was the fantasy and fairy tales? And then things got dark REAL quick, but I was all on board! I can ride that train. Give me the doom and gloom! And then our character found herself in the Hazel Wood and then the Hinterland, and things stopped being so fully described (and it seemed figurative language was in high use instead) - I got moved from one scene to the next so quickly I didn't know where things were going. It all felt so rushed and so "now what?" when I got to the end. I'm curious enough that I might pick up the second book when it comes out, but I think it'll be a library borrow rather than a purchase.
    • 4/5
      Read this if you like:- The School for Good and Evil series- unpredictable stories- moody protagonists- strange characters- magical realms- twisted fairytales- complex family relationships- a maybe romanceGiving this 3.5 because I needed more background info on Althea and Ella and the motivation behind their choices. I also want more Finch moments. But I'm happy to learn that this is a series so perhaps my cravings will be satisfied in the next book.
    • 4/5
      Starts out darkly creepy before morphing into a slightly more familiar (to me) faerie world where there's been strong influence of the power of stories (cf Pratchett's themes but the writing is totally different). I felt let down by the ending which was rushed in comparison to the long and enjoyable build up getting that far.Alice has always felt out of place. Mostly because her mum, Ella, can't stop moving - they're seldom resident in any place for more than a few months. whether it's crashing on a friends floor, or short term rents. Life school and jobs are all just passing through. She's never known her father, but still hopes (in vain) that her rich and eccentric grandmother will one day call her to her infamous reclusive estate, even though Ella never talks about her, or her own early years there, let alone allows Alice to read Grandmother's published book of tales. But when Ella catches the eye of a New York rich guy, and they're quickly married, Alice thinks maybe she's got a chance to find some stability and their bad luck that had seemed a permanent part of life had maybe moved on. She's had time to make acquaintances at school and might even consider friends. All of which comes to a crashing halt as she returns home one evening to find the apartment empty, save for a lingering musky aroma and a single page of the start of a story pinned to her pillow. Desperate to find her mum again, Alice turns to the only person she knows who might help make sense of this all, a fellow student who's been deeply researching her grandmother's tales. Alice (through the influence of Ella) doesn't hold much for 'fans' but for the sake of her mum makes a common cause against an increasingly creepy background of events that are otherwise difficult to explain.I'm never very keen on rich benefactors being used to circumvent the hardships of real life. Alice starts out and generally is quite a strong and independent character in her own right, but suddenly she needs a rich friend to get from A to B, despite having survived (or at least watched her mum) do so for years. The friend, Finch, doesn't really add anything else to the story either, as their banter is strained by Alice's natural reticence and Finch's own troubled past. Much more could have been done once Alice was in her story, there was never much of feeling that she was even trying to be in control, and just watched as other characters made their choices around her. And while I certainly do believe in the power of books and the joy of stories however they twist, I'm less keen on the concept of deliberately destroying one.At times very well written, and definitely enjoyable with a much darker atmosphere than oft found even in modern faerie tales, I'd certainly read more from this author, although possibly in a different setting.
    • 4/5
      "Peace in a city so dense and bright its lights ate bad luck like they ate darkness" (pg. 31).Eloquently written stories within a story that just keeps you turning the page for more. Such a fun and exciting twist to view fairytale characters in.
    • 5/5
      A creepy fantasy world invading the world we know, a girl looking for her mother with the help of a friend she's reluctant to make, a journey with lots of unexpected and clever twists and turns.Very intrigued by the idea that it's the start of a series - personally, my hope is to explore some of the other characters more.
    • 4/5
      The Hazel Wood is a spellbinding adult fairy tale, shrouded in mystical tales and dark secrets just waiting to be revealed.

      When Alice discovers her grandmother's collection of dark stories, she starts to hunt around for answers about her own family history, only to discover much more than she bargained for.

      It's odd how the main character was actually hard to like at first, but as the end of the story raced forward towards a conclusion, and the plot unravelled, I began to understand a lot of reasons for her behaviour.

      If someone told you this warning - "Stay away from the Hazel Wood." Would you listen? What if your mother was suddenly kidnapped and the Hazel Wood was your only clue?

      This is a cleverly structured story with some vivid characters and a dark fantasy horror theme, which was creepy, atmospheric and very Grimm in style.

      An unusual, intriguing and totally unique read!
    • 3/5
      Not spectacular, but a unique story. Sort of a mixture of Alice in Wonderland and the Grimm brothers, but much darker.
    • 5/5
      Simply put. I thought this book was amazing. 5 stars. 2 thumbs up. A : 100%. And any other way I can express perfect. Alice Prosperine is a girl who's lived a strange life of instability, with a mother who moves house every few months once their "bad luck" catches up with them. Lurking in the background is a hauntingly weird grandmother Alice has never actually met, the infamous tome of dark fairytales that has almost been forgotten by the world but seems to bring nothing good to those who still remember it and her grandmother's home which these fairytales paid for, known as The Hazel Wood. Once Alice's grandmother passes away her mother believes them safe from whatever has been chasing them for Alice's entire life, she remarries and attempts to settle down in NYC creating a normal life for Alice. Which is where all hell breaks loose and our story pretty much begins. What follows is an addictively enchanting tale that channels The Black Forest through upstate NY. The Grimm Brothers would have loved this book. I enjoyed this book so much that in spite have being given an e-galley copy for review I will absolutely still go out and buy a hardcopy to physically keep on my shelves and to reread later. That is really the highest praise I can give a book seeing as I really have to no time for rereading with a to be read pile like mine or room for any more books but if it's worth it I'll find a way!! This book is worth it.
    • 4/5
      Unexpectedly and deliciously dark. I found it slow at first, but it picked up pace once they head for the woods. I'm not sure the logic of the ending really hung together, but I enjoyed it enough that I didn't care. If plot holes existed, the ride is enough fun house mirrors that I was enjoying wherever it wanted to go.My one hold back: there were tons of pop culture and book nerd references. That made it feel very current and of the moment, but I'm not sure how broad the audience is who will get that a d it may not age well.
    • 3/5
      It went on and on and on! I kept thinking the story was done. Interesting concept, unfortunately not great execution.
    • 4/5
      This is the first book in the Hazel Wood series and ended up being quite different than I thought it would be. It was okay but a bit slow and, while I thought it was decent, I didn’t love it.Alice spends a lot of time running from place to place with her mother. Alice is never quite sure what they are running from. When Alice’s gma dies, Alice’s mother decides they can finally stop running and ends up marrying a rich man. However, then things start to get weird and Alice’s mother goes missing. Alice ends up joining up with Ellery Finch, a boy from school, to try and figure out what is going on.It takes a very long time to get into Fae (or the Hinterland) in this story. The pacing is a bit off throughout; the beginning moves too slow and the end moves too fast. The story also ends up being a bit convoluted and hard to follow at the end. The writing style was okay, not the easiest to read but it flowed pretty well.I did like the dark fairy tale themes and some of the interesting imagery throughout. I enjoyed the characters as well. The writing is darkly atmospheric in a YA kind of way. At times this book reminded me a bit of Elizabeth Hand’s books from the mid 90’s (Waking the Moon, Blacklight, etc).Overall this book had both good and bad points, it’s decent but not spectacular. I don't plan on continuing the series, the books end in a fine spot and I didn't love it enough to want to read more about this world and characters.
    • 5/5
      I loved this book, and I can't wait for the book of fairy tales to be released. This was really interesting and the scary fairy tales that are discussed were great. I love that it wasn't a floofy, pretty, girly story. It is really well written and absolutely works as a stand alone (although I think there is a second one?).
    • 2/5
      A modern-day look at the the fairy tale and the power of stories. Dark and at times unnerving, a work of great imagination and skill.
    • 5/5
      I honestly didn't know what to expect from this book as I chose it specifically because it was an up-and-coming book, as well as hearing a ton of amazing reviews about it!Without giving too much away (which I tend to do), this book made me hungry for more information about story spinners and what other worlds there were, how time works in those worlds, how doors work...after finishing, I was relieved to see that this would be a series! Fingers crossed book 2 is as epic as book 1 with more answers!
    • 4/5
      The Hazel WoodByMelissa AlbertWhat it's all about...Alice and Ella are a mother and daughter...they are homeless but they always have a place to live...apartments, housesitting...whatever Ella can come up with. Ella has a famous mother...famous among dark fantasy lovers. Ella’s mother has written a book that is hard to find...but that readers adore. One day Ella disappears and Alice has to rely on a classmate who knows and loves this book to help her find her mother...if she can! Why I wanted to read it...I loved fantasy and this appeared to be a dark fantasy. I loved the idea of this book. It sounded strange and lovely and mystical. What made me truly enjoy this book...I am not sure that I loved every minute of reading this book but it was compelling. I didn’t realize how truly dark it would be...lots of frightening creatures as well as frightening situations.Why you should read it, too...Readers who love this kind of dark fantasy will love this book! I loved the adventure of it even though it was scary!
    • 5/5
      Magical realism, urban fantasy, maybe a bit of both, but a stellar debut with a perfectly crafted story line with twists in just the right places. Alice is a strong and extremely likable protagonist and Ellery's not far behind in his appeal. Readers who read the Golden Compass series may feel a nostalgic tug at the end of the story. Highly suggested for anyone liking a mentally challenging and engrossing story.
    • 5/5
      I had to put this down 3 times (!) in order to work (the nerve!) and I counted the minutes until I could jump pack into Alice's story. More thoughts to come.4.5 stars(The ending was underwhelming. But I'll read the next book for sure!)
    • 3/5
      The Hazel Wood is an imaginative story. Its beginning has a New Adult feel and it is rich in its prose. However, because the plot turns fantastical somewhere in the middle, it's just not my usual fare. Still, it's a good YA read for those readers who like stories with a fairytale/fantasy element within a story.
    • 4/5
      THE HAZEL WOOD by Melissa Albert is a dark fantasy suspense for young adults.Alice and her mother are unlucky in life and move frequently. When her mother disappears, Alice must immerse herself in the dark world of her recently dead grandmother’s supernatural world. Filled with strong and sometimes abrasive female characters and lots of twists, Alice along with her acquaintance Ellery must visit the creepy Hazel Wood estate in search of answers.Librarians will find a following for this book among teens who enjoy fairy tale fantasy, contemporary mysteries, and dark thrillers. Fans of Alice in Wonderful and teens who enjoy literature will enjoy discussing the many literary connections.Published by Flatiron, an imprint of Macmillan on January 30, 2018. ARC courtesy of the publisher.
    • 3/5
      This is a twisted fairytale of a story, setting Alice on quite the adventure into her family history to find her mother. I really enjoyed the first part of the book, but I got a little lost in the later Hinterland parts (probably my fault). I might give it another try eventually, depending on how the series goes. It’s an interesting read.
    • 5/5
      This is a gorgeous fairy-tale-inspired novel about Alice, the granddaughter of Althea Proserpine, the author of the cult classic fairy tale collection Tales from the Hinterlands. Alice and her mother Ella live a life on the road, never staying too long in any one place before bad luck catches up to them and they wind up somewhere else. But when they receive a letter saying that Althea has died, Ella marries Harold, a wealthy New Yorker, in hopes of giving Alice a little more stability. It works for a while -- and then one day Alice comes home from school to find her mother, stepfather, and stepsister missing; an unsettling green smell in the apartment; and a torn page from Tales from the Hinterlands on her pillow, the first page of the story "Alice-Three-Times." With the assistance of her classmate Ellery Finch (an Althea Proserpine fan as only someone with the funds to buy rare first editions can be), she sets out to recover her mother. Their only clue: the mysterious location of Althea's upstate New York estate, the Hazel Wood.*The Hazel Wood* is a gorgeous and complex novel about identity, family, and fairy tales. Althea's stories are dark enough to be borderline horror, but they carry that fairy-tale enchantment with them, the sense that there are rules and patterns that may not be immediately visible. Alice is a terrific character, angry and impulsive in a way female characters often aren't allowed to be. I loved her fierce devotion to her mother despite the many revelations about both of their pasts that come throughout the book. Highly recommended for fans of Angela Carter and Naomi Novik.
    • 2/5
      This novel was a great idea with only mediocre execution, and that was the big disappointment. The fairy tales that the author scattered throughout the novel were FANTASTIC, so the fact that the novel itself seemed to drag soooo much made me feel so frustrated. I really wanted to love this one, and I just couldn't get there.
    • 5/5
      Alice and her mother Ella have always been on the road. Bad luck follows them everywhere and it wasn't uncommon to take off on short notice, in the middle of the night. This has been her life ever since she can remember until the grandmother she never met Althea, a reclusive and little known fantasy author. Ella suddenly settles down and marries a wealthy man. Months into the marriage, it's clear that divorce is on the horizon. Alice comes home one night to find the apartment empty with a weird smell. Her stepsister and violent stepfather eventually return, driving her from her home, but Ella stays missing. Alice goes to Ellerey, one of her few friends, for help and vows to find her mother.The Hazel Wood combines the real world and a dark, dangerous fairy tale world populated by nuanced, realistic characters and frightening fantastical characters alike. Alice isn't afraid to tell harsh truths to people and comes off as abrasive. Her anger skates below the surface of her facade and it comes out at times. It's understandable since no one but her mother stays in her life for any extended period of time. Even the people she's with every day never get very close. Once she and Ellerey commence their search, strange things start to happen. Alice sometimes responds to these unexplainable events in irrational, dangerous ways. I was disturbed to see that so many readers didn't like Alice when so many abusive young men whose actions are much worse are revered as attractive and romantic. Women and girls are still looked down upon for having unbecoming emotions.The story takes a while to venture into fantasy and horror. At first, Althea's dark fairy tales from the Hinterland are told to Alice by Ellerey, including Twice Killed Katherine who avenges her own death by draining the life out of men. Althea's novel is mysteriously absent with no library copies or digital copies and very rare physical copies. The two worlds overlap when Alice sees Katherine in real life. She and Ellerey find a way to the Hazel Wood, Althea's estate, but have to overcome trials to enter the actual Hinterland that has been bleeding into the real world through her stories. These tales are so unlike our traditional ones. There are no set rules (safe one), no morality, and no judgment. The only one in power is the story spinner and the characters must cycle through their stories over and over to keep the Hinterland existing. It's much different than any other fantasy novel I've read.The Hazel Wood takes horrific fairy tales and blends them with the real world. There are grave consequences for tangling with fairy tale creatures and happily ever after doesn't really exist. Melissa Albert creates such an interesting world with unexpected traits and keeps the reader mesmerized with her masterful writing. The story wasn't predictable at all and I was eager to meet every twist and turn. I'm especially happy that the typical romance was subverted and chnaged in the end. I couldn't stop reading this book and I had to know how it ended.
    • 4/5
      Since I rarely like anything that can be labeled "horror", I was pleasantly surprised and intrigued by this novel. While much of the plot is familiar - young girl discovers her own secret past and a magical universe - the fantastical elements of the story were well-written and captivating. I enjoyed the story and I look forward to more from this author!
    • 5/5
      *I'm going to put the book, the writing, and the author up there together with Maggie Stiefvater, Holly Black, and Laini Taylor.*When I read the blurb, I thought it was set in a fantasy/alternative world.*Turns out it was set very much in our world.*But I tended to forget that it was set in the "real" world; the prose did that to me.*It does take you to another world.*I can't help but think about those self-insert/reader-insert fanfiction stories out there. What if you could alter your favorite stories the way you want them to?*Inkdeath and The Book Jumper but more mysterious and whimsical.*It's kind of weird, but a good kind of weird.
    • 5/5
      Do books within a book get kickback when used, especially when they are the basis? Every such book has sent me out to get the said book, if I had not already read it. Thus is my quest for The Hinterlands, which is the foundation of The Hazel Wood's interwoven tale of complexities.Alice is a 17 year old girl who has lived a vagabond life with her mother, running from one “bad luck” experience after another. Then things get worse for the pair when her grandmother, the famed authoress of a gothic (Gorey-ish) book of fairy tales, dies and leaves them her estate, The Hazel Wood.Always on the move, Alice has made few, if any, friends. But something about uber rich Ellery Finch changes her elusive ways. Perhaps necessity. Her mother is kidnapped, there are eerie forces out to get her, and she is without a safe landing until Ellery offers up his endless resources and servitude.A devout fan of the grandmother’s cultish book, he has the knowledge she lacks, having been forbade to read it and they find the portal into the Hinterlands to right the wrongs, defeat the escaped characters and change a story line or two along the way.Very deftly written and fast-paced action. One of the better fantasy books I’ve read since Potter wielded his wand.Oh, and The Hinterlands? Of course, fantasy. But still, if one read enough fairy tales in their life, one could almost discern which were referred to in this cornucopia of story spinning.

    Book preview

    The Hazel Wood - Melissa Albert

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