The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

Publish Date: January 30th 2018
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Author: Melissa Albert
Website: Author's Twitter, Author's Instagram

"There are no lessons in it. There's just this harsh, horrible world touched with beautiful magic, where shitty things happen." (pg 111)

Introduction 

Alice is seventeen and she's only really ever had her mother. They spent their lives on the run from the "bad luck" that was always on their heels, ruining any chances of happiness they had. They've lived everywhere from their suitcases, outstaying their welcomes, straining friendships, and the constant was each other, and their car, which they sometimes had to sleep in. One day Alice's mom, Ella, goes missing, Alice is understandably frantic. Ella left behind a message to stay away from the Hazel Wood. The backdrop of this story is Ella's mother, Althea, and her estate, the Hazel Wood. Althea wrote a book of short stories called Tales from the Hinterland (TFTH), and Ella had expressly forbade Alice from ever reading the book or asking about Althea.   

So what does she do? The most sensible thing every heroine does - she does exactly what she's been warned not to do. Along with Finch, an Althea fan-boy, she travels to the Hazel Wood and becomes tangled in the Hinterland's gruesome lore. Alice travels through a dark and creepy landscape to rescue her mom and figure out what exactly her story is.  

Alice, Unlikable Main Character 

If you don't like unlikable main characters, skip this book. There's no way to sugarcoat it. But she's real. She and her mom struggled to stay afloat and ahead of the bad luck for over a decade. She has anger issues, she's quick to judge, and she talks over other people. However, she knows of her faults and tries to act differently, it's just hard to rein it all in. By the end of the book, you get some explanations as to why she is like this. If you hang on and keep reading, you can understand her a bit better. I still found some of her outbursts completely ridiculous, and I feel that they are there just to drive the plot in a certain direction. I rolled my eyes and continued on. 

Finch, Hipster Fan-Boy

Finch is the most prominent secondary character in this story. He has read TFTH so he has vital pieces of information that Alice needs to navigate her situation. He's the only POC in this book as well and has some unique perspectives of the world that Alice does not (which is promptly dropped, btw). Hipster, yes. Rich, yes. Creepy, hell yes. I found him to be so awkward at first. He is basically in the cult-like fandom of Alice's grandmother, and it makes his interactions with Alice so weird. As the story goes on and he relaxes a bit and gets to know Alice as a person who knows nothing about Althea, he's better. As the pages go on and on, I liked him more. His money was certainly helpful in this situation, as I can't stand teens who go on adventures, buying whatever, when they all come from middle-class families. 

Writing 

I enjoyed the writing style immensely. I am well aware that some people detest it, and I'm not afraid to proclaim my love for it. The naysayers will stamp it as flowery, and it seems to be one of the reasons why people dislike this book so much. Personally, I like it, and it's like an amped up version of my own writing. Some examples: 

"A trio of women with bodies like fronds wound around each other in a way that looked boneless, their edges meeting and melting together in a watercolor blur." (pg 239) 

"It made the woods on Earth seem like the pencil sketches of a blind man who'd read about trees but never seen them." (pg 255) 

Every once in a while I would notice less-than-perfect sentences. "Her face was lost in shadow, her hands lit white spiders on the wheel." (pg 211). I know what Albert is trying to say, but it could be done with more clarity. I also noticed a few times, particularly close to the end, when I wasn't sure which character was speaking or being referred to. Overall, though, I think her writing adds to the haunting elements. 

Book Within a Book...

So this book is a book about a book/stories. There are only two stories from TFTH, which is a shame. But the author is making a solo book of TFTH, so look forward to that! An essay that you can do is compare it to other books that use a "book within a book"/embedded/nested kind of setup (I know there a literary term for this, I once wrote an essay on this, but Surprise! I can't find my folders containing my university essays/assignments. It's not metafiction or metanarrative, though).  

  

Gripes

After reading, I am still questioning why/how some characters did what they did. No spoilers here. Don't tell me "because it's a fairy tale". My other gripe is something that bothers me with urban fantasies in general - how do people not notice all these things happening in broad daylight?  

Final Verdict

"When Alice was born, her eyes were black from end to end, and the midwife didn't stay long enough to wash her." 

I loved this book. TFTH is a mysterious puzzle piece we, and Alice, don't have (but we will!). The first half of the book is contemporary New York and the second half is a haunting atmosphere of surreal happenings and a little bit of horror. The Hinterland portion reminds me of a game called Darkwood, if anyone is interested. This book is darker and gorier than I thought it would be, but I am 1000% here for that. At first, BookTube had enough people very pleased with this book. I got hyped. Then it seemed that everyone I followed hated it, and I'm so glad I took the chance and bought it anyway. It may be a little confusing, as I am struggling to sort out motivation/"how?" for some things, but I a greatly enjoyed my time with this book.  

Book Feels.

Now I just have to wait until the second book, The Night Country, is released. Goodreads current lists it as: