Thursday, January 11, 2018

Review: The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

Publication Date: January 30th 2018
Publisher: Flatiron
Genre: YA, Fantasy 
Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ TBD

Synopsis: 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.

My Rating
4/5 stars

My Review
The Hazel Wood was a mesmerizing novel. This standalone is filled with amazing characters, a great plot line and a creative story.

Alice has lived her whole life on the road with her mother. Desperate to try to get away from Alice's famous grandmother and her cult following of her book, Alice's mother left in order to find a better place for both of them. Every time Alice and her mother stay in one place too long, bad luck seems to follow them. When the news of Alice's grandmother's passing, Alice and her mother decide it is time to settle down and stay in one place, but when Alice's mother is taken hostage, Alice must follow the clues left for her, and figure out her grandmother's secrets in order to get her mother back.

This story is basically about a parallel world called the Hinterland. Alice's grandmother was able to travel there in her youth and come back. She then published the stories from the other world into our own. But the characters in Hinterland don't like their stories stolen, and do their best to erase all evidence the book ever existed.

I loved how unique and creative this book was. It was basically a story book, inside a novel. Not only do you get to read from Alice's point of view, but you also get to hear the stories from her grandmother's book. The stories and all very interesting and a bit creepy at times, but so wonderful to read. I honestly loved both aspects of the story, although it kind of feels like two separate books once Alice ventures into the Hazel Wood.

I loved Alice as the main character. She was smart, sassy, and so determined. You could just tell how much love she had for her mother, and that she would go to any length to get her back. Her bravery really shows later on in the book. 

The story was a bit slow at first, when we mostly just learn about Alice's past with her mother on the road, but once Alice's mother is kidnapped the story really picks up, and its hard to put down.

I adore the ending in this book. It is not your typical cliche type of ending. You can tell the author put a lot of though on how this book will end, and she did an amazing job.

Overall, this book was amazing and I would definitely recommend it to all YA fantasy fans. If you've read/watched Inkheart and loved it, then you will definitely need to read this book.

Happy Reading,
Aneta 

2 comments:

  1. This sounds so good!!! I love the concept of parallel universes, and the sassy heroine is definitely a plus. <3 Awesome review!

    - Aimee @ Aimee, Always

    ReplyDelete
  2. I got a copy of this at a health fair weirdly enough and I've been meaning to start reading it. You review has pushed it to the top of the pile! Great review!

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...