The Hazel Wood Review

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert is a young adult fantasy novel. It is the first book in what will be the Hazel Wood series. It is about a teen named Alice. All her life it has been just her and her mom always on the move with “bad luck” nipping at their heels. After the death of her grandmother (an odd and reclusive author of dark fairytales) whom she has never met, her mother is abducted by people claiming to be from the Hinterland (the mythical place where her grandmother’s fairytales take place). This sets her on a journey to find her mother and learn the truths always hidden from her; truths that change everything.

I gave this book a 2.5 out of 5 stars, but don’t really know how I feel about it. The concept was interesting and well developed. The writing style was beautiful and fit so perfectly with the slightly creepy, dark and thrilling aspect of the story (which I did somewhat enjoy) and is quite fitting for this season. I was on the edge of my seat the whole story wondering what would happen next and beyond eager to get the answers to all the unknowns.

But I didn’t really like any of the characters. None of them clicked with me. Don’t get me wrong, they were well developed, unique and complex; I just didn’t feel any connection to them (any depth of feeling for them). Furthermore, the story wasn’t too creepy to read, but the darkness factor (in the fairytales/ fantasy aspect of the book) wasn’t working for me. It has that cult fiction feel to it that I am not a huge fan of and felt a bit like darkness without purpose (just to be dark).

The last thing that I didn’t really like was the ending. The main plot for the story was resolved and all the questions that we were so anxious about were answered, but we didn’t get to see the full journey of where it takes Alice. By this I mean her personal, emotional journey. These events change her (for the better), but she is left in this state of limbo, uncertain of who she is now, who she wants to be and what she wants to do with her life. Even though I didn’t feel any connection to Alice, I still wanted to see her come out the other side of these events (maybe not unscarred by them) but solidly on a good path with a future full of potential and hope.

I suppose this wouldn’t bother me so much if I knew where the author was going in the next book of the series. If it is to continue Alice’s story, then I would have less of a problem with it; following her on the path to answering those questions could be a really good book. However, if she is going to switch focus to another character, I am not okay with stopping here. I want to know what the events of this book and the choices she made will lead her to as a person. But, since the second book isn’t out yet (not even the blurb), I can’t know how to feel about the ending yet.

Overall, this was in some ways a very enjoyable read and in others a bit of a letdown. I don’t know yet if I will read the next book or not. It will depend a lot on how soon it comes out and what direction the author takes with the series. We will just have to wait and see.