The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert
Number of pages: 368
Rating: 2/5 stars
Plot (from goodreads.com):Â
Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother have spent most of Aliceâs life on the road, always a step ahead of the uncanny bad luck biting at their heels. But when Aliceâs 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 awayâby 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: âStay away from the Hazel Wood.â
Alice has long steered clear of her grandmotherâs 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 beganâand where she might find out how her own story went so wrong.
 Review:
When I bought this book, I did not really have that high expectations. I had heard both good and bad things about it, as is expected when it comes to books. I thought the synopsis was interesting, so I picked it up. The thing is that the book was not necessarily bad. But it was not good either. It was justâŠsomething. Personally, I really like fantasy and fairy tales, and this book should have been right up my alley - but it was not.
 I felt like this book tried too hard to be one of those super dark fantasies where you are left with chills running down your spine - but failed miserably. Most of the time I found the book to be comical. When it was supposed to be scary or intriguing, I found myself feeling amused or embarrassed by the authorâs failed attempt at being so. I was also left very underwhelmed as the story progressed. The things that happened, though not something I expected, did not shock me. One thing she should get credit for, though, is that I did not foresee what was coming.
 The main character, Alice, was immature and quite annoying, as was her «companion» Ellery Finch. I did not find myself feeling sorry for her, or having any empathy whatsoever. Finch, in my opinion, was way too persistent and forward - though we get to know why later in the book.
The writing in this book was wacky and odd. It did not quite get to me. I felt like she moved on to the next thing way too fast, and I often felt confused. I had to read the same sentence several times for me to really get what she was trying to convey.
Overall, like I said in the beginning - the book was not good, but it was not bad either. I did not enjoy it, but at the same time I did not not enjoy it.
- I













