Author: Melissa Albert
Pages: 368
Publisher: Penguin
Release Date: 8th February 2018
Blurb from Goodreads:
Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother have spent most of Alice's life on the road, always a step ahead of the strange bad luck biting at their heels. But when Alice's grandmother, the reclusive author of a 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 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.
To retrieve her mother, Alice must venture first to the Hazel Wood, then into the world where her grandmother's tales began . . .
My Review:
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Penguin Random House UK Children's and NetGalley*
Alice has spent most of her life on the road with her mother, having to keep moving because of the bad luck that follows them around.
Now, at seventeen and with her mother, Ella, married, Alice thinks they have finally outrun the bad luck. She's wrong.
Alice's grandmother is the writer of a book of short stories all set in the Hinterland, a dark fairytale realm. Ellery Finch, a student at Alice's school is a fan of the book and when Alice's mother goes missing, possibly kidnapped by characters from the Hinterland, Finch agrees to help Alice find the Hazel Wood. The Hazel Wood is Alice's grandmother's estate and in a message Ella left for Alice, she warns her to stay away from there.
Will Alice find the Hazel Wood and her mother?
Are the Hinterland and the characters in her grandmother's book real?
I like fairytales, so I was interested to read The Hazel Wood.
Alice was a good protagonist. She had anger issues and would have done anything to get her mother back. I thought it was odd that she always referred to Ella by her name, but I think I remember her saying at one point that their relationship was more like they were sisters than mother and daughter.
The plot was interesting and I liked the fairytales from Alice's grandmother's book. They were creepy and twisted and I would be interested to read the rest of them (only some of them are described). There was some action and a minuscule amount of romance.
I really enjoyed the writing style and look forward to reading more by the author.
I'm intrigued to see what happens in the next book.
Overall this was an enjoyable read.
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