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libliz's review against another edition
2.0
Most surprising disappointment of 2018. Poor character writing and serious pacing/plotting issues. Albert beats you over the head with references throughout. I feel like we didn’t have enough time to digest Alice in her TT iteration and the final outcome was far too easily earned.
Also, bringing Finch back was lazy and unnecessary and meant that there were never any real stakes.
Also, bringing Finch back was lazy and unnecessary and meant that there were never any real stakes.
scienceworks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sunbleachedflies's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
venla_reads's review against another edition
3.0
I absolutely loved the first half or so. It was so comforting and nostalgic for some reason, reading the book felt like a warm hug. Kinda reminded me of The Magicians and The Iron Fey Saga and some other stuff that I can't quite put my finger on. But towards the end the story started to get a bit too whimsical. Of course there should be whimsy in a fantasy, especially one based on classic fairytales, but I just wished the mystery and intensity of the beginning would've carried through.
Also there were some very problematic moments around racism.
Also there were some very problematic moments around racism.
zutsie's review against another edition
4.0
I was intrigued by the sound of this when I read the write up, and thought it might be worth looking into. I quite enjoy a fantasy fairytale type story that deals with the fantastical in a particular manner, especially when it reels you in. From the off the vibe I got from this book made me think of one of my closest friends.
The Hazel Wood is, in a word, magical. Right in the beginning, when it starts, you wonder what it is that you are reading and where, exactly, it is going to go, and before you know it, an adventure barrels in and sweeps you off your feet, dragging you, whether you are ready or not, off into the Hinterland.
Melissa Albert builds a really good world, too. Alice is our protagonist, and her story unfolds slowly but surely, giving you bits and bobs and plenty more mystery than you know what to do with. Her search for her lost mother is conducted with the assistance of Ellery Finch, a character I quite enjoyed, as he brought a lot to the table in terms of diversifying the story. He knew things, so many things, and he was quite involved with helping Alice in her quest, and I quite liked the dynamic between Alice and Finch.
Albert seamlessly blurs the lines between Hinterland and the real world, and it is balanced so well, too. You know what is and what isn't, and yet the story cleverly weaves between the worlds, the Stories, the characters. Sometimes not too many answers are provided, which I think added to the vibe of the book, though it is something that might irritate other readers.
The Hazel Wood is a dark, magical, crazy, weird story that is bound to sweep you up if you are into fantasy edged with grim fairy tales. The writing flows and the story engages, making this book well worth the read. I can see it is something I will revisit.
The Hazel Wood is, in a word, magical. Right in the beginning, when it starts, you wonder what it is that you are reading and where, exactly, it is going to go, and before you know it, an adventure barrels in and sweeps you off your feet, dragging you, whether you are ready or not, off into the Hinterland.
Melissa Albert builds a really good world, too. Alice is our protagonist, and her story unfolds slowly but surely, giving you bits and bobs and plenty more mystery than you know what to do with. Her search for her lost mother is conducted with the assistance of Ellery Finch, a character I quite enjoyed, as he brought a lot to the table in terms of diversifying the story. He knew things, so many things, and he was quite involved with helping Alice in her quest, and I quite liked the dynamic between Alice and Finch.
Albert seamlessly blurs the lines between Hinterland and the real world, and it is balanced so well, too. You know what is and what isn't, and yet the story cleverly weaves between the worlds, the Stories, the characters. Sometimes not too many answers are provided, which I think added to the vibe of the book, though it is something that might irritate other readers.
The Hazel Wood is a dark, magical, crazy, weird story that is bound to sweep you up if you are into fantasy edged with grim fairy tales. The writing flows and the story engages, making this book well worth the read. I can see it is something I will revisit.
graciegrace1178's review against another edition
3.0
3.44 stars. This had all the elements of books I like! It was well-written, and the characters were delightful and real, but... it just didn’t resonate with me. Bizarrely.
PT: books heavily featuring lit theory, black cover books, books with their own “tales” (e.g. Tales of The Peculiar by Riggs or Tales of Beedle the Bard by JKR), books referencing Alice in Wonderland
WIL
1) protag obsessed with mythologies and lit theory. LAZLO STRANGE, YOU HAVE A COMPETITOR IN ELLERY FINCH.
2) “you’re a character, Harry.” “I’m a WOT” This very specific trope- where the character recognizes THAT they’re a character- doesn’t occur nearly enough for my regularly dissociated and voraciously media-consuming brain. This is Good.
3) found family. (Ella) Always has a special place in my heart.
4) REBECCA SOLERRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!
WIDL
1) “this is the ending. No THIS is the ending. No THIS has to be the ending-“ Such was my internal narrative for the last leg of this book. Probably from around 75% to the end, I kept thinking the ending was coming soon, and then the chapter would close with something that sounded wonderfully conclusive but still promising for a sequel.... and then it kept going. This happened so much that I pretty effectively lost interest in a sequel.
2) literally WHAT. I dunno if maybe I was distracted or if maybe I missed some key bits of information, but I was a little (or a lot) confused by the events in the last 25% of this. The things that were given weight felt insignificant to me. I just didn’t follow some of the crazy plotlines. They were just Too Much. Not my cuppa tea.
3) inconclusive love interest. I can’t believe. That whole time. The love interest was set up. Only for it to be STRIPPED AWAY AT THE LAST MINUTE. God. This is Jemma and Joor of the Peregrine series all over again. I’M TOO READILY EMOTIONALLY INVESTED FOR THIS.
NEUTRAL GROUND
1) this is the second bit of content this month that has directly referenced Violet Beauregarde. I thought it was an unusual reference choice in both instances, but it really got the job done.
PT: books heavily featuring lit theory, black cover books, books with their own “tales” (e.g. Tales of The Peculiar by Riggs or Tales of Beedle the Bard by JKR), books referencing Alice in Wonderland
WIL
1) protag obsessed with mythologies and lit theory. LAZLO STRANGE, YOU HAVE A COMPETITOR IN ELLERY FINCH.
2) “you’re a character, Harry.” “I’m a WOT” This very specific trope- where the character recognizes THAT they’re a character- doesn’t occur nearly enough for my regularly dissociated and voraciously media-consuming brain. This is Good.
3) found family. (Ella) Always has a special place in my heart.
4) REBECCA SOLERRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!
WIDL
1) “this is the ending. No THIS is the ending. No THIS has to be the ending-“ Such was my internal narrative for the last leg of this book. Probably from around 75% to the end, I kept thinking the ending was coming soon, and then the chapter would close with something that sounded wonderfully conclusive but still promising for a sequel.... and then it kept going. This happened so much that I pretty effectively lost interest in a sequel.
2) literally WHAT. I dunno if maybe I was distracted or if maybe I missed some key bits of information, but I was a little (or a lot) confused by the events in the last 25% of this. The things that were given weight felt insignificant to me. I just didn’t follow some of the crazy plotlines. They were just Too Much. Not my cuppa tea.
3) inconclusive love interest. I can’t believe. That whole time. The love interest was set up. Only for it to be STRIPPED AWAY AT THE LAST MINUTE. God. This is Jemma and Joor of the Peregrine series all over again. I’M TOO READILY EMOTIONALLY INVESTED FOR THIS.
NEUTRAL GROUND
1) this is the second bit of content this month that has directly referenced Violet Beauregarde. I thought it was an unusual reference choice in both instances, but it really got the job done.
writer6's review against another edition
3.0
3 1/2 out of 5 Stars / 7 out of 10 on my own scoring system.
britsonit's review against another edition
3.0
Well this was...odd...? It was like a mix between Lev Grossman’s “The Magicians” and the original Grimms Fairy tales. It was a bit choppy throughout and didn’t flow the way I’d hoped it would. This was a MUCH different story than I had anticipated, with a very abrupt ending. That said, I did love the worlds that were built and wished for more time with Janet and background for her character as well as the character she teams up with at the end. The twist at the end really hit me in the feels because I was hoping for something much different for Alice (even though she was incredibly unlikable). I’m hoping this will be a series, as I have a lot of unanswered questions. 3.5 stars.
rhiannaisabella's review against another edition
4.0
I had very complicating feelings about this book. While I loved the beginning and a lot of the ending, there were about 6 or 7 chapters in the middle I just didn’t care about at all. They bored me and made me want to just hurry up and finish. I like the twists and the story line, though, and the ending definitely picked the story back up for me.
bbrassfield's review against another edition
3.0
I feel like there is a really good novel somewhere in the ideas at play in Melissa Albert's The Hazel Wood. This is not to say the novel is not an enjoyable read, because it is for the most part. The action moves along fairly well and the characters of Alice and Finch are pretty well worked out so that you don't feel like they are just words on a page, but might actually be real humans you could run into out in your town. My problem with the story is that it felt like The Hazel Wood was trying to hard to be a metafictional commentary on the nature of story and story characters but the central mystery, the disappearance of Alice's mother Ella after the death of her grandmother, a shadowy author of a mysterious set of stories no less, isn't strong enough to really get the reader to consider the power that characters have to shape their own story, independent of author and reader.
There is some mostly forgotten literary criticism at work here from the 1960's and that I quite enjoyed in the Hazel Wood but for me by the time I finished the last page, I felt as if I were rewatching parts of the first season of Once Upon a Time.
There is some mostly forgotten literary criticism at work here from the 1960's and that I quite enjoyed in the Hazel Wood but for me by the time I finished the last page, I felt as if I were rewatching parts of the first season of Once Upon a Time.