A review by ettegoom
The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

adventurous challenging dark hopeful mysterious reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I picked this up on a whim at the library, and then didn't read it until it was overdue.  I nearly took it back before I read it. I'm glad I didn't.  
I've been finding things a bit rough, with all the genocide, racist government policy and losing a place that was complicated and stressful but also really important to me, so grabbed this off the pile as a reprieve from non-fiction. It immediately sucked me in. 

I love the hideous cruelty of the Hinterland, and can't help wishing that Stories of the Hinterland was a real book that I could read.  There's something about a vicious fairy tale that makes them so much more appealing than the sanitised stories of my childhood.  

I enjoyed the way that the book reminded me a little of The Seven Thousand Doors of January, yet was somehow darker and more satisfying.  
I'm really looking forward to the sequel.  
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