Melissa Albert, The Hazel Wood

For me a five-star book is something that either I want to read again or something that is so profound it makes an immediate impact. There are lots of ways that books can be compelling: a unique idea, an interesting set of characters, a complex plot, an artistic use of the English language and more. Reading is also a subjective experience, so what appeals to me as a reader may be very different for you. I read a lot for both pleasure and work, but these short reviews are a way for me to show my appreciation for the work and the craft of the author of the reviewed work.

Every reader has certain types of stories that they are drawn to and for me two of those genres are dark fairy tales and books that have another story underneath the story that helps to shape the world. The Hazel Wood is dark fairy tale that lives on the edge of our world that is defined by a set of stories published by the protagonist’s grandmother. This is the first book in a series of three books set in this world, one is the book of stories alluded to throughout the Hazel Wood while the second is a sequel that continues the story of Alice and Finch. This is my second reading of the series and yet it still retains its edge even though the journey was familiar. I appreciate this fantasy world which has teeth and claws and is as close to hell as heaven.

The story is more plot driven than character driven which would normally be less appealing for me, but in this story is about stories where the story spinner places an actual Story Spinner in the narrative and stories are characters it works. The dynamic of a broken family haunted by a story that has planted its roots in our world and follows the characters wanting to draw them back to the Hazel Wood, and eventually back to the Hinterlands. For Alice it is a journey into wonderland where she discovers the family she needed is the family she already had, not the mysterious grandmother who she could only read about until she arrives at her estate and discovers that some dreams are nightmares.