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Hazel (1853 KP) rated The Hazel Wood in Books
Nov 12, 2017
MARVEL-ous, apparently
I received this ARC for free from the Penguin Platform Team.
“Imagine Marvel did fairy tales …” Well, I cannot because I have never seen a Marvel film but I understand the sentiment. The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert is a book where fairy tales and reality collide. However, these are not stories full of glamour and grandeur, they are the sort originally told by the Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm during the 19th Century. What begins as a fairly realistic tale rapidly spirals into chaos when characters from a book start appearing in New York, something that should be impossible.
For seventeen years, Alice and her mother, Ella, have been travelling on the roads, barely stopping in places for more than a few months. It would be nice to have a home and settle down, however, they are always chased by bad luck, causing them to flee at any moment. Alice is not sure of the cause of their misfortune but suspects it may have something to do with her reclusive grandmother who lives alone on her estate titled the Hazel Wood. Alice’s grandmother wrote Tales From the Hinterland, a book of pitch-dark fairy tales, many years ago and it has become a rare piece of literature – a collector’s item; not even Alice has read it. But when her mother goes missing under suspicious circumstances, Alice wishes she had.
Homeless without her mother, Alice seeks help from a school acquaintance, Ellery Finch, whom she knows is a fan of her grandmother’s work. Yet, before they can formulate a plan to locate her mother, the cause of her bad luck reveals itself in the form of impossible, murderous fairy-tale characters. As Alice learns more about the Hinterland, she discovers that she has been receiving glimpses of the characters all her life.
Alice is in danger, as is Ellery, but she will stop at nothing to retrieve her mother, even venturing into the Hazel Wood – a place she has been forbidden to enter. With Ellery using his father’s wealth and connections, the two make a long journey to the place they believe her mother is being held, but what Alice finds there is more dangerous and shocking than she could ever imagine.
Retellings of fairy tales have become a popular genre in recent years, particularly amongst young adult literature. The Hazel Wood, however, is only loosely based upon ideas featuring in ancient folktales; the stories themselves have been thought up by Melissa Albert with unique characters such as Twice-Killed-Catherine and Three-Times-Alice. Although it is often fun to analyse the comparisons and differences between old tales and new, it is refreshing to come across brand new fairy tales.
Initially, the book comes across as a thriller and mystery set in the real world, however, fantasy elements quickly creep in. Two-thirds of the way into the story, the setting and genre change direction, introducing a fictional world where rules of nature have gone out of the window. At this point, it becomes slightly confusing to fully visualize the situation, and the storyline begins to get darker and darker.
Children’s fairy tales always have a happy-ever-after, however, the traditional ones rarely did, therefore, it is impossible to guess how The Hazel Wood will end. This, along with humour and enchanting action, hooks the reader and, according to other reviewers, has resulted in many hours slipping away without notice.
The Hazel Wood is a unique story on the cusp of young adult and adult fiction. It is not only a good work of fiction; it is clever and well thought out, too. Melissa Albert is certainly an author to look out for, especially if you like dark mysteries and thrillers.
“Imagine Marvel did fairy tales …” Well, I cannot because I have never seen a Marvel film but I understand the sentiment. The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert is a book where fairy tales and reality collide. However, these are not stories full of glamour and grandeur, they are the sort originally told by the Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm during the 19th Century. What begins as a fairly realistic tale rapidly spirals into chaos when characters from a book start appearing in New York, something that should be impossible.
For seventeen years, Alice and her mother, Ella, have been travelling on the roads, barely stopping in places for more than a few months. It would be nice to have a home and settle down, however, they are always chased by bad luck, causing them to flee at any moment. Alice is not sure of the cause of their misfortune but suspects it may have something to do with her reclusive grandmother who lives alone on her estate titled the Hazel Wood. Alice’s grandmother wrote Tales From the Hinterland, a book of pitch-dark fairy tales, many years ago and it has become a rare piece of literature – a collector’s item; not even Alice has read it. But when her mother goes missing under suspicious circumstances, Alice wishes she had.
Homeless without her mother, Alice seeks help from a school acquaintance, Ellery Finch, whom she knows is a fan of her grandmother’s work. Yet, before they can formulate a plan to locate her mother, the cause of her bad luck reveals itself in the form of impossible, murderous fairy-tale characters. As Alice learns more about the Hinterland, she discovers that she has been receiving glimpses of the characters all her life.
Alice is in danger, as is Ellery, but she will stop at nothing to retrieve her mother, even venturing into the Hazel Wood – a place she has been forbidden to enter. With Ellery using his father’s wealth and connections, the two make a long journey to the place they believe her mother is being held, but what Alice finds there is more dangerous and shocking than she could ever imagine.
Retellings of fairy tales have become a popular genre in recent years, particularly amongst young adult literature. The Hazel Wood, however, is only loosely based upon ideas featuring in ancient folktales; the stories themselves have been thought up by Melissa Albert with unique characters such as Twice-Killed-Catherine and Three-Times-Alice. Although it is often fun to analyse the comparisons and differences between old tales and new, it is refreshing to come across brand new fairy tales.
Initially, the book comes across as a thriller and mystery set in the real world, however, fantasy elements quickly creep in. Two-thirds of the way into the story, the setting and genre change direction, introducing a fictional world where rules of nature have gone out of the window. At this point, it becomes slightly confusing to fully visualize the situation, and the storyline begins to get darker and darker.
Children’s fairy tales always have a happy-ever-after, however, the traditional ones rarely did, therefore, it is impossible to guess how The Hazel Wood will end. This, along with humour and enchanting action, hooks the reader and, according to other reviewers, has resulted in many hours slipping away without notice.
The Hazel Wood is a unique story on the cusp of young adult and adult fiction. It is not only a good work of fiction; it is clever and well thought out, too. Melissa Albert is certainly an author to look out for, especially if you like dark mysteries and thrillers.
Amanda (96 KP) rated More Than We Can Tell (Letters to the Lost # 2) in Books
Mar 14, 2019
One of the things I don’t pay attention to when I read a book is if it is in a series. Most of the time I’ll catch it, but in this case, I didn’t know it was part of the LETTERS TO THE LOST verse. I didn’t catch it till the book REFERENCED a scene from that book. I adored LETTERS TO THE LOST. This book DID reference, but it is a stand alone story, so if you want to read it, you DO NOT have to read LETTERS TO THE LOST – although I HIGHLY recommend it.
Each chapter is told in separate POV’s
Rev Fletcher – He lives with his foster parents and is closed off due to physical torment from his highly religious nut father.
Emma Blue – Known as Azure M in her online game – She created this game and has made it public for other users to play, one user in particular is harassing her. Her parents are a different story. Her mother is a bit controlling while her father is more of a friend who designs video games.
This book, for starters, totally DID NOT use one of my least favorite tropes and have non existent parents in a world where it’s teenagers telling this story. Kudos for giving parents roles of being parents – with the exception of Emma’s father. He doesn’t really play the role of father, and it kind of makes it known in the story, which is fine with me.
Emma keeps this new game she created to herself mostly because her mother has tried to get her away from games, going as far as turning off the internet. See, if I were trying to do that, I would have taken the router/modem with me as well, not just unplugged it. That’s just me. She finds comfort in not only an online friend she made called, ETHAN, but also when she meets REV outside a church.
Rev has his own baggage. His father gave up his parental rights, and now, he’s emailing Rev and basically stirring up old resentment, but also feelings of wanting to please his father. I feel bad for Rev and I can’t even get frustrated with him when he completely shuts down even though his best friend tries to get him to talk and help him.
Emma was being stubborn, although most times I can understand with her mother, but when things escalate between her and ETHAN (and I mean they ESCALATED!) I wanted to just shake her for being so…stupid.
It is NEVER OKAY to not at least be supportive of your friend’s interest, even if you don’t find it all that interesting – just saying.
Despite a few annoyances, some from Emma and her mother, but also Rev on some occasions, I actually enjoyed this book. I liked how this story unraveled and how that while it’s told from another verse, it’s still a book by itself. I’m left with more questions than answers. I like how the author didn’t use one of my least favorite tropes even though she could have. I wind up really liking Emma’s mother and she has put up with A LOT – so it was nice seeing how Emma actually TRIES to let her mother into her life, even if there are still baby steps to be made.
Rev realizes that his father, despite being this man who tortured, he is just a man.
It was an enjoyable read with a couple of twists that maybe I should have seen coming, but I didn’t. I don’t think that’s a bad thing, however. You really get a sense of where Rev lives and his adoptive parents.
I won’t give away anymore than LETTERS TO THE LOST is worth the read. If anything, just so you can get all excited like I did when it’s referenced in this book.
Each chapter is told in separate POV’s
Rev Fletcher – He lives with his foster parents and is closed off due to physical torment from his highly religious nut father.
Emma Blue – Known as Azure M in her online game – She created this game and has made it public for other users to play, one user in particular is harassing her. Her parents are a different story. Her mother is a bit controlling while her father is more of a friend who designs video games.
This book, for starters, totally DID NOT use one of my least favorite tropes and have non existent parents in a world where it’s teenagers telling this story. Kudos for giving parents roles of being parents – with the exception of Emma’s father. He doesn’t really play the role of father, and it kind of makes it known in the story, which is fine with me.
Emma keeps this new game she created to herself mostly because her mother has tried to get her away from games, going as far as turning off the internet. See, if I were trying to do that, I would have taken the router/modem with me as well, not just unplugged it. That’s just me. She finds comfort in not only an online friend she made called, ETHAN, but also when she meets REV outside a church.
Rev has his own baggage. His father gave up his parental rights, and now, he’s emailing Rev and basically stirring up old resentment, but also feelings of wanting to please his father. I feel bad for Rev and I can’t even get frustrated with him when he completely shuts down even though his best friend tries to get him to talk and help him.
Emma was being stubborn, although most times I can understand with her mother, but when things escalate between her and ETHAN (and I mean they ESCALATED!) I wanted to just shake her for being so…stupid.
It is NEVER OKAY to not at least be supportive of your friend’s interest, even if you don’t find it all that interesting – just saying.
Despite a few annoyances, some from Emma and her mother, but also Rev on some occasions, I actually enjoyed this book. I liked how this story unraveled and how that while it’s told from another verse, it’s still a book by itself. I’m left with more questions than answers. I like how the author didn’t use one of my least favorite tropes even though she could have. I wind up really liking Emma’s mother and she has put up with A LOT – so it was nice seeing how Emma actually TRIES to let her mother into her life, even if there are still baby steps to be made.
Rev realizes that his father, despite being this man who tortured, he is just a man.
It was an enjoyable read with a couple of twists that maybe I should have seen coming, but I didn’t. I don’t think that’s a bad thing, however. You really get a sense of where Rev lives and his adoptive parents.
I won’t give away anymore than LETTERS TO THE LOST is worth the read. If anything, just so you can get all excited like I did when it’s referenced in this book.
Hazel (1853 KP) rated The Hazel Wood in Books
Dec 7, 2018
<i>I received this ARC for free from the Penguin Platform Team.</i>
“Imagine <i>Marvel</i> did fairy tales …” Well, I cannot because I have never seen a <i>Marvel</i> film but I understand the sentiment. <i>The Hazel Wood</i> by Melissa Albert is a book where fairy tales and reality collide. However, these are not stories full of glamour and grandeur, they are the sort originally told by the Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm during the 19th Century. What begins as a fairly realistic tale rapidly spirals into chaos when characters from a book start appearing in New York, something that should be impossible.
For seventeen years, Alice and her mother, Ella, have been travelling on the roads, barely stopping in places for more than a few months. It would be nice to have a home and settle down, however, they are always chased by bad luck, causing them to flee at any moment. Alice is not sure of the cause of their misfortune but suspects it may have something to do with her reclusive grandmother who lives alone on her estate titled the Hazel Wood. Alice’s grandmother wrote <i>Tales From the Hinterland</i>, a book of pitch-dark fairy tales, many years ago and it has become a rare piece of literature – a collector’s item; not even Alice has read it. But when her mother goes missing under suspicious circumstances, Alice wishes she had.
Homeless without her mother, Alice seeks help from a school acquaintance, Ellery Finch, whom she knows is a fan of her grandmother’s work. Yet, before they can formulate a plan to locate her mother, the cause of her bad luck reveals itself in the form of impossible, murderous fairy-tale characters. As Alice learns more about the <i>Hinterland</i>, she discovers that she has been receiving glimpses of the characters all her life.
Alice is in danger, as is Ellery, but she will stop at nothing to retrieve her mother, even venturing into the Hazel Wood – a place she has been forbidden to enter. With Ellery using his father’s wealth and connections, the two make a long journey to the place they believe her mother is being held, but what Alice finds there is more dangerous and shocking than she could ever imagine.
Retellings of fairy tales have become a popular genre in recent years, particularly amongst young adult literature. <i>The Hazel Wood</i>, however, is only loosely based upon ideas featuring in ancient folktales; the stories themselves have been thought up by Melissa Albert with unique characters such as Twice-Killed-Catherine and Three-Times-Alice. Although it is often fun to analyse the comparisons and differences between old tales and new, it is refreshing to come across brand new fairy tales.
Initially, the book comes across as a thriller and mystery set in the real world, however, fantasy elements quickly creep in. Two-thirds of the way into the story, the setting and genre change direction, introducing a fictional world where rules of nature have gone out of the window. At this point, it becomes slightly confusing to fully visualize the situation, and the storyline begins to get darker and darker.
Children’s fairy tales always have a happy-ever-after, however, the traditional ones rarely did, therefore, it is impossible to guess how The Hazel Wood will end. This, along with humour and enchanting action, hooks the reader and, according to other reviewers, has resulted in many hours slipping away without notice.
<i>The Hazel Wood</i> is a unique story on the cusp of young adult and adult fiction. It is not only a good work of fiction; it is clever and well thought out, too. Melissa Albert is certainly an author to look out for, especially if you like dark mysteries and thrillers.
“Imagine <i>Marvel</i> did fairy tales …” Well, I cannot because I have never seen a <i>Marvel</i> film but I understand the sentiment. <i>The Hazel Wood</i> by Melissa Albert is a book where fairy tales and reality collide. However, these are not stories full of glamour and grandeur, they are the sort originally told by the Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm during the 19th Century. What begins as a fairly realistic tale rapidly spirals into chaos when characters from a book start appearing in New York, something that should be impossible.
For seventeen years, Alice and her mother, Ella, have been travelling on the roads, barely stopping in places for more than a few months. It would be nice to have a home and settle down, however, they are always chased by bad luck, causing them to flee at any moment. Alice is not sure of the cause of their misfortune but suspects it may have something to do with her reclusive grandmother who lives alone on her estate titled the Hazel Wood. Alice’s grandmother wrote <i>Tales From the Hinterland</i>, a book of pitch-dark fairy tales, many years ago and it has become a rare piece of literature – a collector’s item; not even Alice has read it. But when her mother goes missing under suspicious circumstances, Alice wishes she had.
Homeless without her mother, Alice seeks help from a school acquaintance, Ellery Finch, whom she knows is a fan of her grandmother’s work. Yet, before they can formulate a plan to locate her mother, the cause of her bad luck reveals itself in the form of impossible, murderous fairy-tale characters. As Alice learns more about the <i>Hinterland</i>, she discovers that she has been receiving glimpses of the characters all her life.
Alice is in danger, as is Ellery, but she will stop at nothing to retrieve her mother, even venturing into the Hazel Wood – a place she has been forbidden to enter. With Ellery using his father’s wealth and connections, the two make a long journey to the place they believe her mother is being held, but what Alice finds there is more dangerous and shocking than she could ever imagine.
Retellings of fairy tales have become a popular genre in recent years, particularly amongst young adult literature. <i>The Hazel Wood</i>, however, is only loosely based upon ideas featuring in ancient folktales; the stories themselves have been thought up by Melissa Albert with unique characters such as Twice-Killed-Catherine and Three-Times-Alice. Although it is often fun to analyse the comparisons and differences between old tales and new, it is refreshing to come across brand new fairy tales.
Initially, the book comes across as a thriller and mystery set in the real world, however, fantasy elements quickly creep in. Two-thirds of the way into the story, the setting and genre change direction, introducing a fictional world where rules of nature have gone out of the window. At this point, it becomes slightly confusing to fully visualize the situation, and the storyline begins to get darker and darker.
Children’s fairy tales always have a happy-ever-after, however, the traditional ones rarely did, therefore, it is impossible to guess how The Hazel Wood will end. This, along with humour and enchanting action, hooks the reader and, according to other reviewers, has resulted in many hours slipping away without notice.
<i>The Hazel Wood</i> is a unique story on the cusp of young adult and adult fiction. It is not only a good work of fiction; it is clever and well thought out, too. Melissa Albert is certainly an author to look out for, especially if you like dark mysteries and thrillers.
Lindsay (1760 KP) rated An Amish Family in Books
Jun 14, 2019
Kathleen does herself well with her writing. I do not know if she can out do herself anymore with her stories. Each one that I have read has been good enough for me to want to read more. I have yet to to come across any that is not good.
These stories show the stuggles and faith though out the book. Each story is different and yet endearing to read. You will not know the ending until you get to the last page of that story. Then you will want to know know more about that family and how they are doing.
Building Trust:
In Building Trust, Grace and Joel are eager to marry. Though Grace does not know why her father or anyone else in her family can figure out why her father is acting so angry at Joel King? Joel can not recall why Grace Miller father is upset or recall the reason. Though as you read we find out. Will Joel be able to build trust with Grace father? Grace is told she can not marry Joel King.
Joel King is determined to find out why he can not marry Grace. Will it he get to marry Grace? Will Vernon be able to forgive Joel?
A Heart Full of Love:l(In An Amish Cradle)
Ellie is expecting her first child with her husband. Though when she gives birth to twins. Her mother decides that will take care of the twins and keep them safe. In doing so, she will not let Ellie bond with her daughters.
What is Ellie's mother dealing with that she won't let Ellie take care of her own daughters. Ellie knows she will need help with her daughters. Ellie wants time with her daughters and takes care of them.
Ellie starts to have questions about what happen with a girl named Rachel. She goes over to her parents house and to find the answers. What a sweet ending his story has.
Surprised by Love
Emily feels the need to be seen with a boy. Out of nowhere she chooses Reuban. Will her ploy work with her mother? Emily finds out that Reuban's mother is pressuring him to marry as well.Reuban play along.
Will it be really a match by god, Both do not know it until the past seeks up on them. Do they even know that love is being created by them both seeing each other. Or will they find that they were surprised by love, that they may have started an everlasting love?
A Gift For Anne Marie: (In An Amish Second Christmas)
In A Gift for Anne Marie, Anne Marie wondering about the changes that are coming. She finds out about her mothers letters. When she does she finds out that her mother is getting re-married and they are moving. Anne Marie does not like it at all. She start to feel the changes between her and Nathaniel. Nathaniel does not like the fact that Annie Marie may be moving. Is there anything either can do about it?
These stories show the stuggles and faith though out the book. Each story is different and yet endearing to read. You will not know the ending until you get to the last page of that story. Then you will want to know know more about that family and how they are doing.
Building Trust:
In Building Trust, Grace and Joel are eager to marry. Though Grace does not know why her father or anyone else in her family can figure out why her father is acting so angry at Joel King? Joel can not recall why Grace Miller father is upset or recall the reason. Though as you read we find out. Will Joel be able to build trust with Grace father? Grace is told she can not marry Joel King.
Joel King is determined to find out why he can not marry Grace. Will it he get to marry Grace? Will Vernon be able to forgive Joel?
A Heart Full of Love:l(In An Amish Cradle)
Ellie is expecting her first child with her husband. Though when she gives birth to twins. Her mother decides that will take care of the twins and keep them safe. In doing so, she will not let Ellie bond with her daughters.
What is Ellie's mother dealing with that she won't let Ellie take care of her own daughters. Ellie knows she will need help with her daughters. Ellie wants time with her daughters and takes care of them.
Ellie starts to have questions about what happen with a girl named Rachel. She goes over to her parents house and to find the answers. What a sweet ending his story has.
Surprised by Love
Emily feels the need to be seen with a boy. Out of nowhere she chooses Reuban. Will her ploy work with her mother? Emily finds out that Reuban's mother is pressuring him to marry as well.Reuban play along.
Will it be really a match by god, Both do not know it until the past seeks up on them. Do they even know that love is being created by them both seeing each other. Or will they find that they were surprised by love, that they may have started an everlasting love?
A Gift For Anne Marie: (In An Amish Second Christmas)
In A Gift for Anne Marie, Anne Marie wondering about the changes that are coming. She finds out about her mothers letters. When she does she finds out that her mother is getting re-married and they are moving. Anne Marie does not like it at all. She start to feel the changes between her and Nathaniel. Nathaniel does not like the fact that Annie Marie may be moving. Is there anything either can do about it?