Oldies But Goodies {Put This One on Your TBR List}
The Hazel Wood Series
by Melissa Albert
by Karen S. Wiesner
Beware spoilers! I was looking for a Christmas tale, similar to "A Christmas Carol", one afternoon at the end of 2025. The audiobook for The Hazel Wood came up, though I have no idea why. As far as I could tell at any point while listening to it, there was nothing vaguely Christmas-y about it. In fact, this very sinister tale is far from feel-good, inspirational, or even hopeful. Instead, The Hazel Wood is a dark, truly noir fantasy series. Rebecca Soler narrated all of these stories. Her voice absolutely bleeds the bitchy, always-angry teenage girl persona that fits this series perfectly (she did a good job with all the other unique voices as well).
The Hazel Wood, Book 1, was published in 2019, the first offering by former managing editor at Barnes and Noble Melissa Albert. Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother Ella have always lived their lives on the road, running away from the "bad luck" that's constantly hounding them. Alice knows her grandmother Althea authored a cult-classic book of pitch-black fairytales, and she knows the old woman died at her estate, the Hazel Wood, a place she's never been to. The one time her mom caught her trying to read the elusive book, little Alice had had it yanked away from her. When Ella disappears, the only clue to where she's gone is the message she left Alice: "Stay away from the Hazel Wood." A classmate, Ellery Finch, is a die-hard fan of her grandmother's work. He also seems to have a bit of a crush on Alice. But what does she really know about him? Despite that she isn't sure she can trust him, Alice has no one else to help her track down her mom. Where she and Finch are led is insane, even unbelievable. Who was her grandmother? For that matter, who was her mom and who is she?
The basic story of a teenager who doesn't fit in seemingly anywhere, then something happens to make him or her realize the world they know is nothing like they've always believed has been done before, and very often (in the 2000s, many such titles and series were released--The Caster Series and The Mortal Instrumentals are two very similar to The Hazel Wood…but there are others).
Both The Hazel Wood and The Night
Country audiobooks came with the bonus novella set in the same world called
"The Boy Who Didn't Come Home" (first published in paperback with 38
pages on January 7, 2020), narrated by
James Fouhey. In this, we're given Finch's side of the story following the
events of Book 1, before Book 2 begins. The
Night Country is the sequel, published in 2021, where Alice and Finch delve
even deeper into her grandmother's dark legacy, and Alice has to confront that
maybe there's no such thing as a happily-ever-after, let alone an unmagical life,
for her. There was a beautiful, unexpected romance in this story. Additionally,
the events moved toward a wrap-up that I found surprisingly perfect. I honestly
had no clue how this sequence could tie up in a way that could be considered
satisfactory, but the author did manage to pull off quite a compelling
resolution. 
These two books hinge on really
knowing the 12 anti-fairytales that are included in Althea Proserpine's
collection of Hinterland tales. Sure, Finch or Ella or other characters often
retell portions from the collected work of Alice's grandmother's stories for her,
but it's just not the same. Not having read all of these stories in advance was
a huge hindrance to me in fully understanding Books 1 and 2. Apparently, I
wasn't the only reader who felt that way. In 2023, we finally got them in Tales from the Hinterland, which
includes all of Althea Proserpine's disturbing stories. Since all three are now
available to us (thankfully I discovered the series long after all the
offerings were released), I strongly urge reading this collection first before
starting Book 1. Trust me, it'll all make much more sense that way. I also want
to comment that it's difficult to write a story when you've locked yourself in
with something else you wrote previously. Albert had to do it 12 times! Kudos!If you're looking for the polar opposite of a fairytale, something unusual, unexpected, and unsettling, this series is definitely for you. Be advised that this isn't a Christmas story outside of the cold, wintery, chilling aspects, though there are plenty of Krampus-style demons running amok here if you find yourself in the mood to be menaced.
Karen Wiesner is an
award-winning, multi-genre author of over 150 titles and 16 series.
Visit her website and blog here:
https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/
and https://karenwiesner.weebly.com/karens-quill-blog
Visit her publisher here: https://www.writers-exchange.com/Karen-Wiesner/
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