The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

Alice’s grandmother, Althea Proserpine, is an author with a cult following. A long time ago she wrote a book of dark fairy tales called Tales from the Hinterland. As long as Alice can remember she and her mom, Ella, have been on the run because of her grandmother’s weird cult following. Once, Alice was even kidnapped by one of her grandmother’s supposed fans.

But now that Althea has died, Alice and her mom have settled into a life in New York City with Ella’s rich new husband Harold and Harold’s daughter, Audrey.

But then weird things start happening. Alice starts experiencing inexpiable things, including seeing the guy who kidnapped her when she was really young. And then her mom disappears. Scared and turned out from her home, she turns to the only person her age she knows who might be able to help her – a classmate of hers, Ellery Finch, one of Althea’s fans. Together, they start making their way to Althea’s estate, The Hazel Wood. It’s the only place Alice can think of where she might be able to solve the mystery.

This book was far from perfect. Alice was, at times, an unlikable character (though you will find that there are reasons for that). But The Hazel Wood was entertaining. The fairy tales were completely original and the world they took place in was creepy and mysterious. I listened to The Hazel Wood on audio book, which is available on the Libby app. We also have the book available here at Langley-Adams Library. 

Darcy Lepore
Library Director


Available at the Langley Adams Library