The Hazel Wood

This weekend I decided to take a break from Stephen King's time travelling tome and dive into this young adult novel that has been getting huge buzz....movie rights and two, already titled sequels on the way.  I'm having fun with the King book, 11.23.63, but the 800+ mind bending pages get my average brain deep diving on every page. I have already filled my book discussion journal with pages of summaries, questions, drawings, and graphic maps. I needed a rest.   My unconventional note taking baffled some of my college professors. Some were amused while others were just plain annoyed and tried darn hard to convince me to outline, use bullets, highlight - anything other than my way. Still, I made it through and they gave me a diploma and some letters for behind my name.   

So this book...back to the King book first...a man passes through a portal to the past in order to change history by stopping the Kennedy assassination.  Well, wouldn't you know, The Hazel Wood also takes me through a portal, this time into a world where fairy tales are real, mortals exist side by side with fantasy characters, and in an "Into the Woods" way all is not princesses and golden coaches.  

Alice and her mom have spent their lives on the run, but for the longest time, we are not sure why.  Lurking in the background is a collection of dark tales written by Alice's grandmother.  Few copies of the book exist, but an obsessive and dangerous collection of fanatic fans does exist.  With the aid and protection of one of these fans, Alice travels into her grandmother's book where she learns secrets about her family and of a mysterious dwelling called The Hazel Wood.

Alice?  You got that right.  Definite Alice in Wonderland themes pop up everywhere, most notable in dialogue.   Characters speak in riddles that lead no where. Their words roll off the tongue in philosopher like cadence, but in the end the meanings remain superficial - or playful depending on how much you like or dislike Alice.  

This is a twisty-turny book that will appeal to fans of the Narnia series.  It's quite dark and walks close to the line dividing "young adult" from "new adult" labels.  Yes, "new adult"...refers to people just getting into reading, or rediscovering reading after years away...or people just searching for new words and ideas.  It's a gateway category, really and a pretty good one at that.  Now I wish authors and publishers would give us some books for kids who read and comprehend levels above their age.  Books that satisfy them often have sophisticated plot lines and mature and edgy concepts.  Frustrating for readers, parents, teachers and booksellers.

Here's hoping the book your reading is opening doors for you.

Thanks for stopping by.

From my silly joke book.....

What is heavy and wears glass slippers?

Cinderelephant.