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Seventeen-year-old Alice has spent most of her life on the road with her mother. It’s not their choice to be nomads, mind you. Every time they try to settle down, uncanny bad luck catches up with them, and they’re forced to hit the road again. But when Alice’s grandmother, the reclusive author of a cult-classic book of dark fairy tales, dies, her mother seems sure their bad luck has died with her and is determined to make a new life in New York. Unfortunately, bad luck is close on their heels, and they haven’t seen the worst of it yet.
When Alice’s mother is stolen by a strange figure who claims to be from the Hinterland — the cruel fairy-tale world where her grandmother’s stories are set — Alice learns she must confront the truth if she ever hopes to get back her mother and the nomadic life she once thought she hated.
Alice has made it a point to steer clear of her grandmother’s cultish fans ever since she was kidnapped as a little girl by a man who claimed to be a friend of her grandmother, but now she has no choice but to ally herself with her classmate Ellery Finch, a Hinterland superfan who may know more about what she’ll have to face than she herself does. All Alice knows is that before this can end, she will have to find the Hazel Wood — her grandmother’s hidden estate — and venture into the world where her grandmother’s tales once began and where her own story went awry.
While the concept of The Hazel Wood is fascinating, the first half of the story drags and I really struggled to connect with any of the characters. Alice herself comes across as cold and spiteful, and the portal world, while brilliant and intriguing, was a little too bizarre for me. Strangely enough, I did enjoy the dark creepy, story-within-a-story moments where Alice’s grandmother’s Tales from the Hinterland make an appearance.
Overall, this book was not for me, but if you can overlook the amount of language that makes an appearance and are a fan of Alice in Wonderland or creepy fairy tales, this tale might just be up your alley.
Rated: High, for 22 uses of strong language, 50-plus uses of moderate language, 32 uses of mild language, and 31 instances of God’s name in vain. Sexual content includes quite a few unnecessary innuendoes, remarks, and talk of past situations (A coworker remarks that she saw their boss naked, Alice’s mom stays out all night with a man, someone talks of losing their virginity, etc.). There is a mention of characters smoking and drinking (including the underage main character). Someone is given the middle finger. There is also a lot of violence tied to the Hinterland. Most of it feels distant with very little description, though at one point a throat is cut and a lot of blood is mentioned.
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