Alice and her mother Ella are as close as can be, mostly because it seems they can only rely on each other. They're plagued by a lifetime of terrible luck, and it only gets worse when they find out Ella's mother, Althea, has passed away at her home, the Hazel Wood. Alice has never met Althea, and Ella doesn't really speak of her. All Alice knows is that Althea was the author of Tales from the Hinterland, a book of dark fairy tales that has developed a creepy cult following. When Ella is kidnapped, Alice is determined to find her, and knows it must have something to do with the Hinterland. She soon meets Ellery Finch, a Hinterland groupie, and lets him help her against her better judgment. Can they navigate this dark world to find Ella and make it out alive?
I love all things fairy tale, and magical realism, and creepy stuff, so this one checked a lot of boxes for me! I think it's a pretty original concept, which is difficult to do in the fairy tale genre. The "twist," while not altogether shocking, was satisfying. Alice's bitter musings were a little over the top, and I'm truly surprised this is a YA novel.. As a middle school librarian, I read a lot of those, and this has a distinctly adult vibe, not because of content, but because of the way the characters speak and interact.
All in all, I enjoyed this different, dark, and edgy tale!
*This is a high school book, so it isn't in our library, but you can find it at the public library or bookstore!
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