Foss 1
Erykah Foss
Mr. Pace
DC English IV
Triple-Entry Journal
24 February 2020
The Hazel Wood​ by Melissa Albert
Quote
“I was already the kind of
girl who closed my eyes and
thumped the backs of
furniture looking for hidden
doors, and wished on second
stars to the right whenever
the night was dark enough to
see them” (16).
“Before she wrote the
strange, brief volume that
made her name, my
grandmother was a writer for
women’s magazines, back
when the job was less “20
Sexy Things to Do with an
Ice Cube” and more “How
to Get That Spot out of Your
Husband’s White Shirt”
(21).
“It didn’t matter if you were
starting seventh grade in
Podunk nowhere, or your
junior year at Whitechapel,
the fancy-ass Upper East
Side academy Harold paid
my way into. The students
were the same wherever I
went: clannish, judgemental,
and unwilling to make an
independent move” (38).
Significance
Alice loves reading fairytales because
her grandmother wrote a book of them.
She also loves their predictable pattern:
the protagonist goes on a quest; they
stumble on setbacks; then they resolve
their problem, knowing more than they
did before.
Alice does not know much about her
grandmother beside the facts she
learned on fan websites. She did a lot
of research when she was in middle
school, which is where she found
Althea’s previous occupations. Ella
refuses to tell Alice about Althea
because she resents how she lets the
Stories in the Hinterland suffer, but she
does not tell Alice to protect her from
the fairytale world Althea lived in.
Ella marries Harold not only because
she fell in love with him, but also to
give Alice a better life. After struggling
for years to find a good place for Alice
and her, she finally settles down. Alice
does not like Harold or her new
step-sister, Audrey. But, she tries to get
along with them for her mother’s sake.
She also hates her new school, but it is
because she has always been “the new
kid.”
Interpretation
Alice is alluding to the stories ​Coraline
and ​Peter Pan​. She is curious like
Coraline and hopeful and childish like
Peter Pan. When I was little, I wished
on stars on car rides home at night. I
wished for various things, such as food
or superpowers. Children have an
innocent hopefulness since they know
little about the responsibilities they will
eventually hold in the real world.
It is sad how the magazine market tries
to appeal to women by using the titles
mentioned in the quote. These articles
convince them that they need to know
this information in order to attract men,
and I find it repulsive. These types of
articles have shifted from magazine
subscriptions to social media posts, like
on Snapchat.
It is lonely being the new kid. After I
moved to Carmen the summer before
my sixth-grade year, I felt lonely
because I had no friends. Luckily, I
knew my teachers since we are related,
but I found that making new friends
was difficult, especially in a small
school. I befriended the only other girl
in my class. Alice traveled so much,
she was sort of used to being the new
kid; she saw the similarities between
high schools.

“She believed me, because
we didn’t lie to each other.
Except when we did” (65).
“I hated needing something
from someone when I had
absolutely nothing to offer
back. You’d think, after the
upbringing I’d had, I’d at
least be used to it” (76).
“I liked formulas. I liked
narrative arcs I could
predict. I liked that my dad
still kissed my mom when
he got home, on the lips, like
in a sitcom. I liked doing
stuff the same way every
day and reading stories I
could take apart and never
really being surprised by
anything. I was anxious, I
guess. I liked structure”
(106-7).
Ella and Alice have a special
relationship because they truly trust and
rely on each other. They know that bad
luck follows them, even if they do not
understand why, and that they will
protect each other through thick and
thin. This strong bond motivates Alice
to do whatever it takes to find her
mother.
In attempts to escape the bad luck that
follows Alice and her mom, they move
from city to city and across states,
asking for favors from strangers.
Although Alice has experienced this
most of her life, she does not like
asking for help. When she found
Harold’s empty apartment, she knew
immediately Ella was taken away, and
she felt all alone. Remembering her
only friend, Finch, she reluctantly
asked for his help. In the long run, they
both made it to the Hinterland with his
help (and money).
Ellery Finch is talking to Alice about
how he came upon her grandmother’s
storybook. Most fairytales have a
structure and a happy ending, but
Althea’s do not. After his mother
committed suicide, he could not stand
the perfect pattern of fairytales, so he
had his father buy him Althea’s
storybook. He found satisfaction and
intrigue as he read her stories, which is
why he had most of them memorized.
Foss 2
Humans lie. It is a part of our nature,
whether we want to manipulate people
or protect them. Lies usually produce a
bad outcome, like in the Netflix series
called ​Lost in Space​. The antagonist,
Dr. Smith (an alias she stole), creates a
web of lies so that she can live on the
dream planet called Alpha Centauri.
She is caught by the Robinson family,
who stop trusting her and lock her up.
It can be difficult to ask for help from
someone. I am a fairly independent
person who does not ask for help much.
Even though there are times where I
should ask for help, I typically wait
until one of my friends ask if I need
their help before I get it. I try to be
cautious of myself because there are
not many people who can live
completely on their own. It is rooted in
our basic needs to communicate with
other humans.
Most people like predictability, which
is why fairytales always have a happy
ending. We know what comes next so
we do not need to feel worried or
anxious about what might happen next.
Life is unpredictable. There is no set
plan for my future, which is kind of
scary. However, not knowing
something can be fun and exciting, like
a surprise birthday party. although it
scares me, I am excited about new
experiences in college and a job.

“I was like a balloon tied to
Ella’s wrist: If I didn’t have
her to tell me who I was,
remind me why it mattered, I
might float away” (123).
“[Ella] couldn’t die without
it rending me in some way I
would feel. If she were dead
I’d be limping. If she were
dead I’d be blind” (131).
“The next morning Anya
told her sister, Lisbet, what
she’d learned: they must
make a door… It will take
blood, she told Lisbet, but it
can’t be mine. It was a lie.
She wasn’t bad, she was
frightened” (159).
“He could’ve dragged ​me
out of the car because you
were being an idiot. You
think rich matters in this
situation? You think a cop
looks at me and sees ​rich?​
You’re pretending you don’t
get it, but you do” (171).
Alice feels lost without Ella because
she is the only constant person in her
life. Everywhere they -- and the bad
luck -- travel to, Ella is there for her,
keeping each other grounded. She gives
Alice a reason to keep trying her best
because she wants her mom to be
happy.
Alice misses her mom so much, and
she is determined to find her. Since Ella
has not called her back, Alice believes
that either she is being held captive or
she is in an area with no phones. She
thinks she shares a deep connection
with her mother that she would know if
she died. She would be able to feel her
spirit leaving the world.
Because Alice was never allowed to
read Althea’s book, she askes Finch to
recite one called “The Door That
Wasn’t There.” The story gives Alice a
better understanding of the storybook.
She also had visions of the door, and
hearing the story connected these
visions better.
Alice and Finch run into the police on
their way to the Hazel Wood, and Alice
argues with a policeman. This scares
Finch because he could get in trouble
even though Alice is the one arguing.
After driving away, Finch yells at Alice
about how he could have gotten in a lot
of trouble because of his skin color.
She did not realize this at the time. Her
Foss 3
It is important that everyone has at least
one person that makes them feel
grounded. Without one, a person could
go crazy and forget themselves. My
family keeps me grounded and reminds
me that perfection is not a priority; I
should strive to improve, learn, and
grow. Their advice has helped me
through many years of struggling with
balancing school and extracurriculars.
I feel this way about my parents; I
would be lost and unmotivated if they
were gone because I have lived with
them my entire life. Although there are
times when we do not agree with each
other, we always have a shared respect
and love that keeps us a strong family. I
will miss them when I leave for
college, but I am grateful that they
raised me as the self-disciplined,
hard-working student I am today.
The whole story makes the reader
question human morals: Should I
sacrifice another for myself when the
time comes? Could I live knowing that
I put myself over another? Would
letting us both die be a better option? I
love this fairytale because I did not
expect its dark, dreary ending. It makes
me think about how my sister and I
would act if we were in that situation. I
would definitely sacrifice my life to
save hers.
This scene represents white privilege.
Most of the time, white people do not
realize their privileges over people of
different ethnicities. White people often
do not have to worry about being
trusted by others or becoming in
trouble with the police. They also get to
see other white people in
advertisements. It is sad that this is still

“Usually when I looked at
people too long I started
seeing them as component
parts: Bony noses. Eyeballs
in sockets. Odd cartilage
curve of ears and fingers so
strange and over evolved
and makeup floating just
over the skin and what the
hell was with ​pants,​ and
knees​, and how did we walk
around like all of this was
normal?” (176).
“I’d always been fascinated
by the piece of alien flora
climbing my mother’s arm,
and never understood her
horror when I had it inked
on my own in tribute. Now I
got it: this place was in me,
of me. The tattoo meant she
had to see it ​on​ me, too”
(260).
“I got it -- life was a big
thing to live without a map”
(325).
anger grows because of Finch’s
shouting.
Alice was looking at Finch having a
nightmare and thought of this. She is
having trouble falling asleep because
she is paranoid that someone is
following her and because she misses
her mother. Finch’s nightmare is
inspired by the characters from the
Hinterland that bribed him to guide
Alice to their world. Right after he
wakes up, he tries to convince Alice to
turn around and give up on finding her
mother in the fairytale world.
Alice is not aware of her original home
in the Hinterland because Ella hates
that world. She is mad at her mother,
Althea. She believes Althea sends them
bad luck in order to get them to come
back to her. She hated that Alice’s
tattoo reminded her of that world.
After reading many fairytales and
becoming a part of one, Alice got
familiar with the pattern of stories. She
much prefers life on Earth, where
nothing is planned or set, and she is
able to make her own decisions. She
can live freely with her loving mother,
working and going to school like a
normal person from Earth.
Foss 4
prevalent today, but I believe it is not
as big of an issue as it was ten or
twenty years ago.
I often find myself staring at people,
either to get their attention or to admire
their features. I contemplate the human
body: the organs’ functions, the way
our body fits together, our purpose in
life. It is odd to think of a world where
humans are not the dominant species.
Perhaps this world is taken over by
apes, like in the movie ​Planet of the
Apes.​ What would be our function in
this universe?
Tattoos are artworks displayed on the
human body. I think tattoos should
represent something significant since it
is expensive and permanent. My sister
and I are planning on getting a
matching tattoo of an object that
reminds us of our mother. It is
important that we choose this object
wisely because it will be on our skin
forever-- unless we decide to go under
the painful treatments to remove it.
This quote reminds me that life is
unpredictable, but that does not mean it
should scare me. Since I will go
through a lot of changes in the near
future, I feel like I will feel lost,
confused, and scared constantly.
During these times, I need to remember
that not everything in my life is
planned out, so I do not need a map. I
will have opportunities to figure out my
interests and passions in college.

“I didn’t know how badly I
wanted to see him again till I
learned, one more time, I
never would” (341).
“When I come home again,
my eyes are brown, and
faultless, and you could
almost, almost say they look
like my mother’s. Ella
Proserpine’s” (343).
Alice missed Finch, who decided to
stay in the Hazel Wood. Finch was
tired of his boring life where neither his
dad nor his stepmom was ever home.
He felt that everything was given to
him since he grew up wealthy. Getting
into the Hazel Wood was a challenge
that he accepted, and his success led to
his happiness. Alice realizes that she
will never see Finch again and tries to
come to terms with it.
Even after Alice learns that she is part
of a Story in the Hinterland, she knows
her true mother is Ella. As Alice was
trapped in her story, she learned that
her real parents were indifferent
towards her and did not show her any
affection. Ella has provided
unconditional love and care throughout
Alice’s life, which is why they end up
finding each other in the end.
Foss 5
I felt this after my grandfather died last
summer. I was out of town when he
passed, so I did not get the chance to
see him one last time before he was
gone. This made me feel guilty for not
spending more time with him in the
past years. I try to remember that I
made him proud with all of my music
accomplishments and, best of all, he
loved me.
Parents do not have to be related to
their children by blood for them to love
and care for you. I have a few friends
who were adopted, and they have
wonderful parents who support them
constantly. A good parent wants the
best for their child and tries to provide
everything they can to make their child
happy and healthy. I am grateful that
my parents treat me fairly and with
love.