Our Crooked Hearts

'I couldn't put it down' Karen M. McManus 
'Every line reads like an incantation' V.E. Schwab 
 
SECRETS. LIES. SUPER-BAD CHOICES. WITCHCRAFT. This is Our Crooked Hearts - a gripping mystery crossed with a pitch-dark fantasy from Melissa Albert, global bestselling author of The Hazel Wood. 
 
In our family, we keep our magic close, but our secrets closer . . . 
 
Ivy's summer kicks off with a series of disturbing events. As unnatural offerings appear on her doorstep, she's haunted by fragmented memories from her childhood, suggesting there's more to her mother, Dana, than meets the eye. 
 
Dana's tale starts the year she turns sixteen, when she embarks on a major fling with the supernatural. Too late she realizes that the powers she's playing with are also playing with her. 
 
Years after it began, Ivy and Dana's shared story will come down to a reckoning between a mother, a daughter and the dark forces they never should have messed with. 
 
'Electrifyingly brilliant' Katherine Webber 
'Riveting' Angeline Boulley

EVERY LINE READS LIKE AN INCANTATION . . . the result is a book pulsing with magic that holds the reader firmly under its spell.

EERIE, EVOCATIVE, AND ELECTRIFYINGLY BRILLIANT.

A RIVETING STORY THAT GRIPS YOU LIKE A SPELL

Melissa Albert is the New York Times and indie bestselling author of the Hazel Wood series (The Hazel Wood, The Night Country, Tales from the Hinterland) and a former bookseller and YA lit blogger. Her work has been translated into more than twenty languages and included in the New York Times list of Notable Children's Books. She lives in Brooklyn with her family.

IN OUR FAMILY, MAGIC RUNS DEEP, BUT SECRETS RUN DEEPER. 
Ivy's summer starts with a series of disturbing events - unnatural offerings appear on her doorstep and she's haunted by fragmented memories from her childhood. Soon she grapples with a dark secret that she's always known - but never faced - that there is more to her mother Dana than meets the eye . . . 
Dana's story starts the summer she turns sixteen, when with the help of her best friend and an ambitious older girl, she embarks on a major fling with the supernatural. As the trio's aspirations darken, things soon take a more sinister turn. 
Years after it began, Ivy and Dana's shared story will come down to a reckoning among a mother, a daughter and the dark forces they never should've messed with.

Tales From the Hinterland

Grimm's Fairy Tales meets Ransom Riggs in this deeply creepy, gorgeously illustrated collection of twelve original pitch-dark fairytales, from international bestselling author of The Hazel Wood, Melissa Albert. 
 
Journey into the Hinterland, where every page tells a wondrously terrible adventure . . . 
 
In this brutal and beautiful world a young woman spends a night with Death, brides are wed to a mysterious house in the trees, and an enchantress is killed twice - and still lives. 
 
But it's not safe inside these pages, and once you enter, you may never want to leave . . . 
 
The highly anticipated collection of stories set in the creepy, haunting fairytale world first introduced in Melissa Albert's internationally bestselling and critically acclaimed Hazel Wood series. 
 
Featuring beautiful interior illustrations by Nick Hayes. 
 
 
Praise for Melissa Albert: 
 
'Magical, mesmerising and inventive.' Karen McManus, bestselling author of One of Us is Lying 
 
'You'll not sleep a wink' Heat 
 
'The Hazel Wood kept me up all night . . . Terrifying, magical, and surprisingly funny, it's one of the very best books I've read in years' Jennifer Niven, author of All The Bright Places 
 
'Insidiously beautiful' Guardian

'MAGICAL, MESMERISING AND INVENTIVE.'

Karen McManus, bestselling author of One of Us is Lying

'The Hazel Wood kept me up all night. I had every light burning and the covers pulled tight around me as I fell completely into the dark and beautiful world within its pages. Terrifying, magical, and surprisingly funny, it's one of the very best books I've read in years'

Jennifer Niven, author of All The Bright Places

'This book will be your next obsession'

Stephanie Garber, bestselling author of Caravel

Melissa Albert (Author) Melissa Albert is the New York Times and indie bestselling author of the Hazel Wood series (The Hazel Wood, The Night Country, Tales from the Hinterland) and a former bookseller and YA lit blogger. Her work has been translated into more than twenty languages and included in the New York Times list of Notable Children's Books. She lives in Brooklyn with her family. Nick Hayes (Illustrator) Nick Hayes is an illustrator, writer and campaigner living in London. Having worked on several graphic novels, book covers and editorials, he has recently authored his first non-fiction work, the Book of Trespass. Visit www.foghornhayes.com

Journey into the Hinterland, where every page tells a wondrously terrible adventure . . . In this brutal and beautiful world a young woman spends a night with Death, brides are wed to a mysterious house in the trees, and an enchantress is killed twice - and still lives. 
 
But it's not safe inside these pages, and once you enter, you may never want to leave . . . 
 
The highly anticipated collection of stories set in the creepy, haunting fairytale world first introduced in Melissa Albert's internationally bestselling and critically acclaimed Hazel Wood series.

The Night Country

An addictive thriller crossed with the darkest of fairytales that's guaranteed to keep you up all night... 
 
THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED SEQUEL TO INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING NOVEL THE HAZEL WOOD 
 
 Alice has fought hard for a normal life. Having escaped the Hinterland - the strange, pitch-dark world she was born into - she has washed up in New York City, determined to build a new future for herself. 
 
 But when her fellow survivors start being brutally murdered, Alice must face the fact that the Hinterland cannot be so easily escaped. And that, from the shadows of her past something - or someone - is coming for her... 
 
Praise for Melissa Albert: 
 
 'Magical, mesmerising and inventive' Karen McManus, bestselling author of One of Us Is Lying 
 
 'This book will be your next obsession' Stephanie Garber, bestselling author of Caravel 
 
 'Insidiously beautiful' Guardian 
 
 'You'll not sleep a wink' Heat 
 
 'A magnificent creation, laden with wonder and fear impossible to turn away from . . . Literal goose bumps' Booklist 
 
'Darker, bloodier and even stranger than THE HAZEL WOOD, THE NIGHT COUNTRY invites the wolf from the forest inside your home. A sinister jewel of a novel, like splitting a pomegranate and finding the inside filled with blood and rubies, every sentence of this book thrilled and chilled me to the bone.' Melinda Salisbury, bestselling author of The Sin Eater's Daughter

A lush and enchanting tale. Albert effortlessly draws on a wide range of literary references and builds a world where magic really does emerge from pages and where books are not just figurative but literal doors. Dreamy and disturbing in equal measure, it's the perfect antidote to a grey winter's day.

Albert's legion of fans will relish her return to the bloody, terrifying, seductive world of her debut and the inventive brilliance of her storytelling.

Darker, bloodier and even stranger than THE HAZEL WOOD, THE NIGHT COUNTRY invites the wolf from the forest inside your home. A sinister jewel of a novel, like splitting a pomegranate and finding the inside filled with blood and rubies, every sentence of this book thrilled and chilled me to the bone.

Melinda Salisbury, bestselling author of The Sin Eater's Daughter

A charming, mysterious fable that unpacks what it means to be a story and whether we are all simply the stories we hear and tell.

Cassandra Clare, author of the Mortal Instruments series

What Albert renders on the page is audacious: with resounding success, she keeps a firm grip on her characters and their stories, and her prose weaves a magic of its own, animating the ever-expanding fantastical premise through lyrical language, striking metaphor, and a mastery of tone that forces readers to feel the magic along with the underlying emotional stakes.

Melissa Albert deftly weaves her magic once again between our world and the fairy tale realm of the Hinterland. The Night Country is a new modern classic filled with wondrous delights and daring forays into the dark. Not to be missed!

The Night Country is so deliciously creepy?the kind of puzzle box nightmare you have to see through to the end. One of the most unputdownable books I've read in a long time.

Emily X. R. Pan, author of The Astonishing Color of After

This eerie debut YA novel puts such a terrifying twist on classic bedtime stories, you'll not sleep a wink

Simultaneously enticing and fearsome, much like the Hazel Wood of the title ... insidiously beautiful

A bewitching, elegant blend of contemporary thriller and dark fantasy

THE HAZEL WOOD KEPT ME UP ALL NIGHT . . . as I fell completely into the dark and beautiful world within its pages. Terrifying, magical, and surprisingly funny, it's one of the very best books I've read in years

Jennifer Niven, bestselling author of All the Bright Places

A WINDING, CREEPY, INSIDIOUSLY DELICIOUS NOVEL. UTTERLY SPECTACULAR - I read it in one sitting

Melinda Salisbury, bestselling author of The Sin Eater’s Daughter

THIS BOOK WILL BE YOUR NEXT OBSESSION. Welcome to the Hazel Wood, where bad luck is a living thing, princesses are doomed, and every page contains a wondrously terrible adventure - it's not safe inside these pages, but once you enter, you may never want to leave.

Stephanie Garber, Bestselling Author of Caraval

Alice has fought hard for a normal life. Having escaped the Hinterland - the strange, pitch-dark fairy tale world she was born into - she has washed up in New York City, determined to build a new future for herself. 
 
But when her fellow survivors start being brutally murdered, Alice must face the fact that the Hinterland cannot be so easily escaped, and that, from the shadows of her past, something - or someone - is coming for her...

The Hazel Wood

_____ 
 
One of The Observer's Best Children's Books of 2018! 
 
Fans of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and The Children of Blood and Bone have been getting lost in The Hazel Wood... 
 
"The Hazel Wood kept me up all night. I had every light burning and the covers pulled tight around me as I fell completely into the dark and beautiful world within its pages. Terrifying, magical, and surprisingly funny, it's one of the very best books I've read in years". -Jennifer Niven, author of All The Bright Places 
 
----- 
 
Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother have spent most of Alice's life on the road, always a step ahead of the strange bad luck biting at their heels. 
 
But when Alice's grandmother, the reclusive author of a book of pitch-dark fairy tales, dies alone on her estate - the Hazel Wood - Alice learns how bad her luck can really get. 
 
Her mother is stolen, by a figure who claims to come from the cruel supernatural world from her grandmother's stories. 
 
Alice's only lead is the message her mother left behind: STAY AWAY FROM THE HAZEL WOOD. 
 
To retrieve her mother, Alice must venture first to the Hazel Wood, then into the world where her grandmother's tales began . . . 
 
----- 
 
"This book will be your next obsession. Welcome to the Hazel Wood, where bad luck is a living thing, princesses are doomed, and every page contains a wondrously terrible adventure - it's not safe inside these pages, but once you enter, you may never want to leave." - Stephanie Garber, New York Times bestselling author of Caraval 
 
"Realism and fantasy blue in this strange and bewitching tale" The Observer 
 
Melissa Albert has created a world as dark, twisted and magical as Alice in Wonderland or Harry Potter. Will you escape the Hazel Wood?

MAGICAL, MESMERISING AND INVENTIVE.

The Hazel Wood kept me up all night. I had every light burning and the covers pulled tight around me as I fell completely into the dark and beautiful world within its pages. Terrifying, magical, and surprisingly funny, it's one of the very best books I've read in years.

Thoroughly, creepily captivating, with surprises I never saw coming! Such a refreshing and beautifully written inversion of the classic fairytale-inspired story.

Kristin Cashore, award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of the Graceling Realm series

This book will be your next obsession. Welcome to the Hazel Wood, where bad luck is a living thing, princesses are doomed, and every page contains a wondrously terrible adventure - it's not safe inside these pages, but once you enter, you may never want to leave.

Stephanie Garber, New York Times bestselling author of CARAVAL

A WINDING, CREEPY, INSIDIOUSLY DELICIOUS NOVEL. UTTERLY SPECTACULAR

THIS BOOK NEEDS A WARNING LABEL. CAUTION: SINGLE-SITTING READ. Once you start, you cannot stop.

If you like DARKNESS and MURDER, strong family ties and light romance, you should probably get ready for this book to mess you up in the best way possible.

IMAGINE BEING ONE OF THE FIRST PEOPLE TO READ HARRY POTTER . . . That's how it feels to read The Hazel Wood in manuscript form.It's Inception + The Magicians + Alice in Wonderland + Night Film, plus humor and warmth and heart.

With dark fairy tale elements woven into a thrilling story, The Hazel Wood had me under its spell from beginning to end. Magic crackled on every page.

A beautiful, terrifying, astonishing and strange story that reads as though Angela Carter has been sucked into a Grimm fairy tale, this book is a wise and wonderful read for fairy tale fans.

Robin Stevens, author of the Murder Most Unladylike series

A dark and magical modern take on age-old fairy tales.

Lauren James, author of The Loneliest Girl in the Universe

A beguiling mix of contemporary thriller and dark fantasy, coupled with stylish, sharp prose, makes this a dangerously addictive debut.

a darkly enchanting debut

Albert is a natural storyteller who writes with the confidence of an old hand

A bewitching, elegant blend of contemporary thriller and dark fantasy

Simultaneously enticing and fearsome, much like the Hazel Wood of the title ... insidiously beautiful

This eerie debut YA novel puts such a terrifying twist on classic bedtime stories, you'll not sleep a wink.

Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother have spent most of Alice's life on the road, always a step ahead of the strange bad luck biting at their heels. But when Alice's grandmother, the reclusive author of a book of pitch-dark fairy tales, dies alone on her estate - the Hazel Wood - Alice learns how bad her luck can really get. Her mother is stolen away - by a figure who claims to come from the cruel supernatural world where her grandmother's stories are set. Alice's only lead is the message her mother left behind: STAY AWAY FROM THE HAZEL WOOD. 
 
To retrieve her mother, Alice must venture first to the Hazel Wood, then into the world where her grandmother's tales began . . .

Melissa Albert

Taut, haunting, and potent as a witch's brew

Melissa Albert brings her dark, witchy, poetic energy to The Bad Ones . . . This pleasingly knotty mystery unfurls slowly and elegantly. A delicious read.

A gripping story of friendship and the supernatural . . . Albert&rsquo;s talent for YA fiction is magical and undeniable. I was sucked right into The Bad Ones from the start, and on the edge of my seat until the end.

A GAME GONE WRONG. A MISSING FRIEND. A TOWN OF BURIED SECRETS . . . 
 
Goddess, Goddess, count to five. In the morning, who's alive? 
One town. One night. Four people gone. Nora's best friend, Becca, is one of the lost. As Nora tries to piece together the truth, she uncovers dark events in her high school's history and a string of coded messages Becca has left for her. These clues point to another missing girl thirty years previously and a sinister urban legend: a goddess figure, who played an eerie role in Nora and Becca's own childhood games . . . 
 
As Nora struggles to unravel the mystery, it's clear there are dark forces at work in her town - and they're willing to stop at nothing to keep their secrets buried deep.

The Bad Ones

About us

About Us (Header 4)

Best-Jane-Austen-quotes_Online-Desktop_Penguin

James-Baldwin

Marian-Keyes

haruki-murakami-320×320-1

Richard-Osman

Malorie Blackman

Lisa-Jewell

Charlie-Mackesy

Authors (Header 3)

Children&#039;s

Company

Discover

Fiction

Non-fiction

Penguin Classics

Penguin Shop (Header 5)

Useful links

Work with us

sectionTitle

isEnabled

anchor

anchorLabel

prhuk/featured-book

prhuk/praise-section

maxBooks

showViewMore

prhuk/books-section

hideAuthorAlert

formName

iterableDivision

iterableBrand

buttonText

description

heading

legalText

successHeading

successText

image

alignment

variation

prhuk/email-section

prhuk/series-section

prhuk/biography-section

prhuk/articles-section

prhuk-authors

The perfect gift? A Penguin Shop gift card

Melissa Albert

Praise for The Bad Ones

PRAISE FOR MELISSA ALBERT:

I couldn't put it down

Every line reads like an incantation

PRAISE FOR MELISSA ALBERT:

I couldn't put it down

Every line reads like an incantation

PRAISE FOR MELISSA ALBERT:

I couldn't put it down

Every line reads like an incantation

Books by Melissa Albert

Series by Melissa Albert

The Hazel Wood

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter