Hazel Says No by Jessica Berger Gross

HAZEL SAYS NO by Jessica Berger Gross is certainly a roller coaster of a read. Set in Riverburg Maine, the novel features a family transplanted from Brooklyn: high school senior Hazel Greenberg Blum; her middle school brother, Wolf, who loves to act; professor and frustrated writer Dad named Gus; and Claire, fashion designer Mom. Settling in over the summer, things seem to be going well, but during the first day of school Hazel is propositioned by the high school principal and that event sets off a cascade of reactions. There’s plenty of hate mail and self-questioning; shunning of both kids; parenting crises and career angst for Gus and Claire… and then (that roller coaster) … media interest, trips to New York, local support, and new friends. The audiobook, excellently narrated by Emma Galvin, captures the shock, the sadness, the anger, the self-doubt, the creativity, the joy, the relief… This debut novel deftly explores societal themes (#MeToo; white privilege, antisemitism, small town insularity) while telling a coming-of-age story – mostly for Hazel, but for her parents and younger brother, too, as they all mature and change. In fact, Berger Gross makes the point rather obviously: “it was Wolf’s big monologue [in Charlotte’s Web] and he remembered, he FELT every word: Whatever will happen, will happen. I may not live as long as I'd like, but I've lived very well. A good life is much more important than just having a long life. So starting now, I'm going to stop worrying about myself. There are more important things than just thinking about yourself all the time.” HAZEL SAYS NO could be triggering; it contains some difficult moments and sensitive content; this title received a starred review from Booklist. 

Hazel's reading list:  “Remembering how good reading made her feel - grounded and alive. She’d read as much as she could before college. Virginia Woolf and bell hooks. Jhumpa Lahiri and Lauren Groff. Celeste Ng and Lorrie Moore, Curtis Sittenfeld and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Elena Ferrante and Sheila Heti and Min Jin Lee and Jennifer Egan and more Zadie Smith.”