Hazel Says No

 I do not know how this book almost escaped my notice.  I am so glad it did not go unfound in the end. Hazel Says No is a very quick read but very intense.

Hazel is an incoming senior when her parents move from New York City to a small Maine college town. She is living with her brother who is starting middle school, her mother who is trying to find herself, and her father who has gotten the college professorship and head of the English department position he has been dreaming of.

Hazel was a star student in New York but trying to look on the bright side, this move to a small Maine rural community may give her an added edge when applying to colleges. Her dream school is Vasser and it looks like you are ranked higher if you are an A student coming from a lesser known High School than if you come from a New York City school. 

Hazel spends the summer hanging out at the town pool watching her brother, and reading as se awaits the beginning of her final year of high school. The school principal seems friendly when he sees her at the pool.  But things do not turn out well when he calls her into his office on the first day of school.

This is a story of how the things we say and do can quickly change the trajectory of not only our lives but the people around us. 

Starting with the family move to Maine and following through with how Hazel and each of her family members react to the meeting between school principal and Hazel that first day of the new school year. Each family member has a narrative that tells the story from their perspective.