Moving from vibrant Brooklyn, N.Y., to Riverburg, Maine, is a necessary compromise for the Blums. Gus's offer to be department chair at a respected liberal arts college will dramatically boost their finances, Claire can revitalize her clothing design career, and Hazel, 18, and Wolf, 11, will adjust. "Wasn't Maine like upstate, only more so?" Claire muses. But in Jessica Berger Gross's compulsively readable first novel, Hazel Says No, Hazel's first day of her senior year upends not only the family but also their new rural community.
Hazel is a studious and empathetic aspiring writer who is focused on her college applications, and when her principal blatantly propositions her, Hazel's firm "no" is clear. The close-knit Blum family doesn't keep secrets, and they each react to the administrator's egregious act in ways they begin to question. Meanwhile, precocious Wolf maneuvers sixth-grade insecurities, Gus grapples with possibly being "canceled" by his students, and Claire struggles with her own midlife doubts. After the popular principal's supporters malign Hazel, social media scorn escalates into antisemitic graffiti and hate notes. As Riverburg continues to debate the controversy, Hazel's bravery attracts national support and unexpected opportunities.
A strong indictment of predatory behavior and misplaced power, Hazel Says No also introduces a witty, loving family and an eclectic cast of supporting characters. Gross tempers Hazel's painful coming-of-age story with entertaining regional details of the Blums' adjustment to Maine, including "long johns and wool socks and pointy icicles." Hazel Says No is a timely and often laugh-out-loud funny novel of courage and hope. --Cheryl McKeon, Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza, Albany, N.Y.