Hazel Says No, Jessica Berger Gross
Hazel Says No, Jessica Berger Gross
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Hazel Says No
A Novel

Author: Jessica Berger Gross

Narrator: Emma Galvin

Unabridged: 10 hr 37 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/17/2025


Synopsis

When a tight-knit family moves from Brooklyn to Maine, their lives are upended by an event that will alter their new community forever in this bighearted, sparkling debut for fans of Now Is Not the Time to Panic, Pineapple Street, and Schitt’s Creek

Hazel Blum, please report to the principal’s office. Hazel Blum.

When Hazel Blum’s father gets a tenured job at a prestigious college, she and her family relocate from the hustle and bustle of Brooklyn to a middle-of-nowhere college town in Maine. With her mother, Claire, a clothing designer, and her father, Gus, an American Studies professor, Hazel and her eleven-year-old brother, Wolf, spend the summer at the town pool, where they acclimate to their new lives and connect with the town’s sprawling community. That is, until a dramatic fallout on the very first day of her senior year tips the fickle balance of idyllic Riverburg and impacts everyone in her family.

Tracking through the perspectives of each member of the Blum family, this relatable fish-out-of-water story handles big issues with great empathy and humor, capturing the love that unites one unforgettable family and the essence of life in small-town Maine. Emotionally deft, authentic, and compulsively readable, Hazel Says No is a debut novel not to be missed.

This audio edition includes a bonus conversation with Jessica Berger Gross, Emma Galvin, and John Glynn (editor of Hazel Says No).

 

About Jessica Berger Gross

Jessica Berger Gross is the author of the memoir Estranged: Leaving Family and Finding Home. Her essays have appeared in the New York Times Magazine, The Cut, Longreads, and many other publications. She lives in Maine with her husband and teenage son. Hazel Says No is her first novel.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Angie on March 26, 2025

Deep exhale. What a wonderful book. A great book for book clubs that can discuss the characters motivations and are sure to have “what would you do in this situation” type discussions. Do you like books in the LitFic genre that have deep character analysis? Ones that are about difficult subject matt......more

Goodreads review by Elizabeth of Silver's Reviews on June 18, 2025

One little word. NO!! Who would think that two-letter word could cause such an upheaval. It certainly did in this small town, but it was a powerful exclamation. Hazel and her family moved from New York City to beautiful Maine in hopes that they would have a more affordable life. On the first day of sch......more

Goodreads review by Elizabeth • LizziePageReads on May 01, 2025

Thank you to Hanover Square Press for the gifted ebook. This is one of my favorites of the year so far! Hazel Says No is a stunning debut that explores the ripple effects of a MeToo moment on a close-knit family and a small town. After moving from Brooklyn to a seemingly idyllic town in Maine for her......more

Goodreads review by Stacy40pages on June 10, 2025

Hazel Says No by Jessica Berger Gross. Thanks to @hanoversquarepress for the gifted Arc ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Hazel, her parents, and brother move from the city to small town Maine expecting quieter lives. That all changes on the first day of school when Hazel is propositioned by her principal. This was an intere......more

Goodreads review by DianaRose on June 15, 2025

firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc and an alc! wow, i cannot believe this is a debut — this was such a powerful punch of a novel that had perfect satirical humor to balance out the multiple depressing and exhaustingly urgent real life issues, but ends on an encouraging and realistically h......more