Jan. 23, 2026
By Olivia Bautista
Staff Writer
As her parents’ 13th child, 18-year-old Hazel Trépas cannot tell whether her life is a blessing or a curse. After being neglected by her parents because they struggle with poverty and their abundance of children, she develops positive relationships only with her siblings.
While she was still in her mother’s womb, the three gods — the Holy First, the Divided Ones and the Dreaded End — came to her parents. These supernatural events are at the center of Erin A. Craig’s novel, “The Thirteenth Child.”
The Holy First offers care and beauty, raising Hazel to be a devoted postulant. Still, her father believes that the god brought misfortune upon their family by granting them too many children.
The Divided Ones claim Hazel will have great fortune and power, but her father does not believe them. He refuses both gods until the Dreaded End, the god of death, appears. He says Hazel will become an excellent healer under his wing, so exceptional that kings will request her by name.
Hazel encounters extreme challenges at a young age. She feels alone and recognizes that her life has been unfairly planned out for her.
The couple takes the Dreaded End up on his offer, and at that point, Hazel’s future has been planned out.
Then, when she is 12 years old, Hazel’s godfather, known as “Merrick,” finally comes to her rescue.
Every year, Merrick whips her up a fancy birthday cake to make up for the years he was absent and for the fact that her mother never baked her a cake. Under her godfather’s care, she stays in the Between, the middle ground of life and death, and studies medical and anatomy books.
After a year, Hazel comes to live with him in his cottage in the town of Alletois. As she continues her journey as a healer, Hazel meets people of higher rank, who are drawn to her freckled face and talent.
Hazel encounters extreme challenges at a young age. She feels alone and recognizes that her life has been unfairly planned out for her. However, the lovable protagonist stays positive and makes the best of bad situations.
Meanwhile, Merrick adds mystery to the text because of the way he moves in and out of Hazel’s life. He wants what is best for her, but goes about it in unconventional ways. Nonetheless, he ultimately enriches her experiences through his generosity.
At 494 pages, this book is a lengthy but easy read. It is useful to pay attention to the details, though, as they come together in a plot twist that shapes the novel’s ending.
Hazel’s journey is one readers won’t soon forget, and readers will root for her until the very last sentence.
Overall, “The Thirteenth Child” is absolutely splendid. It shows that life unfolds as it should and that good people will get their happy ending, even if it is not quite what they expected.
