Review: Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
Title: Hex Hall
Hardcover, 323 pages
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Publisher: Hyperion
Publication Date: March 2, 2010
Source: Friend
Buy: Amazon
Book Summary:
Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It’s gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie’s estranged father–an elusive European warlock–only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it’s her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters.
By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire student on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect.
As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her.
Review:
There are some books that slightly intrigue me and then BLOW UP on Twitter or on the blogs I read that make me obsess over getting the book to read ASAP. Hex Hall ended up being one of those books (Tirzahto the rescue)!
Sophie is our main character, and she happens to be a witch. She also happens to be starting at a boarding school for some paranormal types so that she can get a grip on her magic. We are introduced to Jenna, her vampiric roommate (vampires have not traditionally been accepted at Hex Hall), and a coven of witches that want Sophie to join them.
Soon into the book, something happens to a student, and we are caught up in the mystery of finding out what is going on. This is where Rachel Hawkins’ writing started to pull me in – yes, this book is in the paranormal genre, but she never used that a crutch in the mystery elements or personality traits of the characters.
Each paranormal quality was deeply etched into every character. It wasn’t “Vampire Jenna,” but rather Jenna, who happens to be a vampire – this is important to me because I was able to relate to the story (paranormal or not). The problems that Jenna and Sophie and the other students face were connected with me as an individual instead of me blowing it off as something I would never experience because I’m not a witch/werewolf/vampire/etc.
I really love the dynamics of relationships between characters at boarding schools. It’s one of my favorite book settings, and Hex Hall is yet another reason why. The tension between Archer and Sophie make it impossible to stop reading, and the coven of witches showing their hatred to Jenna made my blood boil.
I really, really loved Hex Hall. It had enough paranormal to keep me guessing, but not so much that I was scared away. The relationships were well built, and the intricacies of the school were perfect. This is one of my favorite reads of 2010!
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Oh Yay! A good review. So I guess I should read it afterall. Thanks!
I have seen a lot of reviews on the blogosphere about this book and I am really excited to try it out. I LOVE books that take place in a boarding school and will have to add this one to my list on my blog. Great review I look forward to seeing if I am able to make the same connections to the characters as you did.
3 more boarding school books -
Viola in Reel Life
Prep
The Crazy School
You've already read Looking for Alaska (the best!)
Hey do you want to do a trade? It doesn't have to be for keeps – You send me Hex Hall and I will send you Orange is the New Black
Let me know!
Sounds really good! I found you through the hop, and I'm following. I read quite a bit of YA too, and am always looking for great reads!
Just stopped over from the blog hop and I loved your review of Hex Hall, I read it not too long ago and really fell in love with it…can't wait for the sequel to come out. I'm a follower now and look foward to reading more of your reviews!
http://bookshelfsophisticate.blogspot.com/
Hex Hall sounds amazing. I haven't seen one who didn't love it yet. I'm the kind of person who must have a book as well when everyone writes about how much they loved the book.
Thank you for the brilliant review!
You make a really excellent point about the characterizations and how the paranormal ability took a back seat to the individual. I really liked that aspect a lot. I also like the cliffhanger that we were left with, I'm interested to see where the next goes.