Review: Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

Title: Hex Hall 

Author: Rachel Hawkins
Publisher: Hyperion Book CH
Publishing Date: March 2nd, 2010

Pages: 323
Genre: YA Contemporary Fantasy

Series:  Hex Hall #1
Source:  Audio

 

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 tag-along 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.

 
This book has been on my TBR for a very long time and I just never did get to it. This is the one that won for series to start in May. I really liked this book. I was hesitant. I know that YA has come a long way since 2010 and I was worried this would have many of the cliche markers of the YA from that time. It did not and I really did enjoy the story and the characters. 

Sophie Mercer is a witch. She loves to do magic but she makes mistakes when it comes to big spells.She attempts one at a school dance, screws it up big time, and finds herself being shipped off to a school full of magic beings... shifters, witches, faeries, oh my. Oh and there is one vampire... yes one, that is it. So now she has lost her friends, her life, and she is forced into a completely new school. But this isn't the worst part. The worst part is that people are being attacked and killed.... and her room-mate, the vampire, is being blamed. Sophie needs to not only learn to adapt but now needs to find out who is doing this and also stay alive. 

I liked so many things in this book. I loved the school setting. I have a weakness for boarding school books.... especially when its a magical or fantastical boarding school. I loved that there were witches, faeries, and shape-shifters at this school. So many fun magical creatures. 

The characters were great too. I felt they were well developed and multi- layered. I enjoyed getting to know each of them.... even the crazy and evil ones. Which none are truly evil or crazy... okay maybe crazy. 

Sophie is a great character. She is flawed but I liked her. She is loyal to her friends. Loyalty is one of the best traits. She is a little naive... but not at her own fault. She has been kept in the dark about everything except the fact she is a witch. All the details of witchery... like the fact the world is full of them... and the fact that other magical creatures exist.... clueless, she was kept in the dark her entire life. 

The story is good. I liked that there was a murder mystery. A little bit of a cozy mystery feel, a little bit of a paranormal feel. It had so much good stuff. I figured out who was the culprit early on but I wasn't quite sure why or how. So there was definitely enough there to keep me reading. 

The story is fast paced, well done, and just funtastical! 

Can't wait to read book two!

Rachel Hawkins was born in Virginia and raised in Alabama. This means she uses words like "y'all" and "fixin'" a lot, and considers anything under 60 degrees to be borderline Arctic. Before deciding to write books about kissing and fire (and sometimes kissing while on fire), Rachel taught high school English for 3 years, and is still capable of teaching you The Canterbury Tales if you're into that kind of thing.

She is married to a geologist, which means that they have incredibly strange dinner conversations ("So today at work, I wrote a chapter where killer fog, like, ATE PEOPLE." "Huh. Well, I was chased by an angry reindeer while trying to map parts of Norway." "Um...okay.")

Rachel also has a little boy whose main hobbies are playing video games, running around in circles, and plotting his Future Intergalactic Take-Over.

When not writing books, Rachel enjoys reading, travelling, and knitting (very terribly.)