Book Review: Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

I know I'm pretty late to the game on this book, but I just read it over vacation and had to review it because everyone needs to know about this book.



Goodreads 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 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.

My thoughts: This is another great YA book. Since I'm writing a sort of paranormal novel, I love reading them. It gives me an idea of what should and shouldn't be included when writing. Rachel Hawkins does a great job of mixing humor, action and teen angst all into one story. The relationship that Sophie and her mom have is also somewhat unique. Sure, her mom keeps some pretty BIG SECRETS from Sophie, but overall, they seem to have a relationship you don't see in most YA novels.

My favorite part of the book was when Sophie first encounters the queen bees of the school. Think The Craft meets Mean Girls. Yikes!

This was a really fast read for me. It took me the length of the plane ride from Philadelphia to Florida to get through it. Even though I was tired from getting up at 3am for our flight, I couldn't put the book down to take a nap. It's that good.

Still not convinced? Read more reviews of Hex Hall here, here, and here.

If you haven't read it yet, hop on over to Amazon and order it: Hex Hall (Book 1)