Sunday, November 28, 2010

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

From Goodreads: "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."

So I must say... FINALLY!!! A book worthy of ten stars! It feels like forever since I have read a book that I have liked as much as this (only one I an recall in quite some time is "Alpha" by Rachel Vincent, heck, even Cassandra Clare's [who I worship] "Clockwork Angel" wasn't all that great in my opinion.

Okie dokie, so now that I have gotten that off of my chest... On to the good stuff. When I first picked this book up and saw that it was a Disney book I rolled my eyes. I figured that it would be some crummy storyline that was only written so that it could be made into some straight to DVD movie or some Saturday morning Disney show a la Hannah Montanna, HOWEVER, imagine my surprise when I read the book and find that it is really good- and better than even good! Like, "I think you would be crazy to not like this book".

Sometimes YA books revolving around 16 year olds irk me a bit, I just find them to be kinda mindless or too superficial, however, I did not experience that at all while reading this book. I found myself bursting out laughing quite a few times in this book, and not because I was laughing at dumb writing or anything, I was laughing because Sophie is a great strong female character with a killer sense of humor (I know, I probably looked really weird reading a Disney novel in the university library, and randomly bursting out in laughter, while everything was dead silent because everyone was studying for exams- oh well)... And I really did like the best friend, Jenna, in this instance. Sometimes I find that the best friend can be a little annoying or completely unnecessary in a storyline (see Shelby in Lauren Kate's "Torment"), but I didn't find that at all. Also... The love interest Archer? Great guy and totally swoon worthy. And again (thank the high heavens), Sophie and him did not develop feelings for one another as soon as they set their eyes upon one another.

And the bad guys (yes, there was more than one, and Rachel did a beautiful job weaving them all in together and tying up all of the loose ends at the end of the novel)... Bad "Guy" #1, Elodie, was pretty likable, which again, is kinda surprising for me to admit. There was a few times in this novel where I did feel really bad for her, especially after losing her friends and finding that her boyfriend had feelings for another... And I didn't feel like pulling my hair out when reading about her and all of her crazy antics. And of course, that darn Alice (Bad "Guy" # 2)! I didn't trust her from the get-go... I mean, isn't it kinda weird that the ghost of your dead grandmother, who mysteriously developed magical powers out of the blue (which is completely unheard of), and who is almost the same age as you are (which is just plain weird), just randomly shows up, tells you that you are one of the most powerful magical beings ever- if not the most, and wants to teach you how to hone your ability? I mean, on the one hand, you might think that that is really nice and all, but on the other hand, there is just so much mystery surrounding her that you can't help but be a little suspicious of her motives. And Bad Guy # 3? Well, I will keep that one a mystery... But I will say that I don't think that this character is bad whatsoever, though the evidence (the tattoo) may suggest otherwise. It might be naive of me to think this, but I think that this character is innocent and was coerced for whatever reason into doing what they did, I don't think that had a choice in the matter whatsoever (but as mentioned, that might just be wishful thinking on my part).

AND THE ENDING/ LAST SENTENCE OF THE BOOK?!? UGH!!! It is really shocking in my opinion and it completely changes the outcome of the story (but in a good way, I think. Well... I hope so at least).

So yes, I think that you are really missing out if you have yet to read this book (or if you have this book at the bottom of your TBR pile- you know who you are! Move this book up to the top ;) )... And I am super looking forward to the second book in this series, "Demonglass", which comes out in a matter of months! 

Rating: 10/10

PS. Don't forget to check out MY FANTABULOUS FIRST GIVEAWAY!  

18 comments:

  1. Fantastic review, Avery! I can't believe I still haven't read this book! I have it on my shelf, and I just never seem to get around to it. Maybe I should push it to the top of my pile now, eh? :)

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  2. You really have to! I don't think you will regret it!
    ;)

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  3. I am adding this one to my to-read list. I'm not the biggest fan of YA, but this sounds fabulous!

    Thanks! =)

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  4. For someone who is cautious about YA this is a glowing review! Hmm... wasn't interested in this series, but now I'm curious because you enjoyed it so much! Great review!

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  5. I would have to say that this is within my top five favourite book series list (well you know, besides the fact that there is only one book out in it as of right now)... So yes, I think that it is that good.
    :D

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  6. Infelizmente eu não falo Português, para que o tradutor da Internet pode estar fora ...

    Mas o que eu acho que você está perguntando é como seguir este blog?

    Você pode fazer isso clicando no botão "follow" botão no canto superior direito da página web.

    Desculpe se essa tradução não faz sentido.

    Obrigado pela visita! :)

    Basically what it says is that I do not speak Portuguese and that I was using a crummy internet translator to explain the situation... So yes, it might make sense- but most likely not... ;)

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  7. awesome review!!! this sounds like an amazing book! I think I'll have to bump it up on my TBR LOL =D

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  8. Avery,

    you won my Immortals giveaway on Prues Book Blog!
    be sure to check your e-mail for details so i can send you your book!

    Thanks for following!!
    -Heather

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  9. @Larissa, I quote "or if you have this book at the bottom of your TBR pile- you know who you are! Move this book up to the top..." ;)

    @vampgirlX90, sweet dealio! Me= Super excited! Thanks a bucnh and I will check out my emails...

    :D

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  10. Great review! I was going to comment on one thing, then I read more, then more, then more, basically: I almost completely agree with everything you said!

    I didn't like the book at first. Well, I liked it, but I didn't love it. It just didn't seem all that fresh or new. Then I pushed on and I started really getting into it.

    I agree with you, Jenna is a good "friend" character. I liked her, regardless of what the other characters were saying about her. I also liked Elodie and how she was actually pretty sympathetic.

    I didn't completely love Archer, but I totally agree with everything else you said about him. I don't think it's wishful thinking. Nope, not at all.

    What I really, really hope isn't wishful thinking is that last line. It can't be true! The next book had better open with, "I was thinking about doing that, but then I came to my senses and I'm definitely not going to do that silly thing."

    I can't wait for Demonglass!


    Oh, and I love your new site design. Looks great!

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  11. Awesome review! I definitely loved Sophie's sense of humor too :)

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  12. Fabulous review Avery! I so loved this one as well, I appreciate a snarky sense of humor and any girl that tells a werewolf "bad dog" on her first day of school is a girl I want to read about! This was definitely one of my favorite reads of the year as well:) Loved reading your thoughts on it!

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  13. @ Small Review... I don't think she is going to go through with it. I mean, if she did, the series would be pretty much over, no? I think that she will come to realize that she can control it and not be a super evil person...

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  14. I think you're right. I agree, how could the series go on if she goes through with it?

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  15. Hey Avery,
    So, I'm staying away from the comments, cause I don't want to find anything out since I'm not done this book yet. I just wanted to say that I'm having fun reading it, and I really like it so far. This is FAR from the type of stuff I usually gravitate towards and I seriously doubt I'd have ever read it without the recommendation, so thanks!! I'll let you know my thoughts on it when I finish. In the meantime, have you read/reviewed Unearthly or the sequel--Hallowed? I haven't read the sequel, but my daughter isn't liking it so much (although she loved the first one) so I'm looking for another opinion on it.

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    1. Yay! Please do let me know!

      I haven't read Unearthly/ Hallowed yet- which is terrible since a) angels are my favourite paranormal creatures and b) I have had the both of them on my Kindle for months know.

      I personally haven't heard much negative feedback regarding either of the book (but to each their own!)- Yep, just looked on the Goodreads page and it seems to have been well-received: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11563110-hallowed.

      Perhaps she is suffering from sequel-itis? I get that all the time, where I love the first book in a series and hate (or strongly dislike) the second book in a series (like Lauren Kate's Fallen series and Becca Fitzpatrick's Hush, Hush series)...

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  16. Hmmm....interesting about the sequel. Well, my kids are all easily bored with books, so maybe that's all it is. I have NO idea where they got that quality. haha.Kassi's about halfway through Hallowed and says not much is happening, but I figure it should pick up soon. I read so fast that a book has to be SUPER slow for me to not finish it because it lags a few times. Normally I just power through those parts to get back to the good stuff, but I guess if you don't read fast powering through isn't as easy. I liked Unearthly enough to definitely recommend it--although I did felt that it started out a little slow and lagged at parts. There was a very sweet romance, and the book ended with a bang that made me super anxious for a sequel. (That I haven't read yet, I was waiting for Kass to finish). I think you'll like it though!! You should absolutely check it out.

    In other news, I went through the whole Hex Hall series in two days. haha. I really liked them. They were a lot of fun!! Sophie was an awesome character and--unlike some series--I felt each book in the series was as good as/or exceeded the one before it. My only tiny problem (so small it barely is worth mentioning) is that I felt like I could picture the secondary characters more than Sophie. Clearly, she was pretty, since both guys were into her. But plain, pale, blue eyes and wild hair just didn't do it for me as a description. For some reason, I couldn't put together a really clear picture of her in my head. Again though, that is a tiny complaint. Overall the series kept a smile on my face the whole time so, again, thanks for the recommendation! Your awesome. :)

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