Top of the mornin' to ya! So, after "The Perks", I thought that I needed something lighter to read to bring my feelings back to normal. I picked u "Hex Hall". It was a good choice. *patting myself on the back*. I was looking for a cool, relaxed, feel-good kind of book, and that's exactly what I got. Don't get me wrong, it had some depth to it, but it's not a Mortal Instruments type of book (Feelings. Feelings EVERYWHERE). More of a light read.
Before I get into the review, I think you should know what the book's about, because I sincerely doubt you'd read this because of my take on Rachel Dawkins' writing style. Ready? Set? Boom, here goes the synopsis:
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.
This book has everything you could ask for in a book. You've got vampires (for the Twilight/Simon fans), werewolves (I know, Jacob, but I'm more of a Luke/Maia/Jordan from TMI series), shapeshifters (not seen very often, but still AWESOME), and faeries (y'know, all beautiful and snobbish). It's got quite a lot of humour in it, mostly of the dry, sarcastic kind, which I love, and the characters are pretty awesome. The murder mystery thing was cool at first, but then it got do be kind of a drag, what with everyone being like "IT WAS JENNA! WE HATE YOU, YOU KILLER VAMPIRE!" and Jenna going off and being upset. Over and over again.
I loved all the characters in this book. I know I say that a lot, but it is especially true for this one. It just felt like all the characters had a purpose, and there was none of those weird secondary characters that seem to be there just for the sake of it. They were all important in their own way, and I really liked them all. Especially Sophie. She's got to be right up their with my YA character crushes alongside Izzy (TMI), Hermione, Clary (TMI) and, um, Izzy. (I REALLY LIKE IZZY OKAY?). I left Maximum Ride out because after Nevermore she no longer has my love. Sorry.
Back to reviewing, Jai, don't get distracted.
I have absolutely no complaints about the writing style, it flowed nicely and effortlessly. The end, though. Oh dear lord. It's like, you're chilling out, reading, and all of a sudden BAM! Everything changes. Is it me or does the whole angle of the book change in, like, the last ten pages? I think Rachel Hawkins did this on purpose, just so defenceless and vulnerable readers such as myself can't help but being like "ARGHH GIMME DEMONGLASS NOW!!!" and proceed to spend our precious money on it. Well played, Hawkins, well played.
Oh, and the Archer thing, I did NOT see that coming. Well done. Oh well, that's pretty much all I have to say. I'm going back to my exciting life of waiting for my books to arrive and counting down each millisecond until Mark of Athena (28 DAYS PEOPLE!). Right, back to the review thingy. Buy it read it. Tell me what you thought on twitter, or email me, or comment below! And with this, I bid you farewell, my fellow readers.
Happy reading,
JRD.
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