The Gist
A simple love spell should have been easy. Get major-hottie-and-star-of-the-football-team, Kevin Bridges, to go to the prom with the-school-punching-bag, Felicia. Sophie Mercer had done harder spells before. Granted, none of them had ended well…but a love spell was one of the easiest in the book. What could go wrong? Then her love spells goes awry and Kevin not only wants to go to prom with Felicia, but becomes creepy-obsessed with her, Sophie is sentenced to Hecate Hall, a disciplinary school for young witches, warlocks, faeries and shape-shifters who have risked exposing magic to the world. The worst part is, her dad was the one who sent her there. Her nearly non-existant dad who she’s never met before. Her completely mortal mother just wants what’s best for her and tries to convince Sophie that her father – a powerful warlock – wants the same. Not like that makes much of a difference. Going to Hecate Hall is just as bad, no matter her parents’ reasons for making her go. And, of course, Sophie’s fist day goes horribly. Before she even gets in the building she’s attacked by a werewolf – only to be saved by Archer Cross, arrogant and gorgeous school bad boy and heart-throb. Then she finds out her room mate Jenna – the only vampire student at Hecate Hall – is the prime suspect for the mysterious and gruesome death of Holly – a dark witch who was Jenna’s room mate last year. But the more Sophie gets to know Jenna, the more sure she is that Jenna never killed anyone. Next three dark witches (and most popular girls at the school), Elodie, Anna, and Chaston, try to get her to join their coven – and immediately hate her when she rejects their invitation. And to top it all off, by the end of the day she’s pretty sure she has a very annoying crush on a very unattainable warlock. Sophie’s pretty sure things can’t get much worse. Until people start getting attacked – the same way Holly was when she was killed. Sophie has to find out what’s really happening to the students before Jenna is blamed again. Before anyone else dies.
What We Think
Reviewed by Dream Catcher
Number of Pages: 323
First thing first I have to say something about the cover. I don’t know about everyone else but we here at Realteenreviews can’t stand it. I mean, is it supposed to be dramatic? Because it just looks childish to me. The cover artist could have done a LOT better. Actually, if I was the author – or the publisher – I would hire a new cover artist. One that could create a cover that makes people actually want to read the book. The thing that’s really bad about it is the reflection, I think. But that might just be me being picky. But despite the bad cover I read the book and thought it was really good! It always stinks when a good book is cursed with a bad cover. Moving on.
As long as we’re on the topic about judging a book before you read it…title. I thought it was pretty lame at first. Just like the cover, trying to be dramatic and just seeming corny. But it actually grew on me. I’m not saying I love it – they could have done better with it I think – but I still like it.
Now onto the less superficial aspects of the book. The writing style. I LOVED it. Rachel Hawkins gave the main character, Sophie, a good voice through her writing. There was a line that made me laugh or at least smile on almost every page. Through the writing, Sophie was personable and funny and that’s what made the book so good. There was never too much description, but always enough to know what was going on and have a good picture in my mind. The thing I liked most about the writing style though had to be the fact that it was NOT stiff at all. There was a clear voice. I started reading and immediately went “YAY” because I knew the writing style was something would love right from the first line.
The first line. Like I always say: VERY IMPORTANT. Yeah. Here is it: “Felicia was crying in the bathroom. Again.” What do you think? As for me, I think it’s pretty good. It makes you ask questions, at least. Why is Felicia crying? Who is Felicia? And so on and so forth. This was one of the books in my to-read book stack (consisting currently of, like, twenty five books). So when I finished Beastly by Alex Flinn(review coming) I needed another book to read. I was looking through all of the books I had to read, looking at the covers and reading the first lines. Then I came to Hex Hall. I read the first line – more like the first paragraph – and thought “hey…this person can write!” so I decided to read that one. I think that alone proves that the first line was good.
Now: Plot. How many times have you read/heard about a book that’s about witches going to a witch school? Answer being: too many times. But there were other aspects of the plot that were original. Like the fact that there were magic hunters. I didn’t mention that in the gist. Oops. It’s more of a side plot thingy so I didn’t include it. But there are these three groups of people who hunt and kill off as many magic beings – witches, warlocks, shape-shifters, vampires, faeries - as the can. The Alliance (group of government workers), the Brannicks (an Irish family with some witch blood, giving them magic power) and the L’Occhio di Dio (the most dangerous and powerful of the groups. Headquarters in Italy and has always been most successful with killing). I thought that part of the plot was really original and interesting. Then there was the little murder-mystery. It sounds lame when I wrote it in the gist. It was good in the book, take my word for it. Not lame. Serious and honestly a good mystery. Kept me guessing. BUT the very best thing about the plot (and probably the whole book) were the PLOT TWISTS. Seriously. I kept saying “woah, what?!”. I never saw some of the things coming. Well…technically I saw one of them coming but that was because I read a review where the first line was a HUGE spoiler. They didn’t even warn me! Needless to say, I was mad at the reviewer. But if I hadn’t read the spoiler I would never have guessed it. Plot twists were amazing!
Characters were another great part of the book. Sophie Mercer, the main character, was personable and really funny. Her voice shined through the writing and made me want to keep reading no matter what time at night it was (ex: 1 AM). She was strong and goofy and scared all at the same time. She was real and admirable at the same time. Archer Cross was AMAZING. I loved his character. He was egotistic and arrogant and sarcastic. But also sweet. Really good character. I always looked forward to reading about him with Sophie. They made a great team (team is a weird word for it…but it kinda works) with them trading sarcastic and witty remarks that were always really funny. Jenna was another really awesome character. She was a vampire. And what do you expect with a vampire? Someone dark and mysterious and fighting with the inner demon inside her. Or something like that, right? Well Jenna was NOT like that at all and that’s what made her so awesome. Her favorite color was hot pink and she was a great friend who always had Sophie’s back. She had some really great one-liners. Great kinda-side-kick character. Mrs. Casnoff was the principal of Hecate Hall and made a good stern, almost motherly character. I dunno. Just thought her character was worth mentioning. Elodie, Anna, and Chaston were perfect antagonists. They were mean and snobby and very real. Like some stuck-up clique you’d find at a real highschool. So for characters I give it an A+.
I’m looking at some notes I made about the book and the next bullet point simply says: dialogue = VERY GOOD. Very simply stated. Short, sweet and to the point, I guess. Not much else to say about that. The dialogue was very real. At the same time it was sharp and witty. All I can say is “good job, Rachel Hawkins” because, honestly, good dialogue has been hard to come by lately. It’s a shame, but it’s true. So I was pleasantly surprised by the dialogue. On that, BRAVO.
I’m going to end with the end. The ending line. CLIFFIE. That is all. Seriously though, it was a major cliff-hanger. I finished the book and said to myself “When’s the second one coming out?” Not soon enough. Now the last line is dialogue and usually I’m annoyed when a book starts or finishes with dialogue. It comes off as corny to me. But not here. It was kinda dramatic. So, since the end line really made me want to read the second book, I say it was pretty good!
Overall I really enjoyed the book. I was reading it non-stop for three days and constantly saying to my friends “It’s really good!”. They didn’t believe me. But I think this honestly was a good book. I would definitely recommend it to people. Ooh fun fact: (I found this out on the Hex Hall facebook page) While Rachel Hawkins was writing the All Hallows Eve Ball scene (read it and find out what THAT means
) she played the song “Luv” by Travis over and over on repeat. It became Archer and Sophie’s theme. Read this book!
Real Teen Rating~ A : Go Buy Now.
A simple love spell should have been easy. Get major-hottie-and-star-of-the-football-team, Kevin Bridges, to go to the prom with the-school-punching-bag, Felicia. Sophie Mercer had done harder spells before. Granted, none of them had ended well…but a love spell was one of the easiest in the book. What could go wrong? Then her love spells goes awry and Kevin not only wants to go to prom with Felicia, but becomes creepy-obsessed with her, Sophie is sentenced to Hecate Hall, a disciplinary school for young witches, warlocks, faeries and shape-shifters who have risked exposing magic to the world. The worst part is, her dad was the one who sent her there. Her nearly non-existant dad who she’s never met before. Her completely mortal mother just wants what’s best for her and tries to convince Sophie that her father – a powerful warlock – wants the same. Not like that makes much of a difference. Going to Hecate Hall is just as bad, no matter her parents’ reasons for making her go. And, of course, Sophie’s fist day goes horribly. Before she even gets in the building she’s attacked by a werewolf – only to be saved by Archer Cross, arrogant and gorgeous school bad boy and heart-throb. Then she finds out her room mate Jenna – the only vampire student at Hecate Hall – is the prime suspect for the mysterious and gruesome death of Holly – a dark witch who was Jenna’s room mate last year. But the more Sophie gets to know Jenna, the more sure she is that Jenna never killed anyone. Next three dark witches (and most popular girls at the school), Elodie, Anna, and Chaston, try to get her to join their coven – and immediately hate her when she rejects their invitation. And to top it all off, by the end of the day she’s pretty sure she has a very annoying crush on a very unattainable warlock. Sophie’s pretty sure things can’t get much worse. Until people start getting attacked – the same way Holly was when she was killed. Sophie has to find out what’s really happening to the students before Jenna is blamed again. Before anyone else dies.
What We Think
Reviewed by Dream Catcher
Number of Pages: 323
First thing first I have to say something about the cover. I don’t know about everyone else but we here at Realteenreviews can’t stand it. I mean, is it supposed to be dramatic? Because it just looks childish to me. The cover artist could have done a LOT better. Actually, if I was the author – or the publisher – I would hire a new cover artist. One that could create a cover that makes people actually want to read the book. The thing that’s really bad about it is the reflection, I think. But that might just be me being picky. But despite the bad cover I read the book and thought it was really good! It always stinks when a good book is cursed with a bad cover. Moving on.
As long as we’re on the topic about judging a book before you read it…title. I thought it was pretty lame at first. Just like the cover, trying to be dramatic and just seeming corny. But it actually grew on me. I’m not saying I love it – they could have done better with it I think – but I still like it.
Now onto the less superficial aspects of the book. The writing style. I LOVED it. Rachel Hawkins gave the main character, Sophie, a good voice through her writing. There was a line that made me laugh or at least smile on almost every page. Through the writing, Sophie was personable and funny and that’s what made the book so good. There was never too much description, but always enough to know what was going on and have a good picture in my mind. The thing I liked most about the writing style though had to be the fact that it was NOT stiff at all. There was a clear voice. I started reading and immediately went “YAY” because I knew the writing style was something would love right from the first line.
The first line. Like I always say: VERY IMPORTANT. Yeah. Here is it: “Felicia was crying in the bathroom. Again.” What do you think? As for me, I think it’s pretty good. It makes you ask questions, at least. Why is Felicia crying? Who is Felicia? And so on and so forth. This was one of the books in my to-read book stack (consisting currently of, like, twenty five books). So when I finished Beastly by Alex Flinn(review coming) I needed another book to read. I was looking through all of the books I had to read, looking at the covers and reading the first lines. Then I came to Hex Hall. I read the first line – more like the first paragraph – and thought “hey…this person can write!” so I decided to read that one. I think that alone proves that the first line was good.
Now: Plot. How many times have you read/heard about a book that’s about witches going to a witch school? Answer being: too many times. But there were other aspects of the plot that were original. Like the fact that there were magic hunters. I didn’t mention that in the gist. Oops. It’s more of a side plot thingy so I didn’t include it. But there are these three groups of people who hunt and kill off as many magic beings – witches, warlocks, shape-shifters, vampires, faeries - as the can. The Alliance (group of government workers), the Brannicks (an Irish family with some witch blood, giving them magic power) and the L’Occhio di Dio (the most dangerous and powerful of the groups. Headquarters in Italy and has always been most successful with killing). I thought that part of the plot was really original and interesting. Then there was the little murder-mystery. It sounds lame when I wrote it in the gist. It was good in the book, take my word for it. Not lame. Serious and honestly a good mystery. Kept me guessing. BUT the very best thing about the plot (and probably the whole book) were the PLOT TWISTS. Seriously. I kept saying “woah, what?!”. I never saw some of the things coming. Well…technically I saw one of them coming but that was because I read a review where the first line was a HUGE spoiler. They didn’t even warn me! Needless to say, I was mad at the reviewer. But if I hadn’t read the spoiler I would never have guessed it. Plot twists were amazing!
Characters were another great part of the book. Sophie Mercer, the main character, was personable and really funny. Her voice shined through the writing and made me want to keep reading no matter what time at night it was (ex: 1 AM). She was strong and goofy and scared all at the same time. She was real and admirable at the same time. Archer Cross was AMAZING. I loved his character. He was egotistic and arrogant and sarcastic. But also sweet. Really good character. I always looked forward to reading about him with Sophie. They made a great team (team is a weird word for it…but it kinda works) with them trading sarcastic and witty remarks that were always really funny. Jenna was another really awesome character. She was a vampire. And what do you expect with a vampire? Someone dark and mysterious and fighting with the inner demon inside her. Or something like that, right? Well Jenna was NOT like that at all and that’s what made her so awesome. Her favorite color was hot pink and she was a great friend who always had Sophie’s back. She had some really great one-liners. Great kinda-side-kick character. Mrs. Casnoff was the principal of Hecate Hall and made a good stern, almost motherly character. I dunno. Just thought her character was worth mentioning. Elodie, Anna, and Chaston were perfect antagonists. They were mean and snobby and very real. Like some stuck-up clique you’d find at a real highschool. So for characters I give it an A+.
I’m looking at some notes I made about the book and the next bullet point simply says: dialogue = VERY GOOD. Very simply stated. Short, sweet and to the point, I guess. Not much else to say about that. The dialogue was very real. At the same time it was sharp and witty. All I can say is “good job, Rachel Hawkins” because, honestly, good dialogue has been hard to come by lately. It’s a shame, but it’s true. So I was pleasantly surprised by the dialogue. On that, BRAVO.
I’m going to end with the end. The ending line. CLIFFIE. That is all. Seriously though, it was a major cliff-hanger. I finished the book and said to myself “When’s the second one coming out?” Not soon enough. Now the last line is dialogue and usually I’m annoyed when a book starts or finishes with dialogue. It comes off as corny to me. But not here. It was kinda dramatic. So, since the end line really made me want to read the second book, I say it was pretty good!
Overall I really enjoyed the book. I was reading it non-stop for three days and constantly saying to my friends “It’s really good!”. They didn’t believe me. But I think this honestly was a good book. I would definitely recommend it to people. Ooh fun fact: (I found this out on the Hex Hall facebook page) While Rachel Hawkins was writing the All Hallows Eve Ball scene (read it and find out what THAT means
) she played the song “Luv” by Travis over and over on repeat. It became Archer and Sophie’s theme. Read this book!Real Teen Rating~ A : Go Buy Now.
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