Hex Hall

Title: Hex Hall

Author: Rachel Hawkins

Publisher: Hyperion Press, 2010

Format: Paperback, Ebook

Genre: Fantasy/ Young Adult

ISBN: 1423121309

Sophia Mercer is a witch. But she isn't a very good one. All her spells tend to be disastrous and leave people pointing and screaming. So much for blending in and not drawing attention to herself. She never has lived in a place long enough to make a real friend and her dad has been MIA for her entire life. Granted, he has an excuse. He's a powerful warlock.

When a good prom night goes bad because Sophie does yet another bad spell, her dad sentences her to Hex Hall, a super exclusive boarding school for wayward prodigium. For anyone not up on the lingo, prodigium is another term for faeries, witches and shape-shifters.

Sophie doesn't want to go and her first day just hammers home her feelings. She finds herself almost attacked by a werewolf, the enemy of three hot witches and a mega crush on a guy that is totally out of her league. Did I mention that her new roomie is a vamp? The only vamp on campus, so there goes any chance of getting any sleep.

But all of these obstacles seem minor when Sophie learns that there is some kind of predator attacking the students. It turns out there is some kind of ancient secret society that wants to wipe any and all prodigium off the face of the earth…

And they are starting with Sophie.

I have heard nothing but good things about this book. When I started reading this book I didn't read any reviews, I didn't read the blurb on the back of the book, nothing. I went in blind and just wanted to enjoy the story and let the characters unfold before me. And it didn't disappoint. I really liked this book.

I was a little surprised at first because the story line seemed a little predictable…girl goes off to a boarding school for kids like her and makes enemies with the popular girl and develops a crush on an untouchable guy…and while that is the plot it was still told in a fresh way. The book wasn't predictable, and I kept reading to see what would happen.

I like Sophie, she is a great main character. She not only struggles with normal teenage angst but also has to deal with the fact that she is a witch who can't seem to do a spell right. I find it endearing that she uses her spells to try and help people but she lacks the maturity to see that her ideas aren't helping anyone – just causing trouble. She's an innocent who doesn't really know she's innocent.

Archer was a character that I liked as well, having the "bad boy with a good side" down pat. I even like the headmistress of the school and how she tried to be stern and impartial when it came to Sophie but she never quite got there.

I have to say though that one of my favorite characters was one that wasn't in the book enough. Cal. He is some yummy goodness. I found myself wanting Sophie to forget about Archer and follow Cal. I would have. He was a big beefy man with that sober exterior but who would smile or light up his eyes just enough to make you realize that there was some melt-worthy stuff inside of him, I for one pray there is LOTS more of Cal in the next book.

I can't really get into the plot too awful much because I don't want to give anything away, but this book is worth the read. It's an easy read. The author writes well and her words flow together creating chapters that go right by. She gives enough description so that the reader gets to know the surroundings and really fall into the pages and forget the outside world.

The setting of the book was cool too. I liked the juxtaposition of the boarding house, seemingly ugly in the middle of a beautiful island. I mean, what witches (who can turn anything pretty) live in a patched together, ugly boarding house?

As I said before, Hex Hall takes some unexpected turns and the reader realizes that not everyone is who they say they are. There is some bad stuff going down and Sophie is at the center. All I want to know now is what's going to happen next?

I will be reading Demonglass immediately because I want to know.

So there you have it. My opinion.

This review is written by Cambria Hebert