Author: Rachel Hawkins
Published: March 2, 2012
336 Pages
5 Gold Stars
(summary 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 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.
First I want to thank Mag at Geek Chic Books for giving me the opportunity to enjoy this book. I won it through a contest she had and I'm so thankful! I had wanted to get my hands on this book for quite sometime but couldn't find it in my book store, but Mag made my wish come true!
Hex Hall is the perfect mix between Sabina, The Teenage Witch and Harry Potter. There is magic, sorcery, and danger lurking in the shadows, with a dash of sarcastic humour and cute romances. Sophie Mercer is a sad excuse for a witch and she discovers this her first day at Hex Hall, when she can't even cast a small spell to protect herself from a werewolf. But she didn't want to be there in the first place and the longer she's there, the more she hates it. Hecate Hall, or Hex Hall as the students call it, is a reform school for wayward Prodigium (witches, werewolves, vampires and fairies) and Sophie doesn't really fit in. She's roommates with the only vampire student in the school and a clan of witches can't stand her after she denied their invitation to join their coven. Add to that the fact that she has a crush on one of those witches' boyfriend. And when students start showing up with their blood drained and bite marks on their necks, Sophie's roommate is the first subject, but Sophia knows he can't be her and she'll do anything to prove it.
The idea of a reform school for bad mythical beings is too awesome. As soon as Sophie stepped foot through the door I knew I would like the place. Fairies wandering the halls, shape shifters roaming through the woods on campus and witches building their dresses through spells. The catty coven of witches following Sophie around are your average mean girls, which just go to show you that bullies are eveywhere. Sophie is awkward and hilarious as the narrator. Her voice is unique and makes the perfect first person narrator. Her snarkiness and sleuthing remind me of Veronica Mars as she tries to figure out who is responsible for the incidents occurring at school. Nothing is what she thinks it is when she gets there and she learns more about herself than she probably wants to find out. Not every goes her way, she gets into trouble a lot and those witches are more like witches with a 'b' and won't leave her alone. She is the perfect protagonist for a young adult book: unsure of herself, not aware of how powerful she can be until she has to use the power to protect someone she loves, and of course a little boy crazy.
Each character has their own voice and all the supportive characters are just as entertaining as Sophie. Archer Cross, the boy she can't get enough of, is mysterious and snarky but nice enough that we all love him. Even the evil witches are well rounded and you start to feel sorry for a few of them. Jenna, Sophie's vampire roommate, is not what you'd expect from a vampire. She loves pink, but hates pretty much everyone in the school. Sophie and her have a lot in common and she is a good counterpart for Sophie's troubles at school.
Nothing is what it seems and everything goes wrong when you're living in a school filled with rebellious witches and other such beings. Hawkins makes you desperate to know what's happening to the students of Hex Hall and curious to know whose behind the accidents. She'll keep you guessing until the last page and then force you to pick up the next book. I can't wait to read more about Sophie's adventures.
"Man, Sophie, it's only your first day and you've already befriended the school outcast, pissed off the most popular girls at Hecate, and developed a full-blown thing for the hottest guy. If you can manage to get detention tomorrow, you'll be like, legendary."
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