Review: Hex Hall

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
Date Released: March 02, 2010
Published by: Hyperion Book CH
Pages:  Hardback, 336 pages
Young Adult
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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.
Synopsis via Goodreads

My Thoughts:

If I went to a boarding school I really think I'd want it to be called Hex Hall.  I've always had a thing for what we now dub urban-fantasy and the paranormal.  I used to say I wanted to be Dracula, then for a while my favorite store was called the Cauldron.  I think I'd probably fit in pretty well somewhere like that, of course, if I actually had real powers or was something of the non-mundane sort then I'd probably blend a little bit better but if Sophie could do it then just maybe so could I ;-)

In Hex Hall, Rachel Hawkins provided us with an array of colorful characters that should not have been easily blended, yet she achieved it.  Not only did Rachel friend a character we thought was a witch with a Vampire she also instilled actual trust and loyalty into the friendship despite the floating rumors.  It didn't stop there, Rachel provided each mentioned character with a personality which let each character stand alone.  Never once did I confuse two character and not see them standing in front of me whether they were defined by their looks or personality.

The main character Sophie was completely likeable although at times her naive tendencies and gullible attitude made it so I felt a little sad for her.  Even with secrets kept from her, her world ripped apart by her good-natured-yet-epically-failed-deeds, and having teachers keep an extra eye on her due to who her father is, Sophie still kept her head on straight and held high.  Sophie, although a strong heroine type of her own sort she wasn't completely immune to the charms of a certain resident bad-boy making her even more real.

With several twists embedded into the book, Hex Hall wasn't one of those books I was able to predict the outcome of the plot from the first few pages.  Truth be told, while some events fit the predictable cliches of today's YA books, there were certain ones I never saw coming.  Not to mention the one twist I felt was the biggest of all left my draw dropped, my mind spinning and my heart pining for answers in the biggest way.  That one moment had me completely vested. 
Simply written with tons of wit and set at an enjoyable pace, Hex Hall is definitely a book worth a read.  An incredibly hot bad boy, a blood sucking guilty-until-proven-innocent best friend, a group of mean girls who give a new meaning to the saying "That girl is such a witch," and one key phrase is all you need to know this is a book you should read.   By the way, that key phrase..... "Bad Dog."

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