Book Talk: Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

Pages: 336
Publisher: Disney*Hyperion


I’m not a laugher. I mean, I laugh (a lot…especially while watching Friends) but not really in books, not aloud anyway. In this one, however, I found myself laughing OUT LOUD on practically every page. The main character, Sophie, was so believable, sarcastic and funny–and completely without the regular teenage angst that so many teenagers are portrayed with. If any character deserved to have angst it would be this one.

Sophie, a 16-year old witch with a normal mother and an absentee warlock father, is sent to a boarding school for Prodigium, those also known as fairies, witches, shape shifters and the occasional vampire. People are sent here after they mess up and expose themselves in the mortal world and after a love spell gone awry and 19 different schools, she ends up at Hecate Hall, lovingly called Hex Hall.

I stepped out of the car and into the hot thick of heat of August in Georgia.
“Awesome,” I murmured, sliding my sunglasses on top of my head. Thanks to the humidity, my hair felt like it had tripled in size. I could feel it trying to devour my sunglasses like some sort of carnivorous jungle plant. “I always wondered what it would be like to live in somebody’s mouth.”
In front of me loomed Hecate Hall, which, according to the brochure clutched in my sweaty hand, was “the premier reformatory institution for Prodigium adolescents.” 
Prodigium. Just a fancy Latin word for monsters. And that’s what everyone at Hecate was.
That’s what I was.

In just a few short weeks, Sophie has enemies, a vampire best friend, a teacher who hates her, a crush on an unavailable stud (don’t we all) and a string of student attacks that target her only friend as the suspect. Everything she thinks knows about herself, her family, her friends and her craft completely change. Sophie has to protect everyone, which means finding out who was really hurting students and clearing her best friend–no matter the cost.

It was very Harry Potter-esque, for more reasons that you already suspect, yet it was different. I really loved the characters and the ease of reading. I was finished relatively quickly and enjoyed it all. It’s the beginning of the series so the end is a cliff hanger. I am really excited to see where this story goes in the future. It has the potential to be a hit series. Still skeptical? I assure you that if you liked Harry Potter, then you’ll love this. If not, I don’t know….I’ll give you a cookie or something.