Hex Hall

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
Hyperion, 2010
323 pages
YA; Paranormal
4/5 stars

Source: Library

I'd heard good things about this as a 2010 YA debut and then I read that it was supposed to be funny, which is something I love in paranormals and yet isn't that common.  So I had high expectations.

And for the most part they were met.  Sophie discovered she was a witch around her twelfth birthday and since then, she keeps misusing her powers and attracting attention, eventually being sent to Hecate Hall (Hex Hall for short) with other young witches, warlocks, fairies, and shifters.

During her time at Hex Hall, she pisses off three powerful dark witches, clashes with a hot warlock, finds out her roommate is a vampire (and may have killed her former roommate), pisses off a teacher resulting in detention, and discovers some shocking truths about her family.  The information about her family was so fascinating and definitely the highlight of the book for me, including several twists that force you to reassess what you've seen Sophie do and say.

The romance was the part I didn't like-surprise, surprise!  That warlock is named Archer Cross.  He dates one of the dark witches but still flirts with and seems to be drawn to Sophie. Personally I didn't think he sounded that great and the fact that he was flirting very heavily with Sophie despite being in a relationship did not appeal to me.  Luckily their relationship doesn't follow the pattern I expected or else I probably would have been upset.  Some interesting things could occur in the sequel around this relationship.

The other characters were good, especially Jenna, the vampire roommate.  I loved her and not just because she loves pink!  She could be super snarky and she was supportive of Sophie; I loved that these two outcasts bonded and I can't wait to see their relationship deepen.  One character I wish we could have seen more of is Sophie's mom, an ordinary mortal who has coped pretty well with having a magical daughter.  Because Sophie is in school in the South while her mom lives in Vermont, there isn't a chance for much interaction.

For the most part I enjoyed the writing and although I didn't laugh a lot, I spent most of the book smiling and frantically turning the pages, finishing this book all in one night because I just had to know what happened next.  That's probably the greatest recommendation I can give this book: it grabbed onto me and wouldn't let go, leaving me very thankful that I checked out the sequel at the same time.

Check back later for a review of the sequel, Demonglass!

Cover: Why is there a cat? There is no mention of a cat although there should have been because cats are awesome!