Book #17: Hex Hall, by Rachel Hawkins
Feb. 27th, 2012 08:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
grav_ityI have this goal, which is to read at least one book written by all the published authors on my Twitter. It's taking me a while (and I get distracted sometimes!), but generally speaking I am doing pretty well. That said, I walked past this book about eight times a day when I worked at the Book Cabal without realizing what it was, because Rachel Hawkins is LadyHawkins on Twitter, and I am a moron. But I suppose what matters is that I got here eventually. :)
The cover for Hex Hall is absolutely excellent. Actually, here's a picture of it. I'll wait while you go look. Not only is it GORGEOUS, it's also SPOT ON. I mean, look at Sophie's face in the first picture! AND HER KNUCKLES! And then the second picture just makes it perfect. Covers don't always illustrate the main character well, but Hex Hall's cover does exactly. (Plus, on Demonglass, the sequel, even the "New York Times Best Seller" is reflected in the pool, WHICH IS JUST AWESOME.)
Anyway, I talk about the cover so much because in addition to being striking and pretty and on point, its design also meant that I picked this book up upside down. A lot. Which got funnier as it got later and later last night, of course, but still: pretty. :)
I should probably talk about the actual book now. Which means SPOILERS BELOW!
Hex Hall is about Sophie, a teenage witch who is sentenced to reformatory school after one too many flashy examples of spellwork in public. At Hex Hall she joins other young witches and warlocks, shifters and werewolves, and faeries, all of whom are at the school by order of the Council for disobeying magical laws. Sophie knows almost nothing about her powers and even less about the world she was born into because her magical parent, her father, was kicked out (by her mother) before Sophie was born.
It's a steep learning curve. The popular witches want Sophie in their coven. The weres and shifters all hate her because [spoilers]. And the faeries are very clannish. As if that wasn't bad enough, Sophie has a crush on a popular warlock, and her roommate is one of the first vampires ever sent to Hex.
Oh, and also someone is murdering witches, and the only suspect is Sophie's roommate and new best friend.
At first I thought that this was going to be kind of cookie-cutter, but I knew that Rachel's style (at least in her Tweets!) and sense of humour was probably what set this book apart. I was not wrong. There were several HILARIOUS laugh out loud moments. Jenna, the vampire roommate, is one of the best Snarky Best Friends I've come across in a while. Sophie is kind of a hot mess, because she's been kept in the dark about so much, but she just keeps on going, and it's wonderful to see.
(I've been debating with myself about if I should tell you my two favourite jokes...and I've decided against it. But I will tell you that Sophie's response to Jenna's "I don't do guys" is ABSOLUTELY PERFECT and the line said after "Say the five words to begin the ritual" made me laugh so hard I snorted my tea.)
The other strength of the book lies in the description. Rachel is a proud Southerner, and it shows in her construction of the world around Hex Hall, and in the way her magic works. Plus Sophie has a wonderful sense of humour, and a way of looking at the world that makes you want to see more of it. I look forward to seeing more in Demonglass.
(Also, Rachel used both "noxious" and "nauseated" correctly. And gets bonus point for "heinous", which is entirely under-utilized.)
Oh, and the Big Action Sequence at the end? Does not disappoint. :)
8.5/10 for a great new magical world, a wonderful heroine, that line about "magnolia dragged through molasses", and for Jenna, the vampire roommate.
The cover for Hex Hall is absolutely excellent. Actually, here's a picture of it. I'll wait while you go look. Not only is it GORGEOUS, it's also SPOT ON. I mean, look at Sophie's face in the first picture! AND HER KNUCKLES! And then the second picture just makes it perfect. Covers don't always illustrate the main character well, but Hex Hall's cover does exactly. (Plus, on Demonglass, the sequel, even the "New York Times Best Seller" is reflected in the pool, WHICH IS JUST AWESOME.)
Anyway, I talk about the cover so much because in addition to being striking and pretty and on point, its design also meant that I picked this book up upside down. A lot. Which got funnier as it got later and later last night, of course, but still: pretty. :)
I should probably talk about the actual book now. Which means SPOILERS BELOW!
Hex Hall is about Sophie, a teenage witch who is sentenced to reformatory school after one too many flashy examples of spellwork in public. At Hex Hall she joins other young witches and warlocks, shifters and werewolves, and faeries, all of whom are at the school by order of the Council for disobeying magical laws. Sophie knows almost nothing about her powers and even less about the world she was born into because her magical parent, her father, was kicked out (by her mother) before Sophie was born.
It's a steep learning curve. The popular witches want Sophie in their coven. The weres and shifters all hate her because [spoilers]. And the faeries are very clannish. As if that wasn't bad enough, Sophie has a crush on a popular warlock, and her roommate is one of the first vampires ever sent to Hex.
Oh, and also someone is murdering witches, and the only suspect is Sophie's roommate and new best friend.
At first I thought that this was going to be kind of cookie-cutter, but I knew that Rachel's style (at least in her Tweets!) and sense of humour was probably what set this book apart. I was not wrong. There were several HILARIOUS laugh out loud moments. Jenna, the vampire roommate, is one of the best Snarky Best Friends I've come across in a while. Sophie is kind of a hot mess, because she's been kept in the dark about so much, but she just keeps on going, and it's wonderful to see.
(I've been debating with myself about if I should tell you my two favourite jokes...and I've decided against it. But I will tell you that Sophie's response to Jenna's "I don't do guys" is ABSOLUTELY PERFECT and the line said after "Say the five words to begin the ritual" made me laugh so hard I snorted my tea.)
The other strength of the book lies in the description. Rachel is a proud Southerner, and it shows in her construction of the world around Hex Hall, and in the way her magic works. Plus Sophie has a wonderful sense of humour, and a way of looking at the world that makes you want to see more of it. I look forward to seeing more in Demonglass.
(Also, Rachel used both "noxious" and "nauseated" correctly. And gets bonus point for "heinous", which is entirely under-utilized.)
Oh, and the Big Action Sequence at the end? Does not disappoint. :)
8.5/10 for a great new magical world, a wonderful heroine, that line about "magnolia dragged through molasses", and for Jenna, the vampire roommate.
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no subject
Date: 2012-02-28 01:37 am (UTC)*goes to hunt down Hex Hall on Amazon*
Everything you said about this book sounds great, but what really jumped out at me was the "Rachel is a proud Southerner" part. I'm a Southern girl who hasn't lived there for most of my adult life, and I've been missing it like crazy recently. Sounds like this book is just what I need.
no subject
Date: 2012-02-28 03:32 am (UTC)And the second one is just as good. :)