Review: Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

Title: Hex Hall
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Publisher: Hyperion
Release date: March 2nd 2010
Pages: 336
Genre: YA; paranormal
Source: Sarah
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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 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.

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Being paranormal, Hex Hall is not my normal kind of read, so I wasn't sure I'd enjoy it. But there was no need to worry - Hex Hall is so good, I didn't even care what genre it was.

What's best about this book is Sophie. I'd heard she was a fun character, but I didn't know she'd be that awesome! Sophie is snarky, sassy, sarcastic, and hilarious - my favorite kind of heroine. She thinks and says the most hilarious and weird things. I don't even know how to explain her - the way she thinks about the most inconsequential, ridiculous things in life-or-death situations sums her up pretty well. Sophie is weird, in an awesome way, and I loved it. Her character gave the story a very light, fun feel, even when there was more serious stuff going on.

I'm sorry, contemporary, but I loved all the paranormal stuff going on in Hex Hall! I'm a little stupid when it comes to understanding paranormal worlds - they easily confuse me, I guess because I just haven't read that many paranormal books. I was worried I'd get confused in Hex Hall, since there are a lot of paranormal creatures you have to keep straight. That wasn't a problem, though - I love the whole world Rachel Hawkins has created here! From the beginning on, it's a given to Sophie that creatures like witches, faeries, shapeshifters, vampires, and demons exist, which I thought was a little strange at first, but totally loved later on - that made it so easy to get immersed in Sophie's world

The action and the mystery are great, too! Rachel Hawkins perfected the balance between the girly drama stuff and the real danger and action. I just loved watching the story unfold, loved trying to figure out what was going on along with Sophie. I did guess part of the revelation at the end, but that didn't take from my enjoyment of the novel at all. The action and the pacing are very well-done, making me finish Hex Hall in just one sitting. The ending moved a little too fast for me, though - I wanted a more thorough explanation as to why all of this happened.

I know I'm totally late to this party, but I now consider myself a Hex Hall fan! The seamless blend of humorous drama and fast-paced action made this a very enjoyable read for me. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of Demonglass!