Review: Hex Hall

Hex Hall
Rachel Hawkins
2010; Disney/Hyperion; ISBN 978-1-4231-2130-5 (hardcover)

Summary: At thirteen, Sophie learned she was a witch. Three years later, after a love spell for someone else went very wrong, Sophie is sent to Hecate Hall, aka Hex Hall, a boarding school for misbehaving Prodigium. Amongst witches, faeries and shapeshifters, Sophie doesn't feel like she fits in. Add in that her roommate is the school's only vampire and she doesn't want to join the popular girls' coven and Sophie has her hands full. It doesn't help that she's got a crush on the school's BMOC and there's a ghost who's always following her. But when girls start getting attacked, and Sophie's roommate is fingered as the criminal, Sophie sets out to clear her friend's name. One thing's for certain: it's a good thing Sophie's got magic.

An enjoyable, lively read, Hex Hall juggles several plots with ease. There's Sophie's crush on Archer, the popular warlock who dates head Mean Girl Elodie. There's Sophie's struggle to learn magic and navigate through a new society. And there's the mystery of who is preying on the school's students. It all adds up to a novel that keeps the story moving. Sophie is likable and engaging, and the cliffhanger ending will leave readers eager for the next book in this series. Teens who enjoyed the Bard Academy series or the Gemma Doyle trilogy will snap up Hex Hall.