Hex Hall: Hex Hall Series, Book 1

By: Rachel Hawkins

Narrated by: Cris Dukehart

Length: 7 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

On her 12th birthday, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. Three bumpy years later, after a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, she's exiled to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters.

By the end of her first day, 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 on campus. Then, when a mysterious predator begins attacking students, and Sophie's only friend is the number-one suspect, a horrifying plot begins to surface. Soon, Sophie is preparing for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her.

©2010 Rachel Hawkins (P)2012 Tantor

Critic reviews

"The story is well paced and plotted with tween-friendly humor and well-developed characters." ( Publishers Weekly)

Definitely young adult, but good

I ended up enjoying 'Hex Hall' more than I thought I would. I went into it knowing it was Young Adult, yet interested in the concept - I'm glad I gave it a chance.

First, the bad. It's a Young Adult novel, and a little too pat for my tastes. The main character is special in many ways, and it started to feel a bit like a Mary Sue character. She's the most powerful witch of her generation, yet she doesn't know how to use her power. She's the daughter of the leader of the magical world, yet she has never met him. She's one of only four dark witches in the school, so the other witches need her in their coven. She's assigned as a roommate the one student at school who stands out from everyone else. She ends up getting detention with the hottest boy in school that she has a crush on. Detention, might I add, that consists of being locked in a room with him, alone, with the teachers not caring if they actually do the work assigned to them as detention. All of this made me annoyed with the book.

Now, the good news. Several of the points that annoyed me in the list above get explained in the book, so by the end of it, I ended up forgiving the author. In addition, the book's plot wasn't nearly as simple as I had expected it to be, and didn't go in the directions I expected. I was pleasantly surprised that all the clues were in place for me to figure it out, yet I didn't - and that things I expected to happen in a Young Adult book often did happen, but then transformed in a way I didn't expect. All in all, the writing was solid - plots that made sense within the world, characters that were likeable and had motivations and stories of their own, and a fast pace that didn't leave you time to get bored.

I enjoyed the narrator and her slight drawl; she was a pleasure to listen to, and helped the characters come alive.

I've put the next book in the series on my wishlist.

So fun

I had a lot of fun with this book. It definitely had me laughing at points, I felt like a detective at times trying to piece together details (I was like half right, so it is mildly predictable). I don't really have much to say negatively towards this book though and I certainly want more, so the sequels are now on my TBR.

sequoia

I loved the narrator voice as the different chartcters I would love to read more with her as the narrator

Such a fun "read"!

This book actually brought me back years later to finish out the series with a fresh read. I loved the lore and the fun/sassy lead. It kept me laughing and intrigued through the whole thing! I definitely recommend this book. It's clean and a lot of fun.

Hex Hall

I really enjoy this series. There always seems to be mean girls in these stories and everyone has an unstable home. But I still love these characters.

Fun and quick paranormal YA read

This is the first book in the Hex Hall trilogy. It was a cute YA paranormal read. There isn’t a lot special here but the book was generally well written and well done. I especially enjoyed Sophie’s quirky sense of humor.

I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook was very well done. Sophie sounds exactly like I would imagine her to. The narrator did an excellent job of distinguishing between character voices.

Sophie Mercer is a witch and when a love spell she does for a friend goes horribly wrong, her dad decides her punishment will be to transfer her to Hex Hall. Hex Hall is a school of magical deliquents, those students of non-human nature who just can’t seem to control their powers. While there Sophie gets involved in a mystery where other Dark Witches are being attacked. If Sophie can’t figure out what’s going on, and quickly, then she might be the next witch attacked.

This is a cute young adult read about a school full of witches, faeries, vampires and werewolves. It was a fun quick read and the characters were engaging. There was a good mystery to be solved, although it was pretty predictable.

Sophie kind of makes the story. She has an absolutely quirky and cutting sense of humor that gets her into trouble a lot. Her roommate, a vampire addicted to hot pink, adds even more fun to the mix.

This is a pretty typical YA paranormal read. Sophie has to deal with the “mean girl” group, the only twist being that these mean girls want her to join their coven. Sophie also ends up falling for the hottest guy in school, the totally untouchable Archer Cross. Sophie and Archer had pretty good chemistry together and it was cute to watch them get to know each other.

The vamps, weres, and witches are pretty typical...there’s nothing all that special about them in this world. The world-building in general isn’t all that great. This book is driven more by the mystery behind all of the witches being attacked. Much of the book is also dedicated to Sophie getting settled in her new school and learning more about being a witch.

Overall a fun and quick paranormal YA read. While there wasn’t a ton that was super creative here, it was still and cute and fun read. This is just a light book to read quickly. The characters are engaging and well done and there is a good mystery here to be solved. I will probably check out the second book in the series, mainly because Sophie is just so much fun and so quirky. Recommended to fans of YA paranormal books.

Great Variety of Characters

The story is a lot of fun with a variety of characters with a variety of abilities. The story builds as you go along so there is no chance of getting bored.

This was the best book i have ever read in my life

This is the best book I can't wait to read the other books in the series.

Great Start!

What other book might you compare Hex Hall: Hex Hall Series, Book 1 to and why?

It reminded me a good bit of Lauren Kate's "Fallen." They both feature reform schools and students with supernatural tendencies.

What about Cris Dukehart’s performance did you like?

Her voice seemed to fit the main character really well.

Any additional comments?

Hex Hall was a pretty interesting first book. There were a few surprising twists in it which is something I always appreciate. Also, the romance was a step above the norm. I'm definitely interested to see where the series goes from here.

Great in spite of narrator.

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The narrator. Terrible accents and a slight laugh in her voice which was totally inappropriate. And seriously, who uses the same southern drawl each way no matter if you are happy, angry, sad, etc? Those require different inflections, meter, timbre. Ms. Dukehart was not capable. Sorry.

What other book might you compare Hex Hall: Hex Hall Series, Book 1 to and why?

The Paranormalcy books. I loved those. Funny, serious moments, a heroine in need of accepting her destiny, etc.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Cris Dukehart?

Amanda Ronconi, Eileen Stevens, Sarah Drew? All much better choices.

Any additional comments?

I am amazed that even though the narrator drove me crazy, I was able to listen, laugh, and decided to purchase the 2nd book! I love the story, the characters, Sophie. That's how great the story is. I love the humor!