School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins Review

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Title: School Spirits
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Published: May 14, 2013 by Disney-Hyperion

Plot Summary from Goodreads:
Fifteen-year-old Izzy Brannick was trained to fight monsters. For centuries, her family has hunted magical creatures. But when Izzy’s older sister vanishes without a trace while on a job, Izzy's mom decides they need to take a break.

Izzy and her mom move to a new town, but they soon discover it’s not as normal as it appears. A series of hauntings has been plaguing the local high school, and Izzy is determined to prove her worth and investigate. But assuming the guise of an average teenager is easier said than done. For a tough girl who's always been on her own, it’s strange to suddenly make friends and maybe even have a crush.

Can Izzy trust her new friends to help find the secret behind the hauntings before more people get hurt?

My thoughts
This one definitely has a different feel than the Hex Hall series. It was a good different, but it definitely took me awhile to get accustomed to it, especially starting this right after finishing Spell Bound. It definitely felt slower to me in terms of pace, but it got there. 

I did miss Sophie a little bit, but I also really enjoyed Izzy. She definitely had a different voice and I think they would work really well together. I'm hoping for book with them both. It was also nice to see other characters reappearing from the first series, such as her mom and Torin, who got a lot more screen time in this book. The new characters were also good. I liked Izzy's friends Romy and Dex, and how human they were.  

The plot was pretty interesting too. At first, it looked like it could potentially be about her sister's disappearance, but it kinda shifted once they moved to Mississippi. Again, it started out a little slow, but picked up speed once she got there and found the ghost. Then it felt on pace in comparison to the Hex Hall series.

The ending was so good and not at all what I was expecting. I'm really curious to see how Izzy will adjust to the changes that this ending caused. I don't want to go into too much detail about it, but if you've read it, you'll know what I'm talking about. I'm also wondering if they will find Finely. Really hoping for another book since I have so many questions that haven't been answered! 

Hex Hall Book Review

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Title: Hex Hall
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Published: March 2nd, 2010 by Hyperion 

Plot Summary from Goodreads:
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

Review:

I read this book for the first time back in 2011 and didn't really think much of it. I liked it well enough, but I didn't have any real desire to read the second one. So I put it off, read other things, and eventually decided I should reread Hex Hall before I continued in the series. So I put that off and read other things, until I finally got around to it. 

And I really enjoyed it. Enough to increase my rating on Goodreads. 

I think what helped the second time around is that I got sucked into the school right away. I really like Sophie,  as I did the first time around, but I think my enjoyment of her also includes a little perspective I've gained since I first read the book. She can be a little bit teenager-y at times, but she is a teenage. 

There is a lot of world building in this book, which kinda goes alongside the plot progression. Sophie has a lot to learn about being a witch and her absentee father as well. It's a very face-paced story that will keep you interested long after you finish it.

The ending is probably the definition of a cliffhanger, but perhaps less so than Rick Riordan's endings. Thankfully, I had the next book in my possession, so the wait wasn't long.

As I said before, I really like Sophie as a character, but I also really enjoy the others as well. Jenna is a really interesting character. And I liked the trio of Elodie, Chaston, and Anna. Hopefully, some of them will make a reappearance in the series. I also liked Cal and Mrs. Casnoff from the school. Archer was a very interesting character, but I haven't decided how I feel about him yet.

Overall, I would recommend this book to people who like books about boarding schools with a paranormal twist.