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    Hex Hall
    Hex Hall
    Hex Hall
    Audiobook7 hours

    Hex Hall

    Written by Rachel Hawkins

    Narrated by Cris Dukehart

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    On her twelfth 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.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateJun 29, 2012
    ISBN9781452678658
    Hex Hall
    Author

    Rachel Hawkins

    Rachel Hawkins is the New York Times bestselling author of The Wife Upstairs, Reckless Girls, The Villa, and The Heiress, as well as multiple books for young readers. Her work has been translated into over a dozen languages. She studied gender and sexuality in Victorian literature at Auburn University and currently lives in Alabama.

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    Reviews for Hex Hall

    4/5

    205 ratings144 reviews

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    • 3/5
      This was slow to start and a little adolescent but got good toward the halfway mark.
    • 3/5
      Sophie Mercer discovers she's a witch, and then she casts a spell that creates too many ripples and she's sent to a boarding school that's basically a reform school for Witches, Shapeshifters and Faeries, and a Vampire. Her roommate.It's an interesting story, there is a lot of the fish out of water issue and really she couldn't be the first person who knew nothing of the history and abilities she has before landing in the school. They really should have an entrance exam to determine what skills people have and what they need to learn!I liked it and wouldn't mind getting more in the series.
    • 5/5
      Hex Hall is captivating and spellbinding page turner, it will have readers hooked on Sophie’s journey from the first page…I have been stalking this book ever since I heard about it.Throughout the book I felt like the female version of Alex Cross trying to solve the mystery of the attacks at Hex Hall.the story was that addicting.Sophie is one of those characters who are just funny and just down to earth even though she a witch. Obvious not a good one(at first!)How can you blame her she has no training on how to use the powers inherited father, Sophie keeps drawing attention to herself leading to moving around the country to avoid attention. Then Prom night...happens she makes a very public mistake involving a love spell. Finally sending her to Hecate Hall aka Hex Hall for troubled shape-shifters, faeries, and witches like Sophie. Get's vampire named Jenna as a roommate(soon to be BFF)who is suspected of the mysterious attacks.Friemenies of three beautiful and powerful witches. Crushes on the School's HOT unavailable bad boy.And to top all off she has a teacher holding a grudge against her.The romance in this book seems almost familiar. But i enjoyed it all the same. definitely no complaints.Rachel Hawkins is an author to look out for! She creates this world of magical creatures and mystery beautifully. I really did enjoy her style, I'm being tortured waiting on her next book LoL :D
    • 3/5
      Nice twist at the end!
    • 3/5
      So this book has been on my TBR pile for about half a year. (I was very out of the loop with reading before last year so I didn't know about it till summer maybe) and I had to read it for a few of the challenges (of which there are many) that I signed up to this year. And in all honesty I'm not that sure what I thought of it. I mean don't get me wrong, it was an easy read and I enjoyed parts of it but it was a bit all over the place. The story is based around Sophie, a young witch who after a series of spells gone wrong, was sent to attend Hecate Hall aka Hex Hall with other Prodigium's (witches, fairies, shape shifters, vampires). After just one day Sophie finds herself up against the schools popular girl Elodie and friends, when she refused to join their coven of dark witches. Sophie also finds herself falling for a Warlock named Archer who also happens to be Elodie's boyfriend.Sophie's only real friend at the school is her roommate Jenna, the only vampire student in the school, and someone who is being suspected of murdering a classmate which just happened to be her former roommate. Previously cleared under lack of evidence, the finger is being pointed at her again when 2 more girls nearly share the same fate, resulting in Jenna and the only other vampire in school (a teacher) being sent away until things are cleared up leaving Sophie all alone.Sophie, who didn't know anything about her fathers side of the family (or anything about her father for that matter), learns more than she cares to know and after meeting the ghost of her great grandmother, Alice, she starts to hope that things will be better, and when given the opportunity, decides to take magic lessens for Alice. But while taking the lessons, Sophie finds out what she really is and the book ends with trying to come to terms with that.What did I think? there is a lot more to the book then what I just summarized (probably very badly at that) but I'm trying not to give too much away.When I read a book in a series, I tend to wait till I have all of the books before starting it as I become obsessive with it, but even if I wasn't sticking to a schedule, I can honestly say I don't think I would be picking the 2nd one up just yet. Like I've all ready said, it was good. But I found it to be predictable and also just really reminded me of Harry Potter, but not as good haha.
    • 3/5
      Sophie tries to keep her magical powers under wraps, but invariably her soft heart leads her to use them and she has to transfer schools again. But after her latest escapade, her parents' patience has run out and she is sent to the supernatural boarding school, Hex Hall. There she makes fast friends with her vampiric roommate, and immediate enemies with the other witches at the school. After other students start turning up drained of blood, Sophie realizes the only way to clear her roommate's name is to find the real culprit.

      Lightweight, but I really respect Sophie for resolving to get her magical powers removed at the end of this book. It's a responsible choice.
    • 3/5
      This book was pretty good. I liked the main character's voice and a lot of the humor in the book. It was interesting enough to keep me reading and I enjoyed it.
    • 4/5
      I am probably one of the last people on the planet to read Hex Hall. It's been on my radar for ages, and one of my friends really loved the books and told me I had to read it, but I kept putting it off. However, I signed up for the Witches and Witchcraft Challenge this year, so figured it was the perfect time to cross it off my list. And while I didn't feel like this was the best book ever, I loved the snappy storytelling, extremely amusing main character, and the use of magic and mystery quite a lot.I am a huge fan of boarding school books, so that automatically gave bonus points in Hex Hall's favor. I also love quick-witted and sarcastic main characters, which meant that Sophie and I got along splendidly. Throw in a romance with a hot bad boy like Archer, and this book had my name written all over it. It sort of reminded me a little of Hogwarts, in terms of the usage of magic and the classes on the history of the Prodigium, but was plenty unique in its own right to not bring on constant comparisons (and let's be honest: nothing will ever compare to Harry Potter). The isolated setting allowed for a very unique atmosphere; Sophie is cut off from her mom, doesn't even know her dad, and is having to adjust to a completely new lifestyle. While the story is made up of Sophie's day-to-day life, it was still plenty full of danger and intrigue, particularly when gruesome happenings begin occurring at the school. There was a nice sense of danger and mystery throughout the entire story.And oh, Archer. I think I might have swooned over him just as hard as Sophie did! I loved their banter, and the fact that he didn't seem to care when Sophie kicked the crap out of him in their Defense class. There was just a lot to love about the two of them, from their stilted, awkward conversations, to the surprising turn of events that kind of left me speechless. I can't wait to see more of Archer himself, because I have tons of questions I want answered, but also want to see more of the two of them together. They just made me smile.While I can't say this was my most favorite book ever, I did definitely like it well enough to read the rest of the series. This one had some nice twists and turns to it, and I look forward to seeing what's going to happen next, not only for Sophie but for those around her as well.
    • 4/5
      As far as girly fantasy goes, this was pretty good, and well thought out. Nice plot twists. Definitely felt Potter-esque, though, what with the boarding school, former-student-ghosts, headmistress (Umbridge-like at the beginning, Dumbledore-esque as the book moves on), and groundskeeper, but there were enough substantial differences to make this feel like its own book most of the time. I liked it, and it was a good summer afternoon's read.
    • 4/5
      This book seemed very stereotypical teen fantasy romance at first but turned out quite clever and funny and I liked it a lot. Fun read and looking forward to getting my hands on the other books in the series.
    • 4/5
      I read this while reading a bunch of Sookie Stackhouse books and just before reading White Cat by Holly Black, so I hope those things don't bleed through in my memory of this book, which I read a week ago. I'll do my best.The main character is a witch. Her father's a warlock, though he doesn't live with her and she's never even met him. After causing a big scene at a prom, she's sent away to witch reform school. Where she meets other students who are witches, and warlocks, and fairies, and werewolves and shifters (I /think/ I remember two types here, a la Stackhouse), and one vampire. Of course her roommate happens to be the one vampire.Despite the fact that the opening scene in a prom. Despite the fact that this is published by Disney. Despite the fact that there is a clique of pretty girls who think they're better than everyone else. Etc, etc. It's actually really good and doesn't suffer for having those things. This isn't the typical popular girls/misfits plot or the 'how do I get the guy of my dreams?' plot. Though those elements are in there, they're not annoying. Really.I actually really liked it. My main quibble is that the school seems to be this haunted house-looking type place, complete with a basement. Yet it's in Georgia. It just struck me as really odd. A New England house, in Georgia, for no particular reason.Anyway, check it out. I'll be reading the sequel of this one. And, so help me, if Disney does turn it into a movie or a television show, I'll watch that too.Well. Maybe.
    • 3/5
      Pros:
      * Paranormal prep school
      * Hot older groundskeeper
      * Quick, fun read

      Cons:
      * Quick action in places
      * Story lines not as developed/too quick resolution to problems
      * Unanswered questions

      Mean girls, hot boys who casually break uniform rules, furniture that magically improves as you grow more comfortable with being at Hex Hall -- it's like Connecticut meets Hogwarts.
    • 3/5
      When Sophie's prom night spell goes wrong, her date calls it a "Carrie Prom." So she is sent to a reform school for Prodigium. There she faces school problems with a twist - the mean girls are literally dark witches, her roommate is a vampire and teacher who are strict. Lord Byron is a Vampire and teacher. Sophie is disappointed in him as a teacher - too moody. She discovers the secret of her ancestry and finds out who her father is.A good YA paranormal tale.
    • 5/5
      *Warning: May contain slight spoilers*So I must say... FINALLY!!! A book worthy of ten stars! It feels like forever since I have read a book that I have liked as much as this (only one I an recall in quite some time is "Alpha" by Rachel Vincent, heck, even Cassandra Clare's [who I worship] "Clockwork Angel" wasn't all that great in my opinion.Okie dokie, so now that I have gotten that off of my chest... On to the good stuff. When I first picked this book up and saw that it was a Disney book I rolled my eyes. I figured that it would be some crummy storyline that was only written so that it could be made into some straight to DVD movie or some Saturday morning Disney show a la Hannah Montanna, HOWEVER, imagine my surprise when I read the book and find that it is really good- and better than even good! Like, "I think you would be crazy to not like this book".Sometimes YA books revolving around 16 year olds irk me a bit, I just find them to be kinda mindless or too superficial, however, I did not experience that at all while reading this book. I found myself bursting out laughing quite a few times in this book, and not because I was laughing at dumb writing or anything, I was laughing because Sophie is a great strong female character with a killer sense of humor (I know, I probably looked really weird reading a Disney novel in the university library, and randomly bursting out in laughter, while everything was dead silent because everyone was studying for exams- oh well)... And I really did like the best friend, Jenna, in this instance. Sometimes I find that the best friend can be a little annoying or completely unnecessary in a storyline (see Shelby in Lauren Kate's "Torment"), but I didn't find that at all. Also... The love interest Archer? Great guy and totally swoon worthy. And again (thank the high heavens), Sophie and him did not develop feelings for one another as soon as they set their eyes upon one another.And the bad guys (yes, there was more than one, and Rachel did a beautiful job weaving them all in together and tying up all of the loose ends at the end of the novel)... Bad "Guy" #1, Elodie, was pretty likable, which again, is kinda surprising for me to admit. There was a few times in this novel where I did feel really bad for her, especially after losing her friends and finding that her boyfriend had feelings for another... And I didn't feel like pulling my hair out when reading about her and all of her crazy antics. And of course, that darn Alice (Bad "Guy" # 2)! I didn't trust her from the get-go... I mean, isn't it kinda weird that the ghost of your dead grandmother, who mysteriously developed magical powers out of the blue (which is completely unheard of), and who is almost the same age as you are (which is just plain weird), just randomly shows up, tells you that you are one of the most powerful magical beings ever- if not the most, and wants to teach you how to hone your ability? I mean, on the one hand, you might think that that is really nice and all, but on the other hand, there is just so much mystery surrounding her that you can't help but be a little suspicious of her motives. And Bad Guy # 3? Well, I will keep that one a mystery... But I will say that I don't think that this character is bad whatsoever, though the evidence (the tattoo) may suggest otherwise. It might be naive of me to think this, but I think that this character is innocent and was coerced for whatever reason into doing what they did, I don't think that had a choice in the matter whatsoever (but as mentioned, that might just be wishful thinking on my part).AND THE ENDING/ LAST SENTENCE OF THE BOOK?!? UGH!!! It is really shocking in my opinion and it completely changes the outcome of the story (but in a good way, I think. Well... I hope so at least).So yes, I think that you are really missing out if you have yet to read this book (or if you have this book at the bottom of your TBR pile- you know who you are! Move this book up to the top ;) )... And I am super looking forward to the second book in this series, "Demonglass", which comes out in a matter of months!
    • 5/5
      I had been holding off on reading this one until after the third book came out. I have been getting really irritated about having to wait around for the next book in a series to come out so I decided I'd wait until I had all of these before I'd start. The third book, Spell Bound, was published last week so I finally got to dive into this one. I can tell you that it was most certainly worth the wait and I have found a new series to obsess over!

      Hex Hall completely blew me away. I read it in two short sittings. Partly because it's a quick read but also because I couldn't handle setting it down. My eyes were glued to my Kindle as I got completely lost in Sophie's story! Sophie is such a likable character and I was cheering for her from the very first page. She is sarcastic, funny and doesn't take anything too seriously. She's quite independent and a quick thinker. Sophie is thrown into a world she has very little knowledge about and it's fascinating watching her try to navigate her way through this magical place.

      The plot was very intriguing. It's full of mystery and suspense which keeps the reader on their toes the whole way through. I really did not see any of the twists coming but they made sense all the same! Sophie's only friend at Hex Hall is being accused of murder and assault. She is torn between her loyalty to her friend (Jenna, who is a really awesome character!) and all the clues that seem to point at her being the attacker. It's not an easy place to be and I think Sophie handles it well. She's clever and knows how to stand her ground. I still don't know how I'm supposed to feel about Archer- Sophie's detention buddy and crush. He still seems like such a mystery to me and I'm really excited to see how things will go in book two.

      As you can see, I LOVED this book and I'm so excited about this series! I would recommend it to anybody who is looking for a quick and fun read. It made me laugh several times and I can't wait to get back to Sophie's world.
    • 2/5
      Hex Hall is the story that every young teenage girl scrawls in her history notebook to escape reality. Rachel Hawkins' novel adds nothing to the genre that hasn't been developed a hundred times before. The characters are underdeveloped and inconsistent, and, while the conclusion presents an interesting twist, the pacing is so terrible that all entertainment is lost in the rush to the end of the chapter. Not recommended.
    • 4/5
      Hex Hall was a quick fun read. The characters were funny for the most part and pranks and sarcasm were sprinkled liberally throughout the story. I thought the story would be more complex than it was although there were a few surprises. The main character, Sophie has a confusing relationship with both of her parents. Instead of her not communicating with them, they continuously keep her in the dark. As I read the story, I couldn't shake the feeling that I read it before. Then I realized there are many similarities to Fallen by Lauren Kate including the location, bad guy crush, reform school, secretive groups, not sure who to trust, even a graveyard scene, all the same. There were some differences, but a lot more similarities that I won't put in so I don't spoil the book for readers. I'm hoping the next book brings more intrigue. There is certainly a lot left open for the next book. And I will be looking forward to reading the next one to see where Sophie turns up.
    • 3/5
      This is a good example of a perfect YA book. Sophie is a likeable protagonist. She's has her flaws, but she's not overly angsty. She's trying to figure out who she is, but not in a way that's exhastingly irritating. She's caught in a little mystery at school, and while it's not shockingly complex, it's awfully hard not to enjoy getting to know her and her compatriates.

      It's not gripping adult reading, but it's quick and light and easy. Kind of like a great little cupcake after the huge meal of a book I just finished. Totally downloading the next two. 3.5 stars. Good, clean fun.
    • 4/5
      What more can I say than, "I LOVED THIS BOOK"? This is my second time reading it and I'm still in love with it. Usually, I tend to pick the book apart my second time around and not like it quite as much as this first time. That was not the case this time. Hawkins writing style is straightforward and simple. She doesn't try to use overly complex words that I don't understand and need to have a dictionary on hand for, yet it doesn't feel like she is writing for the comprehension of a five-year-old. It flows from one page to the next. The storyline and plot were fast-paced and enjoyable to read. Hawkins does a fantastic job of weaving this world full of magic but still having it feel real. Like this could really happen to any person on the street. I felt like I could really be at school (if I was gifted) with all of these kids, they. I loved each and every character, even the ones I hated! The character development was great and, once again, I felt like they were real people that I knew, they were so alive and engaging. Sophie is a wonderful protagonist. I love her attitude and her witty remarks. She had me laughing through the entire book. I would love to be her best friend. I enjoyed the growing relationship between Sophie and Archer. I like that there was some resentment and distaste for each other in the beginning and that they took the time to get to know each other.Two thumbs up to Rachel Hawkins and Hex Hall. I can not wait to start Demonglass and be sucked back into this wonderful world!
    • 4/5
      Hex Hall was a good book. It was all about Sophie, a girl that has been sent to Hex Hall (magical juvie). She gets picked on, attacked, cursed, and tricked, and it all makes for an entertaining plot. I loved reading Hex Hall and the only complaint I can think up is it's a bit short in my opinion. I would recommend it to a lot of my friends.
    • 4/5
      Synopsis: 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 punish...moreThree 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.Review:For those of you that have severe Harry Potter withdrawal then this book is for you. Sophie joins Hex Hall having little know-how of her powers which keep doing everything but what she wants) nor any real knowledge of her father.But things get a whole lot stranger when she's made to join a coven, and her major crush turns about to be her enemy's boyfriend. Plus her new room-mate is a vampire who alledgedly killed the previous occupant of her bed.This book is wonderfully written, almost whimsical at times. The flow and pace keep you wanting more, and the story doesn't disappoint. I thought when I started that I would hate it but I ended up loving the characters, the setting and even the magical talk which is kept to a nice minimum. My only wish was that there would be more interaction with Sophie and Archer, and maybe a little more emotion. What we had was nice but it was quite tame considering many YA books these days have more sexual tension than some adult books.A wonderful and, I'm sure, a great start to a new series.
    • 5/5
      I've been waiting to read Hex Hall for a very long time. Ever since I read the summary months ago actually. Well, let me tell you, it was worth the wait. I'm glad it was as good as I thought it would be, better even. The lead character, Sophie, is probably one of my favorite female characters. She's just fun to read about and her personality really shows through Hawkins writing. Sometimes characters are very 2-d and I can't really imagine them as well as I would like to, but I had no problem with Sophie. I really enjoyed all of the secondary characters as well, even the mean girls. They weren't overly bitchy like some authors try to make the mean girls, they were just the right amount of mean. Then there's Archer, the popular hottie that all the girls crush on. He's very crushworthy too, but you'll have to read it to find out more! There are a lot of stories out there based in boarding schools and reform schools but this was such a twist on all of the ones I read. Reform school for witches, faeries and shapeshifters. I mean, come on, it doens't get much cooler than that. I wasn't expecting some of what came about near the end and I can gladly say Rachel Hawkins has officially hooked me. I can't wait to get my hands on Hex Hall 2: Mad Hex. There's some kissing scenes but thats as bad as it gets so I recommend this to anyone who enjoys YA.
    • 4/5
      Hex Hall is a story we have all read before, at least that's what I thought. It's twists an old and somewhat overused tale into a new exciting and unexpected delight. The twists and revelations threw me the reader into bliss with the unknown. The details and characters are so well written i felt I could reach out and touch them.
    • 5/5
      "Being a witch had definitely not been as awesome as I'd hoped it would be. For one thing, I didn't get to fly around on a broomstick. (I asked my mom about that when I first came into my powers, and she said no, I had to keep riding the bus like everyone else.) I don't have spell books or a talking cat (I'm allergic, and I wouldn't even know where to get a hold of something like eye of newt." Witches are extremely powerful beings. They possess extraordinary abilities that allow them to control the cosmos, alter reality, re-order time and conjure up the unspeakable. No wait. Scratch that.Sophie is a witch, and well, she can't do any of that. The only thing she's managed to do in the past four years since she's come into her powers, is get hastily shuffled out of one school and town to the next whenever her odd behavior made the locals contemplate running for their pitchforks. Now her awesome- no, awful powers have snagged her a one way ticket to Hecate Hall, an alternative type boarding school for troublesome Prodigium (paranormals). Having been a reject in the human world her whole life, it's totally unfair that she be tossed into a school full of paranormals who all know more about witchcraft than she does. Not only does everyone, including the maintenance help know more about magic than Sophie, but they also know more about Sophie than she knows herself. Raised by a human mother and a mysterious warlock father who she's never met, it isn't just her lack of magic that has Hex Hall buzzing with Sophie's arrival- it's her family's infamous past. Now, not only does she have to endure the rigors of high school, and the frustration of being a less than average witch but almost everyone is against her because of who she is- and they may not all be alive.This book had everything you would expect from a teenage boarding school story:1. Failure to be accepted? Check.2. Befriended by the school's only outcast? Check.3. Fall for the REALLY HOT GUY? Check.4. Hated by the "in" crowd? Check.5. An elite paranormal extermination society out to kill you and being stalked by a ghost? Well...THAT'S not standard, but Check.Another tidbit that isn't standard issue, is the suspense that comes with being able to trust everyone and no one at any given time in the story. It was a pin-the-tale-on-the-bad-guy free for all and the author changed who you could and couldn't trust at every turn. It left my head spinning, in a good way.Sophie is an adorable character. She is cute and clueless, all the while possessing a sharp edge that makes her unafraid to tell those who deserve it where to stick it. When the school's elite trio, Elodie, Anna and Chaston, in true The Craft form (had The Craft been cool) pressure her to join their coven of dark witches, she has sense enough to see that everything is not quite right with their offer. But even our sharp little Sophie can't resist temptation when it comes in the form of a mysterious green clad ghost that wants to help her develop her powers.This was a delightful little read that kept me guessing, frantically turning pages and laughing out loud. Fast paced and hysterical, it was impossible for me not to adore the little witch. Write more Miz Hawkins. And write faster."She's wearing a scrunchie," I said. I had rocked some scrunchies in my day, but that had been when I was, like, seven. The thought of wearing one as a grown woman was just tragic."I know." Jenna shook her head. "We have this theory that it's her Portable Portal to Hell. You know, she just stretches it out and steps through whenever she needs to recharge her evilness."The sequel Demonglass, is scheduled for release in March of 2011.
    • 4/5
      From experience I know that I don't usually enjoy YA fiction. I tend to get annoyed by the usual characters who are too dim to be realistic, and who tend to roll their eyes on every other page. But sometimes something calls to me and I just can't resist reading one. I downloaded a sample of this book and the story pulled me in. It seemed to be written intelligently.

      This was a surprisingly engrossing story of a teenage witch named Sophie who is sent to a boarding school for supernatural teenagers who have messed up in one way or another. In Sophie's case it was a love spell gone wrong. I won't go into the plot, but Sophie is a sympathetic and fairly bright character. This book came at a time I needed something light but engrossing, and I enjoyed reading it.
    • 3/5
      One lousy love spell gets Sophie Mercer sentenced to two years at Hecate Hall (A.K.A Hex Hall,) a reformatory school for witches and other magical beings. Along the way she meets the trinity(some seriously vain witches who insist she must join their coven,) and bunks with Jenna, the only vampire on campus, who is rumored to have killed her last roommate. There’s also Archer Cross who is destined to have every girl fall for him, and yes, even Sophie is not immune.Throughout the book she feels tons of teenage angst but not in a whiny can’t handle it sort of way. She fears being the outcast amongst outcasts, and having a lot of catching up to do to be on par with her classmates. She gets some secret training from Alice who turns out to be her dead grandmother’s ghost.Lately, I’ve been reading books that take days to read, and this was just a pleasant snack. The book flew relatively fast, no three page descriptions of everyday items and complicated plot structure. Don’t get me wrong it wasn’t easy to figure out what was going to happen, but it wasn’t frustrating either. Sophie is delightfully witty and sarcastic, and not frustratingly perfect.I picked up this book, because I heard it was like Harry Potter. Of course, the only thing similar was that it’s about witches in a boarding school. That’s it. It was more like The Craft than anything. Also there have been a lot of comparisons with Claudia Gray’s Evernight series, but I mean if you liked Evernight than you’ll like this. If you like sudden wind blowing and rippling hair all around and pictures rattling and lights flickering…oh and levitation. Then Hex Hall is for you.
    • 4/5
      I generally don’t get excited about upcoming releases dealing with faeries, witches, vampires, etc., but from the moment I first read a synopsis of this book last year, I knew I had to read it. That’s a lot for a book to live up to, and Rachel Hawkins surpassed my expectations with this book.It would be easy to dismiss this as a female Harry Potter, but it’s really not other than in the most basic of similarities (witchcraft, boarding school). Although Sophie knows that she’s a witch, there’s not a lot more that she understands about who she is. Her dad is a mystery to her, she isn’t particularly skilled with magic (hence her forced enrollment at Hex Hall), and she doesn’t understand how dangerous it is to be Prodigium among humans. Because of this, she doesn’t have any preconceived notions of how she should act or who she should befriend. She’s just Sophie: funny, smart, and plucky. But even though she’s smart, she still lets her emotions cloud her judgment when it comes to believing what she’s told, and that leads to trouble.And then, of course, there’s Archer. I think everybody has an Archer. He’s that boy that you know you shouldn’t like, but he’s devastatingly cute and charming in a way that makes it impossible not to care about him. It might sound cliché, but I promise you that it’s written in a way that is anything but.Throughout all her trials with friends and her “stupendously futile crush”, there is the bigger issue of a possible threat to all the Prodigium at Hex Hall to deal with. Hawkins writes this mystery so well that I didn’t totally see where it was going to go. There were enough red herrings that I was looking in so many directions that I, thankfully, didn’t automatically guess with 99% certainty what was going to happen. That always gets high marks in my book.
    • 4/5
      A pretty average book. Nothing really stood out as great about it, but it was entertaining enough. Most of the book was very predictable, but I didn't see the ending coming and will read the sequel to see what's going on.
    • 5/5
      When I first read Hex Hall last year I was immediately blown away. Hex Hall was one of the best books I read in 2010 and probably one of my all time favorites. The magic, the humor, the story, the characters, everything is just spot on perfect in this book. After I read Hex Hall in one sitting, the next day, I sat down and reread it again because I just loved it so much. Hex Hall is the only book I have ever reread right after reading it for the first time. I wanted to go back in to Sophie’s world immediately after finishing. Rachel Hawkins knows how to write one funny, kick ass, awesome book that leaves you on the edge of your seat. The writing was spot on perfect. It was the right blend of humor, snark and seriousness when need be. And boy, does Hawkins now how to write one hell of a story with an awesome twist. Seriously, she is like an evil genius with the plot. One funny evil genius. One of the best things that immediately sucks you into the book is Sophie. Sophie is such a great character and gives the book so much life. From the start, Sophie is just pure awesome. She is so sarcastic and humorous that I was literally laughing aloud. I loved that Sophie was a strong character. Sophie stood up for her friends and stood up for what she believed in; she was always doing what is best and trying to help people, which is how she ended up in Hex Hall in the first place. And then there is my other favorite character, Archer. Now what any book be without some swoony worthy guy? Archer is definitely swoon worthy. Not only is he snarky and funny he is also just sexy. Yeah. And there is definitely more to him than meets to the eye. Now what would Hex Hall be without magic? In some books, when you add supernatural creatures and magic powers to the mix it just falls flat and feels so forced and just fails. But in Hex Hall the supernatural element just fits in so perfectly. The magic element just feels right and is so important to the story. Magic is just part of Sophie and Sophie’s world, but it doesn’t dominate the story which I really liked. Hex Hall wasn’t just about magic and the supernatural but about the characters and their story and the characters just happened to be different from normal humans. I could wax on and on for ages about this book but that would bore you. But everyone needs to read this book. Seriously, I will force it into people’s hands at the book store. And the ending will leave you wanting more. There is a great twist at the end that makes Rachel Hawkins an evil genius (and SHE IS AN EVIL GENIUS AS THE SEQUEL WILL SHOW). I did pick up the sequel to this book because how could I resist? I wanted to desperately to see what happens next. This is one of those series that everyone needs to read because of its awesomeness.
    • 4/5
      Whatever expectations I had about Hex Hall... well, they were wrong. Just wrong. For one, despite the title, they do not learn magic. Not in school, at least. Two, the book didn’t run like a school at all. Not really. It was mostly centered on Sophie and her teenage angst and hormones. Three, it wasn’t as action-packed or as scary as I would have expected, even with mysterious incidents popping up all over the place.Normally, I get creeped out by any paranormal genre that has an edge of mystery and suspense to it. Take Vampire Academy – mysterious things happened in much the same way as Hex Hall, but it was a lot scarier. Heck, even Twilight scared me sometimes (yes, admitting that is painful). Hex Hall was not scary at all, even if there were several central groups out to get Sophie and a continuous string of murders/almost-murders that seemed to target her coven. The danger just didn’t seem that... real. There was no suspense. Even with the two plot twists at the end, I still wasn’t scared. That bothered me.Speaking of the plot twists, I didn’t really see them coming! Well, okay, I saw 1 out of 3. I obviously knew Hawkins was throwing us a red herring, trying to line up events with Jenna to make it seem like she was guilty. I found out one of the bad guys once they had appeared. The second, involving The Eye (which is a group of hunters determined to kill any Prodigium)? Noot so much. Did not see that at all.The characters were alright. Sophie was sarcastic most of the time and had no control over her temper whatsoever. Traditional teenage angst and hormones. Same ole, same ole. She wasn’t very smart, really. She kept getting caught up in the Trinity’s pranks, earning her cellar duty for a semester, and was basically mingling with the enemy. Both enemies. Jenna was such an awesome character, clad with faults and insecurities. She’s strong and brave for putting up with the rumors and murmurings that occurred behind her back. I felt so sympathetic for her when her story was revealed.Archer was the stereotypical hunk that all the girls wanted to be with. I started out not liking him too much (I wanted Sophie to be with the groundskeeper, Cal), but after a while, he charmed me. Speaking of Cal, I loved him! I have no idea why, since he was in like... what, three scenes? I can’t shake this feeling that he will play a part in future novels. I felt like Hawkins was setting him up as an important character, possibly a love interest for Sophie or Sophie’s true betrothed.My main gripe about this book was that some of the story was incongruent. One moment they’d be at a pond, the next Mrs. Casnoff was looking off past the lake. Nowhere in the book does it mention there’s a lake on the island. Another incident was when Sophie had the afternoon off, then Taylor had opened a door during Sophie’s phone call. Weren’t the students supposed to be in class? There were just a lot of things that didn’t add up.I hated the cliffhanger!! =( Not hate in the bad way; hate in the I WANT TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS RIGHT NAO RACHEL! kind of way. I’m definitely picking up Demonglass as soon as it publishes. I need to find out what happens!