Hex Hall (Hex Hall, #1) in What's the Name of That Book???

Mar 13, 2010 Trin rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya, fantasy, american-lit

I can tell you precisely when this book won me over: page 8. Our heroine, teen witch Sophie, has just discovered her classmate, Felicia, crying in the bathroom at the prom, so she—kind of for the heck of it—decides to cast a love spell and make Kevin, the boy of Felicia's dreams, fall in love with her. Only the spell gets out of control and Kevin falls crazy in love with her, to the point where Felicia feels the need to blast pepper spray at his face. And there we are, at the top of page 8, with ...more

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Jul 30, 2012 Nadine in NY Jones rated it really liked it

Shelves: stayed-up-way-too-late, fantasy-and-sci-fi, young-adult, werewolves, fairies, cotton-candy, paranormal, vampires

from NPR poll of best Young Adult fiction ...

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4

Reading this was like eating a giant bowl of chocolate ice cream: it was really good, but not great, I was inexplicably incapable of setting it down, and in the end it wasn't as satisfying as I wanted it to be.

I really liked the characters, the writing was a little juvenile but still entertaining, and I think I'd like to read the rest of the series ... but not right now. I was annoyed with the incredibly trite theme of "speci ...more

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Oct 28, 2008 Maria Elmvang rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2008, 5-stars, fantasy, paranormal, owned-ebook, ya, arc, 2011

Very promising first book in a new fantasy trilogy. I literally couldn't put it down and read it in one sitting despite having plenty of other things to do. Can't wait to get my hands on the next two books.

Reread in 2011 in preparation of book two in the series. Every bit as good as on my first read-through - good thing I have "Demonglass" readily available so I can start it straight away! ...more

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Mar 09, 2011 Kate rated it really liked it

Shelves: age-ya, 2011, paranormal

Recently I won a copy of Demonglass from the Free Book Friday: Teens blog, so I figured I'd better read the first in the series! Initially I had thought this was going to be a cheesy witch series like all those I read back in high school (more recent series that I imagined this would resemble: Sweep by Cate Tiernan, Daughters of the Moon by Lynne Ewing, Circle of Three by Isobel Bird...). This was SO much better than I imagined.

Sophie has some magical powers, which often get her into trouble. Af ...more

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May 11, 2011 Shoshanah rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I heard so many great things about this book that I couldn't wait to read it. I think that was part of the problem though, because I hyped it so much it couldn't quite live up to my expectation.

Think of this book as Harry Potter meets Gossip Girl. Sophie is a witch being raised by her non-magical mother. Seems once her mother discovered Sophie's father magical identity she left him and raised Sophie on her own. Except without any to train Sophie's magical ability she is sent to Hex Hall, a schoo ...more

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Mar 08, 2010 Liz rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 5-star, young-adult, paranormal

I really enjoy it when YA paranormal doesn’t take itself too seriously. That said, I’m ashamed that I left Rachel Hawkins’ Hex Hall on my TBR pile for so long. Hawkins’ debut was a fun and engaging book with a delightful main character.

Read my full review here:
http://www.consumedbybooks.com/2014/0... ...more

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Apr 17, 2012 Hannah added it

Shelves: ya, urban-fantasy-paranormal

Umm, so this could easily be just another forgettable YA fantasy, but instead it's completely awesome. It's everything I always loved in books as a kid, like boarding school and magic and angst, but also just totally well written and awesome and different. Hurrah! ...more

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Feb 27, 2010 Emma rated it really liked it

Sophie Mercer is a witch. But not with many perks. She has no broomstick to fly, no spell books, no talking cat (she's allergic).

She can perform magic. But not particularly well. And not without a lot of unforeseen . . . complications.

Sophie and her (non-magical) mom have lived in nineteen states. They lasted the longest in Indiana (four years). They only made it two weeks in Montana. And most recently, well, that didn't go too well either.

In fact it went so badly that Sophie's been sentenced to Sophie Mercer is a witch. But not with many perks. She has no broomstick to fly, no spell books, no talking cat (she's allergic).

She can perform magic. But not particularly well. And not without a lot of unforeseen . . . complications.

Sophie and her (non-magical) mom have lived in nineteen states. They lasted the longest in Indiana (four years). They only made it two weeks in Montana. And most recently, well, that didn't go too well either.

In fact it went so badly that Sophie's been sentenced to Hecate Hall; a reform school for wayward witches, faeries, and shapeshifters.

If Hex Hall wasn't bad enough, Sophie also ends up rooming with the only vampire on campus, alienating a trio of students, and making a total fool of herself in front of a gorgeous warlock. All on the first day. At least her vampire roommate is nice.

Things at Hex Hall only get worse as Sophie learns more about her magically gifted father, develops a major crush, and makes even more enemies and social blunders. Oh, then there's the matter of the weird attacks on students that look suspiciously like the work of a vampire. Sophie thought passing as a human was hard, but it living as a witch is going to be way harder in Hex Hall (2010) by Rachel Hawkins.

Hex Hall blends elements of concrete fantasy and campy fantasy in a way that is refreshingly unique. It also works really well. Sophie is a narrator grounded firmly, and perhaps unwillingly, in the magical world while also essentially being an average teenage girl (much like the girls shown on the cover--go figure!). Hawkins capitalizes on both aspects of Sophie's character to create a heroine that is entertaining and very authentic.

Hawkins' writing here is sharp, clever and vivacious. This is a book will have you laughing out loud and biting your nails in suspense--sometimes at the same time. Filled with action, humor, awesome characters, and a few twists Hex Hall offers readers a few surprises and a lot of fun.

Possible Pairings: The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan, Fire by Kristin Cashore, Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough ...more

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Jul 03, 2010 Punk rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy, vampires

YA Fantasy/Supernatural. Sophie Mercer isn't a bad witch; she just has awful luck when it comes to casting spells. This last one -- a love spell gone horribly horribly wrong at the senior prom -- has landed her at Hecate Hall, reform school for the magically inclined.

My copy of this doesn't say HEX HALL #1 on it in big letters, but it should have. That's all right; I figured it out myself when I got about ten pages from the end and realized that only half of the major plot points were going to b ...more

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Mar 31, 2010 Chelsea rated it really liked it

Shelves: contemporaryfiction, fantasy, 2010, youngadult

A fun read, and something teen fans of all the supernatural series out there will appreciate.

I certainly enjoyed this one, and it's a funnier, more sarcastic take on the Supernatural Boarding School story that's so popular right now, but there wasn't anything particularly original here. I'm looking forward to the next one to learn more about Archer, and I will say I'm more intrigued by the Council than I ever was with any governing body Meyer tried to create. ...more

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Feb 11, 2011 Wealhtheow rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, queer-characters, ya

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 na ...more

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Mar 23, 2011 Dracolibris rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya-lit, vampires, fae, lycanthropes, 2011, paranormal

I really enjoyed this book. It had it all: faeries, vampires, witches, shape-shifters, mystery, romance, but most importantly a really strong female character with a great sense of SNARK. The suspense was good, but the humor made me smile as I read along.

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Jul 10, 2011 martha rated it really liked it

Shelves: speculative-fiction, kindle, year-2013

THAT'S RIGHT, KIDS, GRAD SCHOOL IS DONE, READING FOR FUN IS BACK. WATCH OUT, WORLD OF FICTION.

For a fluffy piece of YA about a magic school, this was charming and readable. Props for the well done romance plot and for being casually matter-of-fact about having a (pink-haired vampire) lesbian character. Unprops for all the intentionally unresolved questions; why must every book now be the first in a series?!

(Now to see if I can make my entire year's reading goal if I'm starting, uh, five months i ...more

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