Hex Hall (Hex Hall, #1)

by Rachel Hawkins

Cris Dukehart (Narrator)

In the wake of a love spell gone horribly wrong, Sophie Mercer, a sixteen-year-old witch, is shipped off to Hecate Hall, a boarding school for witches, shapeshifters and faeries. The traumas of mortal high school are nothing compared to the goings on at "Freak High." It's bad enough that she has to deal with a trio of mean girls led by the glamorous Elodie, but it's even worse when she begins to fall for Elodie's gorgeous boyfriend, Archer Cross, and frankly terrifying that the trio are an extremely powerful coven of dark witches. But when Sophie begins to learn the disturbing truth about her father, she is forced to face demons both metaphorical and real, and come to terms with her own growing power as a witch.

• ISBN10: 1452608652
• ISBN13: 9781452608655
• Publish Date: 29 June 2012 (first published 2 March 2010)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 14 March 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Tantor Media, Inc
• Edition: Unabridged edition
• Format: Audiobook (CD)
• Duration: 7 hours
• Language: English

Reviews

3,5 stars

"Being a witch had definitely not been as awesome as I'd hoped it would be."

  
What a throwback to a more nostalgic and happier time. A lot of books that I loved pre-2014 have some glaring issues that 2020-me struggles to ignore. However, I had such a fun time while rereading Hex Hall and aspects that I don't usually like, didn't seem that bad. 

Hex Hall is a reform school for delinquent supernatural creatures such as witches, faeries, shapeshifters and vampires. After the main character, Sophie, uses her magic in the most hilarious way and almost exposes herself as a witch, she is sent to Hex Hall, a typical magical YA high school complete with all the cliches and stereotypes that you could imagine. There's magic, mayhem and spells along with a chick-lit tone that fits in with the characters and the atmosphere.  

Sophie is the type of YA character that I'm really fond of. She's snarky, sarcastic, witty, relatable and I love her sassy one-liners, her lack of filter and her hilarious sense of humour. She's only 15 and can be immature and gullible, but she's quite self-aware and doesn't pretend to be someone she's not. I can understand why she would get on some readers' nerves, but she grew on me and she experiences a lot of growth. 

The characters, although stereotypical, are still a little interesting. I have to give a shout-out to Sophie's mother for being a supportive and present parent i.e. an underrated gem in YA Fantasy. I also like the friendship Sophie has with her roommate, Jenna, the only vampire at Hex Hall, who loves pink in a way that I could never and is so soft and precious, but still stands up for herself like a boss. Then there's Elodie, the cookie-cutter mean girl who gains a little bit of depth in the end. I'm not a fan of girl hate because I think it's an unnecessary plot device. Not everyone is going to get along, but that doesn't mean that being mean to someone else and putting them down for no reason is okay. However, the girl hate in Hex Hall, although unnecessary, seems necessary because it is integral to the plot... or maybe entertaining stories and witty characters make it easier for me to accept things that I don't usually agree with.  

Archer is the typical popular and hot love interest, but I totally get Sophie's crush on him. He's quite snarky as well, but it seems like a front and makes for great banter because Sophie handles snark like a pro. The romance aspect is insta-lovey to some extent, but seems believable as a one-sided crush becomes friendship and has potential to become something more. However, I didn't really feel the chemistry between them. What makes their relationship a little icky is the potential cheating aspect. When Sophie and Archer make out in the cellar, it's not clear whether Elodie and Archer are still dating or broken-up. If they weren't broken up, then there's definitely cheating. There is also emotional cheating on Archer's part because he flirts with Sophie while dating Elodie. But after the reveal at the end, it could be possible that he was just using Sophie and Elodie to get more information. 

Hex Hall has many interesting factors: a magical school for delinquents, unique lore and Sophie's family history. Hex Hall starts off lighthearted and while it keeps its lightheartedness throughout, there are some darker aspects towards the end. There is also a  mystery aspect and while some reveals are expected, there are plenty of twists. The plot is engaging and the reveals in relation to the overall story and plot are well-executed. Hex Hall doesn't do anything 'wow', but it's interesting, engaging and enjoyable.   

I wouldn't recommend Hex Hall to everyone, but if you're looking for a quick and fun read and you like snarky, witty and relatable main characters who have a lot of growing up to do, a magical school with stereotypical characters and a plot involving magic, murder and secrets that doesn't take itself too seriously, then you might like Hex Hall. I certainly did! 

""I'm experiencing some teenage angst, Mrs Casnoff," I answered. "I need to like, write in my journal or something.""

 

[lady_of_the_night]

DID NOT FINISH

[lisacee]

I was really enjoying this book until it ended. I don't like getting attached to a story / character and then having everything turned upside down.

[jeannamichel]

I adored the writing! It was fast paced and funny- sometimes downright hilarious! From a title like Hex Hall, I was expecting a bit more magical boarding school vibes than we got. Sure, the backdrop all happened at the school but I barely saw Sophie go to class and she learned maybe one or two new spells. The eclectic cast of creatures was pretty cool- not only were there witches and warlocks but fairies and vampires too. The book really opens up a lot of questions that are remained unanswered. All in all, I don't think a lot happens in this book. I'm hoping that the sequel answers some questions and gives us a bit more action.

[Linda]

I put this down at 37%, then a few days after, I picked it back up, then now, I put it back down at 59%. I just can't... I don't find anything in Hex Hall right now that makes me want to read it all the way through. Very sad, as this is a series I had been looking forward to.

[Angie]

Hex Hall was fun. That's really the best word to describe it, since I had a good time reading it, but I suspect it won't be very memorable. Sophie is a witch, but she doesn't have a good grasp on her powers, since she was raised by her human mother. She screws up big time at a school dance, and that's the final straw. Now she's the newest student at Hecate Hall, a kind of reform school for wayward magical beings.

Of course, there's a lot of similarities between Hex Hall and Harry Potter, but I won't get into that. I'm sure you can imagine what those are (in fact, Hagrid was mentioned once). But I did still like the world-building for the most part, since special schools are one of my favorite settings. I really liked how each group was distinct yet connected. There is a kind of strange history of magical beings, which seems...well, strange. I don't really have an opinion on it other than strange. Other than that, I still enjoyed the school setting a lot.

The plot of Hex Hall is pretty typical. New girl arrives at strange school, weird things happen, but no one does anything about it except for said new girl. New girl saves the day with her limited knowledge of the magical world! Hooray! There was a death before Sophie arrived, and while she's there two more girls are attacked and left for dead. Everyone suspects her vampire roommate, since all the girls had two puncture wounds on their neck. It's not as simple as that though. I totally didn't see the twist coming, but it also didn't really surprise me either. Nothing about the near-murders had me on the edge of my seat, so I was just reading to be reading and not fully engaged.

I still liked Hex Hall a lot. It's not too original or exciting, but like I said, it was fun. That's enough to make me curious about what's to come now that Sophie knows the truth.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[Sophia]

I had really high hopes for this book and for the most part they were fulfilled. It was fun and moved quickly (although perhaps too quickly; I didn't feel we got much character development in the first half and they all seemed pretty bland but thankfully this changed in the latter half). I thought I knew what was going to happen and I was right by on large, but then woah plot twists were thrown! Excuse me while I go read the second book. 3.5 stars.

[celinenyx]

Harry Potter was my childhood. Ever since I've been trying to find that book that recreates that magic something that made that series so amazing.

Sophie is a witch. After a magic disaster, she is sent to Hecate Hall, where she attends school together with fae, shifters and other witches. Something is draining the Hex Hall students of their blood, but why and who?

The first thing that struck me is how Hex Hall was more juvenile than I was expecting. Lately I've only read older YA books and adult books, so getting into this very high-schooly mindset was hard for me at first. The writing is very easy going, and Hex Hall is a quick read.

Although this book has more than three-hundred pages, I felt as if the page time could have been used so much better. The story failed to bring the magic world to life for me. The life at school is only sporadically touched upon, and there weren't enough details for me to really get into it. Another problem I had was the lack of male characters in the story. The female characters are aplenty, and are all given a name and some kind of personality, but from reading the book you would only think there was one male student living at Hex Hall. I found this very unrealistic - even if you have a crush on a guy, that doesn't mean you don't see the other guys.

I really liked the ideas Ms Hawkins had, and her world sounds interesting. I'm intrigued enough to continue reading the other books, but Hex Hall overall felt very much as a debut.

[angelarenea9]

I enjoyed this book alright. It was too cliche and 'sarcastic' for my tastes, and I had a hard time relating to the main character at first (which I admit was probably due partially to her age, and not a flaw in the book). I did enjoy Jenna, and the mystery/suspense that Alice posed was well written. The 'mean girls' were too cliche for me though. Overall it was a pretty good book and I'd recommend it mostly to middle school or early high school aged kids.

[Chelsea]

I love books about witches. Ever since I fell in love with Harry Potter I think. I’ve read a crazy about of books about them and there’s just something I love about it. Maybe that’s why I liked this book so much. I was a little iffy if I was going to like this one because I also just finished another book quite similar. I hated the main character at first. She’s a little whinny but I got over it and dos did she apparently because she turned pretty bad ass.

I found the plot only ok which is why I only gave it 4 stars. With just a little more it could have easily gotten 5. I liked the whole school for misfits kind of idea and I loved most of the characters. There was also a lot of humor in it which was a nice change for me. Basically it was a good book but not amazing.

Side note: I hate this cover. I’m sorry but I’m a graphic designer so criticizing these things is natural but come on. It looks super childish and why is there a cat? There’s no cats in the whole book! Maybe that’s why I didn’t enjoy it as much. They say never judge a book by it’s cover but the cover is everything! That’s the first thing people see! Anyways enough of that.