School Spirits (School Spirits, #1) (Hex Hall)

by Rachel Hawkins

Cris Dukehart (Narrator)

Fifteen-year-old Izzy, who comes from a long line of monster hunters, investigates a series of hauntings at her new high school.

• ISBN10: 1624068901
• ISBN13: 9781624068904
• Publish Date: 1 August 2013 (first published 14 May 2013)
• Publish Status: Unknown
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Dreamscape Media
• Format: Audiobook (CD)
• Duration: 6 hours and 59 minutes
• Language: English

Reviews

[Stephanie]

I liked the audio, just about as much as I liked the Hex Hall series on audio. I was happy to get back into the Hex Hall world, but I'm not happy with how the book ended. Especially since there probably won't be another book out in this series, which makes me sad.

School Spirits was entertaining. It was a light, fun, and cute read. I did enjoy it but I was also pretty disappointed, I mean I really enjoyed Hex Hall and for me this series doesn't seem to be up to par.

The reasons I think this are because I feel like it was too shallow and not deep enough, the issues it dealt with felt like they were easily brushed off. The cute little romance felt exactly that; cute and little. Immature. Young. More for a preteen rather than teenager. But I guess this book is geared towards preteens more than teenagers even. At least it kind of feels like it.

It just wasn't as solid as I had expected it to be but I did still enjoy it and will be carrying on with the series.

Miss Book Reviews

[catiebug]

Loved it just as much as Hex Hall. Sooooo amazing.

[elvinagb]

School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins, Hyperion, May 14, 2013 ISBN 9781423148494
(ARC copy received from the publisher in exchange for a review)

Isolde “Izzy” Brannick is not your typical 16 year old. She is the last in a line of vampire slayers, werewolf hunters, witch burners and hunters of things that go bump in the night. Working for the Council that governs the monsters or “Prodigium” Isolde and her Mom were all that were left of the Brannicks. Finley, Isolde’s sister, has been missing for a year after a botched case in New Orleans when she disappeared after trying to take out a nasty coven of Dark Witches on her own.
A friend of Isolde’s mother gives them information on a particularly bizarre case of a teacher found nearly dead in a locked from the inside classroom with no clue as to how it was done. There are hints of something otherworldly being involved so they move to Ideal, Alabama to try and get to the bottom of the mystery and maybe get more information on what happened to Finley.
For the first time in her life Isolde is going to go to a real high school, with real teenagers. All she knows about school she is learning from old TV series of teen soap operas. The school she enrolls in has had some bizarre hauntings, plus that teacher who was attacked and she has to make friends fast to get to the bottom of what is going on, get rid of a ghost and move on.
Isolde is a wonderful character, she loves her mom, misses her sister, and finds she really wants to make friends and maybe even have a boyfriend. As she tries to navigate the new world of a normal teenager, she also has to find a witch and defeat an increasingly powerful ghost bent on revenge. This is a great story and left enough of an open ending that maybe we will see more adventures with Isolde.
My only gripe is one that will hopefully be corrected in the final edition. Someone twirling spaghetti on a fork shouldn’t take a mouthful of potatoes in the next paragraph.

[Kelly]

I really enjoyed the Hex Hall series. Even with supernatural themes, the books will appeal to a much younger audience, more so with School Spirits. Izzy is a likeable character, she may be able to fight monsters, but she's a girl who just wants normalcy. She has the weight of her missing sister and her mother's expectations on her shoulders and young teens will be able to relate to Izzy struggling with her first crush, trying to relate to her mother while learning the family trade.

It was lacking that certain spark that Hex Hall seemed to provide, but it was a fun, entertaining read that is perfect for young teens and young adult enthusiasts.