I'll Put a Hex on You

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
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 school for wayward teen witches, faeries, and shapeshifters.

Reading the book at first I thought it was going to be very predictable. "I know exactly what is going to happen," I though to myself. Yet the ending still surprised me. Could I have figured it out if I thought about it more? Probably, but even so the twist still got me.

I loved all the pop culture references thrown in. I'm sure this goes great in the YA market, but since I'm such a kid at heart I loved it. Little in-jokes about Buffy or Star Wars, while let's just say I felt far smarter than I should have for getting the joke.

And I really enjoyed Sophie. I was a fan of all her sarcastic remarks, since I can be a little sarcastic myself. In several instances some of the things she said I could easily picture myself saying as well.

Overall it is a really cute book. Yes, I was disappointed, but I was thinking it was going to be some life changing epic novel. But even with my disappointment, it's not going to stop me from reading the rest of this trilogy.

4/5