When Sophie Mercer turned thirteen, she 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 Hecate Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward prodigium, a.k.a. witches, fae, 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, tag-along ghost; and a new roommate, who happens to be the most-hated person and only vampire on campus. Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her friend Jenna is the number one suspect.

Meanwhile, Sophie has a more personal shock to grapple with. Not only is her father the head of the prodigium council, he's the most powerful warlock in the world, and Sophie is his heir. 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.

Hex Hall, Rachel Hawkins’ debut novel, was fantastic! I could not stop reading it and now I really want to read the sequel. Everything about the book was great and it is definitely being added to my list of favorite books.

Sophie Mercer is a witch. She’s not exactly good at it though, so she is sent to Hecate Hall, where she won’t run the risk of exposing witches to the world. Hecate Hall is not where she wants to spend her next two years but she is stuck so she might as well make the best of it. She befriends Jenna, the only vampire student, develops a futile crush on Archer, a very good looking warlock, and makes enemies of the only coven of dark witches at the school, including Archer’s girlfriend. It seems like nothing else could possibly go wrong but then the attacks start. And Sophie may be next.

Sophie was actually a pretty funny character. She was kind of clueless and I loved her for it. I could really relate to what she was going through, the whole trying to fit in thing. She just kept making mistakes and they all had me laughing. I really loved how she took control, though. She realized that she wouldn’t get any better without practice so that’s what she did. She was a strong heroine that I found myself rooting for!

The plot was great. I couldn’t guess who or what was attacking the students. And that wasn’t the only surprise thrown in. Let’s just say that Archer had a bit of a secret that I never saw coming. It threw me for a loop. After reading that, I have to have the sequel. I want to know what happens and I want to know now.

Overall, Hex Hall is a great paranormal book that has a little bit of everything thrown in. Rachel Hawkins did an amazing job with her debut and the sequel is one that I am dying to get my hands on.

What others are saying about Hex Hall:

The Book Smugglers’ review: “This is a much better book than its premise.”

Dark Faerie Tales’ review: “Laced with mystery, adventure and an adorable romance; this book was impossible to put down.”

NYX Book Reviews’ review: “I really liked the ideas Ms Hawkins had, and her world sounds interesting.”