Hex Hall (Hex Hall Series #1)

( 622 )

Overview

Three years ago, Sophie Mercer 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 Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and ...
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Hex Hall (Hex Hall Series #1)

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More About This Book

Overview

Three years ago, Sophie Mercer 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 Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, 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 tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect.

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.

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Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly
Hawkins's proficient and entertaining debut is jam-packed with magical creatures and mystery. With no training on how to use the powers inherited from her absent warlock father, Sophie Mercer keeps making rookie mistakes that force her mother to move them around the country to avoid attention. But when, at age 16, Sophie makes a very public error with a love spell at the prom, she is sent to Hecate Hall, “the premier reformatory institution for Prodigium adolescents” (aka troubled shape-shifters, faeries, and witches like Sophie). She hits it off with her vampire roommate, Jenna, but three gorgeous and powerful witches have declared Sophie an enemy (she nicknames them the “Witches of Clinique”); she has a wicked crush on someone else's boyfriend; and at least one teacher is out to get her. When attacks on students get pinned on Jenna, Sophie is determined to find the true culprit. Sophie stumbles into answers more than searches them out, but the story is well paced and plotted with tween-friendly humor and well-developed characters, particularly awkward but compassionate Sophie. The ending satisfies while paving the way for future books. Ages 11–up. (Mar.)
Kirkus Reviews
Veronica Mars meets Percy Jackson and the Olympians in an appealing, if not groundbreaking, series opener. After one too many well-intentioned spells goes awry, 16-year-old half-witch Sophie Mercer is forcibly enrolled at Hecate Hall, a school off the Georgia coast that serves as a juvenile hall for the magical beings called Prodigium, including witches, warlocks, faeries, shape-shifters, werewolves and a vampire. Sophie lacks her classmates' knowledge of Prodigium mores but successfully avoids being recruited into shallow Queen Bee Elodie's coven. This gutsy move costs her socially, but Sophie bonds with her roommate, the pink-obsessed vampire Jenna, and crushes wildly on super-cute bad boy Archer Cross. When students turn up drained of their blood, Jenna comes under suspicion, and Sophie, determined to clear her friend's name and armed with skills earned under the tutelage of her powerful ancestor Alice, turns detective. In spite of some cliched, Dan Brown-influenced business with the top-secret Prodigium hunters L'Occhio di Dio, the snappy one-liners, loyal friendships and burgeoning romance will delight fans of Rosemary Clement-Moore's Maggie Quinn series. (Fantasy. YA)
From the Publisher
"Cris Dukehart handles the school's cast of characters deftly.…She conveys the book's teen appeal with youthful voices." —-AudioFile
Children's Literature - Kristina Cassidy
Sophie Mercer is starting her nineteenth new school, but this will be the last. Hecate Hall was created for kids like Sophie, who discovered she was a witch three years ago. After a series of spells gone wrong, Sophie's absent warlock father arranges for her to attend the school to properly master her powers in a safe environment. Surrounded by witches, warlocks, fairies, shapeshifters, and even a vampire, Sophie discovers that there is much she does not know about herself and her father. She quickly makes enemies among students and teachers, but before long everyone has bigger problems. Someone is attacking students and anyone could be next. The first book in a planned series, Hex Hall will satisfy readers seeking stories about students in a magical, supernatural school. Sophie is a likeable character with enough flaws to keep her interesting, the other students (especially her vampire roommate Jenna) are well developed, and the inevitable romantic entanglements do not distract from the central mystery. Teachers and parents should be aware of some romantic physical contact between characters, including one character's plan to lose her virginity. Reviewer: Kristina Cassidy
Melanie Hundley
Hex Hall is a witty supernatural comedy. Sophie Mercer discovered she was a witch at age 13. Three years later, she tries to help a friend by casting a love spell that completely misfires; as punishment, she is sent to Hecate (Hex) Hall. Hex Hall is boarding school for problem Prodigums (witches, warlocks, shape shifters, vampires, etc.). By the end of Sophie's first day at Hex Hall, she has made three powerful (and beautiful) enemies, developed a hopeless crush on a popular girl's boyfriend, and discovered that there are such things as ghosts. To top off her first day, she discovers that her new roommate is not only the most hated person on campus, she is also the only vampire on campus. When someone starts attacking students on campus, the only suspect is Sophie's roommate. Sophie is determined to solve the mystery—in fact, all the mysteries—on campus. Reviewer: Melanie Hundley
VOYA - Sherrie Williams
Hecate Hall (or Hex Hall, as it is called by the magical teens sentenced to attend there) is no Hogwarts. Instead, it is a reform school for young Prodigium (witches, vampires, shape shifters and faeries) gone bad. Sophie, a young witch, unleashes a chaotic and ill advised love spell at her high school prom which lands her in Hex Hall. Upon her arrival, Sophie immediately faces plenty of problems, both magical and mundane - bunking with a vampire suspected of killing her previous roommate, an epic (but hopeless) crush on the most popular warlock there, a trio of beautiful and power-hungry witches and the toughest teachers ever. Most disturbingly, a centuries-old secret society is intent on wiping out all Prodigium (particularly Sophie, thanks to the surprising identity of her long absent father), and Hex Hall is the epicenter of their efforts. This book is an interesting mix of styles, offering clever homage to Harry Potter and other books in the supernatural genre while integrating elements of contemporary teen book series such as The Clique. The first volume in a planned series, this book will draw readers to the series with plenty of romance, mystery and a last minute cliffhanger decision. Libraries serving teen readers, particularly girls, will find a receptive audience for this debut book by a promising new writer for young adults. While the story of a school for magical young people may not be new, the twist that this book offers is refreshing. Reviewer: Sherrie Williams
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781423121398
  • Publisher: Hyperion Books for Children
  • Publication date: 2/1/2011
  • Series: Hex Hall Series , #1
  • Pages: 352
  • Sales rank: 67,908
  • Age range: 12 - 14 Years
  • Product dimensions: 8.02 (w) x 5.52 (h) x 0.74 (d)

Meet the Author

Rachel Hawkins
Rachel Hawkins (www.rachel-hawkins.com) was a high school English teacher before becoming a full-time writer. She lives with her family in Alabama, and is currently at work on the third book in the Hex Hall series. To the best of her knowledge, Rachel is not a witch, though some of her former students may disagree....
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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 622 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(382)

4 Star

(158)

3 Star

(54)

2 Star

(12)

1 Star

(16)

Your Rating:

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See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 629 Customer Reviews

  • Posted May 18, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    Hush, Hush (Hush, Hush Saga #1)
    Fallen (Lauren Kate's Fallen Series #1)

    Witches, Vampires, Magic... Welcome to Freak High.

    This book is the farthest thing from boring. Straight when I read the first sentence I was like "Wow! Cool!". I keeped reading and reading, it felt like the book was sucking me into the pages and letting me feel what the character felt. I have never in all my years of reading have I been so addicted to read this book. I knew when I saw the cover and read what it was about that I was going to love it. It's so much better than all those other books about scary magical schools because this one made you really feel something so great you just had to love it! And this was my first time ever really reading a book about a main character like this one. The way the creatures are in this book is just amazing and I love the way the author used to describe this book and the way the characters talked to one another. If you haven't gotten this book, yet you really must cause you are missing a world of fun.

    19 out of 20 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted March 18, 2012

    I Also Recommend:

    Black Wood (A Witch Rising)
    Beelzebub Girl (Ancient Legends)

    great

    Finished this book in less than half a day. I really enjoyed it.

    16 out of 17 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted February 27, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    Reviewed by Jennifer Rummel for TeensReadToo.com

    Sophie found out she's a witch. Three years without guidance and one extremely bad love potion later, she lands herself a one-way pass to Hex Hall.

    Hex Hall is a boarding school for magical creatures and beings in need of a little more training and lots of rules. Other inmates include werewolves, shapeshifters, faeries, and one vampire who happens to be Sophie's new roommate and the one girl everyone loves to hate.

    Jenna loves pink and seems sweet, but there's a dangerous rumor floating around about her and the death of a girl last year.

    Sophie's not sure who to trust, but despite rumors, she becomes fast friends with Jenna while crushing over the hottest boy in school - and gaining his girlfriend as an enemy.

    When another girl is attacked, everyone wants the truth. Did a coven of witches raise a demon? Could a ghost from Sophie's past be more powerful than she suspects? Are the vampires really responsible for these attacks? Either way, the truth must come out...

    Rachel Hawkins writes a perfect debut novel filled with paranormal creatures, a dark mystery, a deep, strange society, and one hot guy. This start of a new series left me breathless with anticipation for the next installment.

    10 out of 12 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted July 31, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    Torment (Lauren Kate's Fallen Series #2)
    Shadow Hills
    Shade
    Demonglass (Hex Hall Series #2)
    Siren (Siren Trilogy Series #1)

    Loving Hex Hall and all of its Hexiness!

    I really enjoyed this book. After reading it I have become a big fan of Rachel Hawkins. She is hysterical! You should all follow her on twitter @LadyHawkins and her blog. But back to Hex Hall and All of its Hexyness!

    Sophie Mercer has been moved around her whole life. After an unfortunate incident at her prom, Sophie is once again headed to a new school only this one is very different from the others. Hecate Hall is a reformatory school for witches, shapeshifters, faeries, and even a lone vampire. Apparently, Sophie is not the only one who has a habit of getting into trouble.

    Sophie lands a room with Jenna, who has a tiny obsession with pink (by tiny I mean this girl has a fixation bordering on crazy-lol). Jenna is at Hex Hall (what Hecate is commonly referred as) on scholarship, which in it of itself is reason for most of the rich snobs to hate her, but it also doesn't help that Jenna is a vampire. Being the only vampire in Hex Hall creates some problems for Jenna when her best friend Holly is killed and she becomes the prime suspect. Holly's coven blames Jenna for Holly's death and they are determined to recruit Sophie to replace Holly. Unfortunately for them, Sophie likes Jenna and she can already tell that Elodie and the others are not people that she wants to associate with. Jenna and Sophie become fast friends. Then the body count starts to rise. Sophie knows that Jenna is innocent but can she prove it in time?

    Enter Archer Cross! Can we take a moment and marvel at the simple hotness of the name "Archer Cross"...ok moving on. Archer is a warlock who is indisputably, the hottest guy at Hecate. Archer is also dating Sophie's new nemesis, Elodie (despite her viciousness I do covet her awesome name:). Getting sentenced to string of detentions literally locked in a room with Archer to catalog random junk seems like a blessing and a curse. Sophie can't seem to shake her growing attraction to Archer. Could he feel the same? Sophie begins to learn things about herself that she never imagined. There are so many questions that unfold throughout the book. Who is Sophie really? And why are people being attacked at Hecate? Is Archer hiding more then his sudden feelings for Sophie?

    Demonglass (Hex Hall #2) is due out March 1st 2011. I can't wait! I can tell that this is going to be a great series.

    6 out of 7 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted October 18, 2010

    Must read!!

    I absolutely fell in love with this book the first time I have read it. And i fall back in love when i read it again. This book is amazing for any teenage girl who has ever felt out of place in the real world. For all the nerdy book girls, myself included, this book will help you through a bad day within minutes of reading it!!

    5 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted January 10, 2012

    LOVVEEDD!!!

    I've been stuck at home for the past two weeks and normally read harlequin novels and historical romances...and then I started the Hunger Games. Finished all three in 2 days. And then it was Divergent, The Girl of Fire and Thorns, Unearthly, Paranormalcy, The Pledge, the Shadow Falls series, Falling Under, Dreaming Awake, the list goes on!
    While I liked all these books, I sensed I was falling into a type--and that being girl goes to (new)school, meets mysterious boy, bad things start happening, boy tries to protect her, girl has unique and unimaginable powers, boy/girl fall in love, epic battle, blah blah blah. And you know what? I like that type. However, as I discovered the Hex Hall series I wondered if the book would be totally cliche, if it would make me feel like I'd read it a million times before, if I'd want to punch the protagonist in her face for various reasons.

    But no. I really, really, REALLY enjoyed these books (Hex Hall followed by Demonglass). Sure they follow the same kind of line as what I'd previously mentioned, but it's done very well and the main character is someone that I really came to like. I was at a crossroads however, when there became two possible love interests. One you'd fallen in love with from the beginning, but the other is the kind of guy that no girl deserves and you root for but have a feeling that his tagline is 'nice guys finish last.'
    I was completely drawn into this book, so much so that when I finished it at 1230am, I immediately grabbed the second novel and read until I finished and went to bed. This first book I wasn't overly concerned about the danger because there weren't many likeable characters that you'd be worried over getting killed. However, Demonglass I practically bit off all my nails because I waited with each page turn to find out who was going to die. Love interest #1? Her dad? Love interest #2? Her mom? her vampire friend? Ooooh, so worth it tho!

    Anyways, i'm not even a teenager, I'm in my mid-20s and I still thought these two books were fantastic! The next installment comes out in March and I'm so frustrated! So far away! Hahaha

    Awesome book! Give the whole series a chance!

    4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted June 27, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    Prom Dates from Hell
    Once a Witch

    Ok, but found Hex Hall lacking

    Hex Hall has a good plot, and an interesting main character, but I found it diffuclt to finish the book. Maybe I was expecting more magic, or action, I'm not sure, but I do know that I skimmed the last 50 pages. I kept reading the book trying to emerge myself into the world of Hex Hall, but I just couldn't. Besides the main character, most of the other characters were thin and one dimensional (Although Jenna did seem more real then the others). I found the "romance" between Archer and Sophie unromantic, they didn't really click together like the they should have. For me I didn't see what Sophie saw in Archer (besides the hotness which she brought up fequently). This was just an average book to me, and I wouldn't recommend it to my friends.

    4 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 11, 2012

    Hex hall

    You have to read the prolouge for it to make scence. I figured that out after i read the first chapeter and didnt know what i was reading. Its an amazing story!!!

    3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 3, 2012

    AWESOME BOOK!!

    I loved this book, gonna buy it for my Nook Color! I loved the second too! I also heard that there is supposed to be a third book and maybe a movie in a few years! LOVED IT!!!!

    3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted December 23, 2012

    Hex Hall Book #1

    Sophie Mercer has been sent to Hecate Hall (aka Hex Hall). Hecate Hall is for magical screwups that need to be corrected. Sophie has been sent because of a mishap at her ex-schools prom. When she arrives, two girls have been injured. Most people suspect it is Jenna, Sophie's roomate. Jenna so happens to be the only girl vampire on campus. Its up to Sophie, Jenna, and a few other friends to crack the mystery.

    This book was good, but not apprioate for little kids. Ths people in this book make out, curse alot, and have s-e-x.

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 2, 2012

    Hex hall Rules!

    It was very hard to put the book down. But i felt bad for Sophie because Archer i one fo the eye.
    I LOVED the book!!!!

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted December 18, 2011

    I Also Recommend:

    Hourglass (Hourglass Series #1)
    Demonglass (Hex Hall Series #2)
    Beautiful Creatures (Beautiful Creatures Series #1)

    Witches, Warlocks, Vampires, Werewolves... What's not to love?

    This book had all of the best elements: humor, sarcasm, romance, relatable characters, mean girls, and magic. Archer and Sophie would be a perfect couple because they're so alike so I was a bit upset by the ending. Thank God there is another two books! Jenna is an awesome vampire that I would love to be my best friend, I mean with her pink bangs, pink bedspread, pink clothes... and it has the perfect balance of regular high school drama and magic in the mix. Rachel Hawkins is a great author and I can't wait to see what she has in store for her next books.

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted December 10, 2012

    Awesome

    Love this series!

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted December 2, 2012

    Great

    Hawkins delivered a great story. Along with some sometimes scary details. It also so included some reality with humor that blended quite well. I thought it was good.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted November 17, 2012

    .

    I absolutely fell in love with this book! After I'd picked this book up, i could not put it down. One thing i love about this book so much is that every chapter you ask "what is gonna happen next?" Well this genre would be like a twist between fantasy, action and romance. I also loved that there was a laugh on almost every page. It's true Rachle Hawkins has cast a spell on me.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted June 24, 2012

    Great book

    Great book

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted June 15, 2012

    LOVE THIS BOOK!!!!!!!

    This is one of my fave books.I have all three books in series and i'm waiting for the fourth one.I highly reccomend this book.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted May 29, 2012

    6th grader

    OMG I JUST FINISHED THE FIRST BOOK!!!!!!! So sad so excelent so intertaning and the best book ever!!!!! I SOOO recommend this book!!!!!! READ IT ALL!!!!

    Also a lot of bad words so be aware!!!!!!

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted April 16, 2012

    MY REVIEW

    Best book ever so intence and funny! I loved every bit of it, it also has great cliff hangers!

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted April 8, 2012

    Confused

    I read this book in fifth grade and loved but when i went to buy the book on my nook. I was confused as to why when you click on it to read the description it has a diff cover and title

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 629 Customer Reviews
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