School Spirits

by Rachel Hawkins

Overview

Fans of Rachel Hawkins' Hex Hall series will shriek with joy over this dark spin-off adventure full of humor, magic, and snark!

Fifteen-year-old Izzy Brannick was trained to fight monsters. For centuries, her family has hunted magical creatures. But when Izzy's older sister vanishes without a trace while on a job, Izzy's mom decides they need to take a break.

Izzy and her mom move to a new town, but they soon discover it's not as normal as it appears. A series of hauntings has been plaguing the local high school, and Izzy is determined to investigate. But assuming the guise of an average teenager is easier said than done. For a tough girl who's always been on her own, it's strange to suddenly make friends and maybe even have a crush.

Can Izzy trust her new friends to help find the secret behind the hauntings before more people get hurt?

Rachel Hawkins brings the same delightful wit and charm captured in her New York Times best-selling Hex Hall series. Get ready for more magic, mystery and romance!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781423179085
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	09/24/2013
Series:	A Hex Hall Novel , #4
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	171,887
File size:	797 KB
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Rachel Hawkins is the author of Rebel Belle and the New York Times bestselling series Hex Hall. Born in Virginia and raised in Alabama, Rachel taught high school English for three years before becoming a full-time writer. To the best of her knowledge, Rachel is not a witch, though some of her former students may disagree...

Editorial Reviews

Fifteen-year-old Izzy Brannick comes from generations of monster hunters. Witches, vampires, faeries, werewolves—her forebears have dealt with them all, and mostly come out on top. But ever since Izzy’s older sister disappeared a year ago while confronting a coven of witches, Izzy and her mother have become the last of the Brannicks. Keeping up the family business, the two of them move to a small Mississippi town to investigate a simple haunting. Naturally, nothing is quite that easy: the vengeful ghost is unusually powerful, the cute new boy in town has a mysterious aura of power around him, and homeschooled Izzy needs to learn how to make friends and survive her first high school experience. A charming and zippy paranormal mystery, Hawkins’s self-contained spinoff from her Hex Hall series is built around a likeable bunch of characters including a heroine who is smart, kind, and resourceful, and a team of refreshingly non-stereotypical friends. Ace plotting, snappy dialogue, unexpected twists, and an exhilarating finale will have readers eager for more. Ages 12–18. Agent: Holly Root, Waxman Leavell Literary Agency. (May)

Publishers Weekly

* "Ace plotting, snappy dialogue, unexpected twists, and an exhilarating finale will have readers eager for more."— Publishers Weekly (starred review)

* "Hawkins dials the level of humor up to high throughout most of the book, with deftly phrased witticisms in both the narrative and her characters' dialogue. Her characterizations shine as original and funny, especially Dex and Torin, an Elizabethan-era warlock trapped for centuries in the Brannicks' mirror, who dispenses dubious advice."— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"In true Hawkins fashion, School Spirits combines romance, intrigue, and the paranormal with humor and high-school drama to produce a light read that bodes well for another Hawkins series, this time featuring the Brannicks."— Booklist

"[A]n exciting paranormal romance that provides a dynamic and riveting plot line that will keep readers eagerly turning pages."— VOYA

PRAISE FOR HEX HALL

"Veronica Mars meets Percy Jackson and the Olympians...the snappy one-liners, loyal friendships and burgeoning romance will delight."— Kirkus Reviews

PRAISE FOR HEX HALL

"Hawkins' entertaining debut is jam-packed with magical creatures and mystery."— Publishers Weekly

PRAISE FOR HEX HALL

"Opening Hex Hall was like opening a box of chocolates-no way could I exercise self-control! There was at least one laugh per page, a witty and self-depreciating protagonist, a.k.a. Sophie Mercer, and a murder mystery that had the pages turning themselves-either that, or one of Hex Hall's invisible Prodigium was to blame! Bottom line: Sophie Mercer has cast a spell on me!"— Becca Fitzpatrick, best-selling author of Hush, Hush

PRAISE FOR DEMONGLASS

* "One engaging, entertaining story. Once readers turn the first page, it is nearly impossible to put the book down."— VOYA (starred review)

PRAISE FOR DEMONGLASS

"Brisk pacing, sparkling romantic chemistry and genuine heartache will satisfy fans and attract new readers to the series."— Kirkus Reviews

PRAISE FOR DEMONGLASS

"Complete with maniacal spirits and one heck (hex?) of a twist, will have readers anxiously awaiting the next installment."— The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

PRAISE FOR SPELL BOUND

"Sophie is a plucky heroine [and] the action is nonstop."— VOYA

From the Publisher

Gr 7–10—Since her older sister went missing nearly a year ago, 15-year-old Izzy and her mother are all that remain of the family. Endowed with extra strength and supernatural powers, the Brannicks have been ridding the world of evil creatures for thousands of years. Without her sister by her side, it's a lonely life for Izzy, who is still trying to prove to her mother that she is ready to handle the family business on her own. After a nearly disastrous run-in with a vampire, her mother decides to give her something easier to work on. They move to Mississippi, and the teen enrolls in the local high school where a rogue ghost has attempted to kill one of the teachers. Dealing with the ghost should be a simple task, but attending high school for the first time is a scary prospect for the homeschooled teen. She joins the school-sanctioned Paranormal Management Society and becomes friends with its members. She begins to fall in love with one of them and discovers that another member may be the reason she can't get the ghost under control. Always warned by her mother to go in, do the job, and get out, Izzy realizes that the relationships she's formed may be placing people's lives in jeopardy. It's impossible not to compare this book to Buffy the Vampire Slayer as it blends equal parts humor, drama, and romance-just like the popular TV series. Girls will eat this one up.—Cary Frostick, Mary Riley Styles Public Library, Falls Church, VA

School Library Journal

Izzy--short for Isolde--and her mother are the last in their centuries-old line of monster killers. Izzy's sister Finley disappeared while the sisters were dealing with a witches' coven, and Izzy has felt guilty about the incident ever since, holding herself responsible. Looking for a break, Izzy's mom moves them to Ideal, Miss., and sends Izzy to high school, an environment completely foreign to the girl, with the hope that she will be able to deal with a local ghost. Izzy makes actual friends there but learns that this ghost has far more power than usual, and she comes to suspect that one of her cherished new friends may have summoned it. Worse, she's attracted to Dex, but the boy gives off vibes that Izzy picks up as supernatural. She can't tell just what kind of being Dex might be, but she hopes she won't have to kill him. Hawkins dials the level of humor up to high throughout most of the book, with deftly phrased witticisms in both the narrative ("worry slithered through me") and her characters' dialogue ("I am affronted!" declares Dex). Her characterizations shine as original and funny, especially Dex and Torin, an Elizabethan-era warlock trapped for centuries in the Brannicks' mirror, who dispenses dubious advice. Finley still being missing, it's entirely possible this, itself a spinoff of the Hex Hall books, may become a series. Here's hoping the Brannicks will be back--their story's marvelous fun. (Paranormal comedy/suspense. 12 & up)

Kirkus Reviews