Thursday, August 8, 2013

School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins Review

I'm back from Richmond, Canada. Good to be back on US soil.


"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 prove her worth and 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?" 

Remember Hex Hall? Yep, this is the spinoff series. None of our favorite main characters make an appearance, but their names are mentioned sometimes or another. (Like Archer :) Everytime I hear his name I swear I swoon and remember all those... ah!) School Spirits still involves witches, wizards, and that usual hilarious sense of humor. (But there is less of it, because of the not-as-pleasant narrator.)

School Spirits doesn't have to be read after Hex Hall. Truthfully, most readers will be able to understand School Spirits. The terminology and fancy words are fairly easy to understand/guess. Anyway, School Spirits is an delightful and cheerful beginning of an excellent trilogy. (I believe it is a trilogy. If it isn't, it's a series, but the previous books are a trilogy.) School Spirits is for anyone that is twelve years old and up. 

I wish School Spirits has switching POVs. I have to know what the new boy (the new Archer) is thinking. Why? Why? How come there is never ever ever a POV for the love interest of the narrator? I need one!!

The plot of School Spirits is good and all words flow together. But that isn't what killed me. It's the classic ending. I can't help but laugh at the ending and ponder about the ending. All these questions will slowly kill me off like Ismae's deadly poisons. (Ismae is from Grave Mercy, the first book in the series His Fair Assassins. Good book, btw.) What will happen next? Where will Izzy and her mom go? Will the boy go to Hex Hall? Who will live? And the "always" question: Who will die?

Character: 

Izzy Brannick is fiercely protected by her mother. She has a vague idea of her mother's motivation, but still resents the protection. (Izzy's sister disappeared without a trace while doing a mission. Izzy's mother is scared for Izzy ever since.) Izzy still has that wisp of innocence throughout the book. She's naive and uses her knowledge of knives and skills of weapons to protect her inner mind. Izzy is consider young (by the mind) for her age (sixteen). Izzy, like all girls, has her share of anger issues, but should be thought of more wiser and more intelligent than many girls. 

Rating: Four out of Five

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