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TITLE: School Spirits
SERIES: School Spirits #1
AUTHORS: Rachel Hawkins
GENRE: YA Paranormal Fantasy
FORMAT: eBook, 303 pages
RELEASE DATE: May 14th 2013, Disney Hyperion
Fifteen-year-old Isolde “Izzy” Brannick is the last of a long line of trained monster hunters. From birth she has been taught how to hunt down and dispose of vampires, witches, werewolves and everything in between but none of this training prepared her for her next mission: infiltrating high school. After her sister’s Finley’s mysterious disappearance while working a case and Izzy’s close call with a vampire, her mom decides to move them to a small town in Mississippi under the guise of giving Izzy another shot at a solo mission: investigating the apparent haunting at the local high school. Izzy befriends a group of outcast students: Romy, Dex and Anderson, who are members of PMS (Paranormal Management Society) and uncovers the mystery of the ghost of Mary Evans and a whole lot more then she had expected.
School Spirits is a spinoff of Rachel Hawkin’s previous series Hex Hall. Those who have read the series will remember the Brannicks and Torin (the warlock stuck in a mirror) who are back in this series. Even though it’s a spinoff, I found the book can stand alone (although I strongly recommend reading Hex Hall since it’s an excellent series) and the reader is given enough of the basics about the characters and backstory needed to understand the Hex Hall/School Spirits world.
The mystery of the haunting at the high school was an enjoyable story and a great place to set the scene for the introduction of the characters and their relationships. I was interested in Izzy’s investigation and I liked hearing about how those “in the know” feel about humans poking their noses into paranormal happenings. I did find that ultimately the revelation and conclusion of the haunting was rushed and unsatisfactory. Everything came together a little too neatly considering the set up and (without revealing much) I was disappointed by the revelation of the force behind the hauntings and the reason. I did like how the arc of the mystery of Finley’s disappearance was set up. I felt like I was given just enough information to be intrigued and want to know more!
I really like Izzy, she’s a great lead character and I loved her inner monologue when trying to navigate the treacherous waters of high school and liking a boy! She’s sarcastic and funny but also a little bit damaged following the disappearance of her sister and her rigid and secluded upbringing. I really felt Izzy’s pain at being conflicted over feeling lonely and wanting to have friends versus everything she has ever been taught about being a “Brannick”. I’m looking forward to seeing her continue to have to figure how to balance those things in the rest of the series.
I thought the back-and-forth between her and Torin was terrific. I really enjoyed how the dynamic of their relationship played out: on one hand Torin is the teenage warlock turned bad who’s been trapped in a mirror for hundreds of years and can’t be trusted but then on the other hand, he is the only friend Izzy has had aside from her sister. Torin is by far my favourite character after Izzy! I want to know what he’s up to! What does he plan to do if he gets out of the mirror? Does he actually like Izzy or is he just trying to use her? I’m also enjoying the possibility of Izzy/Torin.
Romy is spunky, sarcastic and the kind of girl you want to have as a best friend! I really enjoyed reading about Izzy trying to figure out all the intricacies of being friends with a another girl means (ie.: not going to bathroom alone)! She also not afraid to stand up for herself and her beliefs. I always love it when a book has as strong of a BFF as the lead character!
I was less sold on Dex, Izzy’s romantic interest. You know how sometimes you meet someone and you just don’t click with them and you don’t know why? Well I had that happened to me with Dex. I like Dex as a character, he’s silly and brings a lightness to Izzy’s seriousness and I could see how he could be an interesting romantic lead since he’s completely outside of the paranormal world Izzy is from. But I found that their “connection” and how they feel for each happened way too quickly. I think I would like the idea of them more if they had had more a build up towards liking each other. I should also note here that as of now, there isn’t a love triangle! But I do predict that Torin might eventually become a corner. Personally I hope he does although I have a bad track record when it comes to picking the right corner of Rachel Hawkin’s love triangles! :P
RATING: 3.5/5
I definitely recommend School Spirits! It was a great read and I am completely on board for the rest of the series! I’m also hoping we’ll get to see more of the characters from Hex Hall down the line *coughSophiecough*.
Thanks to Disney Hyperion and NetGalley for making a copy available to us for review!