The Hollow

The Hollow
by Jessica Verday

A Young Adult Paranormal Romance novel about a high school girl, Abby, coming to terms with the mysterious death of her best and only close friend. The story is intertwined with the Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving and set in the town Sleepy Hollow as well, thus the title of the novel. Abby deals with rumors about her and her friend, being tormented by her peers and pitied, which she felt was the worst. The author wrote Abby as a very realistic teen and was able to describe her emotions so well that the reader can really feel the girls' emotional pain. Unfortunately, I was definitely disappointed in the ending of the story. The novel was marketed as a paranormal romance, but I feel those should have happy endings or at least some resolution between the two protagonists. This book had neither, and I believe the ending was definitely set up for a sequel. One theme in this book which I found interesting was the craft of perfume making, for which Abby had a wonderful talent. This creativity allowed time for Abby to take her mind off the tragic events of her best friends' death. I could tell the author had conducted some research or had some knowledge of making fragrances, and it was interesting to learn a bit about the process. I would give The Hollow a pass unless you are a die-hard paranormal romance reader. [If you enjoy this, I would recommend Fallen by Kate Lauren, and the Evernight Series by Claudia Gray, which is a story that becomes darker and action packed as you read through the series.] -- recommended by Jessica H. - Walt Branch Library


[ official The Hollow and Jessica Verday web site ]

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