Book Review: Raising Demons by Rachel Hawkins

First published in Great Britain: 3rd March 2011
By: Simon & Schuster UK

Sophie Mercer's first term at Hex Hall was quite eventful. First, her evil grandmother's ghost haunted her every move, then her best friend was accused of murder and, finally, Archer Cross (aka The Boy Of Her Dreams) turned out to be an undercover demon hunter; which would have been fine, if Sophie hadn't been the demon he was hunting…

Sophie is hoping for a quieter summer, but as she's spending it with her dad - who just happens to be Head of The Council of Prodigium - at the headquarters of all-things-magical, that's not going to happen. And, as she struggles with her new demon powers, Sophie finds herself surrounded by dark magic and conspiracies. The only way things could get more complicated would be if Archer Cross appeared again. But he wouldn't...would he?


My review:

These books. Each time I read one, I just gobble it up like candy. A huuuyuge part of it is the humour - not many YA heroines can make me burst out laughing like Sophie can. This is a girl, whose comment on entering an opulent mansion, is: "The black-and-white marble floor underneath my feet was shiny enough to make me glad I hadn't worn a skirt".

Called Demonglass in the US, the title was changed for the UK and this is one case where I think the change works better. 'Demonglass' doesn't really have much to do with the plot here, but 'Raising Demons' pretty much describes what's going on. The action jumps ahead to the end of Sophie's first year at Hecate Hall and her father arrives to take her to England for the summer. Having the sequel take place away from the school is a bold move, but the right one, I think. Life at Hex Hall could have easily become very repetitive; now, Raising Demons feels fresh.

This book gives considerably less attention to most of the supporting characters established in the first one and instead focuses on two specific relationships of Sophie's: her formerly absentee father and her crush, Archer. I was at first perplexed at how strong Sophie's feelings for Archer were portrayed as being - I hadn't thought she was that into him - but Raising Demons totally sold me on those two as star-crossed lovers. It is an extremely ill-advised pairing but it's impossible to read this and not get caught up in it. However, I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss some of the Hex Hall characters. There wasn't enough Jenna (there can never be enough Jenna) and I particularly wish we could have seen more of Mrs Casnoff. It might have shed more light on the choices she makes at the end of the book.

I think for most of its narrative, Raising Demons is an even better read than Hex Hall. The world is established now, we get to learn more about its intricacies and the stakes are higher. My only problem with it, is that it fell victim to the cliffhanger ending. On the one hand, the ending is shocking and hugely emotional but on the other hand, it kind of isn't, because we don't know if those things really happened or not - it was all left up in the air. I can't help but think the potential character deaths will have lost their impact by the time the third book comes out. But then Rachel Hawkins has surprised me many times now.

Speaking of the third book, I realised just how much I like this series from my reaction when I found out the next book is the final one: I'm so disappointed! It seems like these books could go on much longer, for as long, in fact, as I need them to make me smile.


Rating: 4 stars

Review: Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

First published in: 2010
By: Simon & Schuster UK

In the wake of a love spell gone horribly wrong, Sophie Mercer, a sixteen-year-old witch, is shipped off to Hecate Hall, a boarding school for witches, shapeshifters and faeries. The traumas of mortal high school are nothing compared to the goings on at "Freak High." 

It's bad enough that she has to deal with a trio of mean girls led by the glamorous Elodie, but it's even worse when she begins to fall for Elodie's gorgeous boyfriend, Archer Cross, and frankly terrifying that the trio are an extremely powerful coven of dark witches. But when Sophie begins to learn the disturbing truth about her father, she is forced to face demons both metaphorical and real, and come to terms with her own growing power as a witch.


My review:

Hex Hall is not going to win any prizes in the originality department. Especially not from me, as I just read about a smart-aleck teen girl who screws up and gets sent to a supernatural reform school a few books ago. So, stop me if you've heard any of this before: Boarding school for witches, firm but wise headteacher, mean girls who pick on our heroine, a crush on the popular boy, a love triangle. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

Surprisingly, the been-there-read-that premise doesn't prevent Hex Hall from being a good read at all. Thanks to Rachel Hawkins' easy and accessible writing style, a likable heroine in Sophie and lots of good jokes, it was a thoroughly enjoyable use of my time.

I knew I was in once the dark witches were introduced. Bitchy teenage girls can be tiresome, but make them a coven of powerful witches and suddenly, they're awesome. I did feel that too many characters were brought in for one book and some weren't developed very much beyond their stereotypes. But Hex Hall has one character I've never seen before in Jenna, Sophie's roommate and a lesbian vampire. I adored Jenna to bits and their friendship brought out Sophie's best qualities.

What was truly shocking and elevated this book from dispensable fluff to a must-read, was the ending. I was fooled into thinking that the surprise revelation that occurs in the last 50 or so pages, was the climax of the story. While that was a nice twist, it doesn't compare to what happens after - that dropped my jaw. It also suggests a huge game-changer for this story and rather than being more of the same, the next book will take a completely different course. I take my hat off to Rachel Hawkins for doing that and am now looking forward to reading the next installment, as a little change from the norm is all that this series needs to be one of the best.


Rating: 4 stars