The Hollow Book Review

The Hollow by Jessica Verday

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Release date: September 2, 2009

Source: Gift

Other books in the series: The Haunted

When Abbey's best friend, Kristen, vanishes at the bridge near Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, everyone else is all too quick to accept that Kristen is dead and rumors fly that her death was no accident. Abbey goes through the motions of mourning her best friend, but privately, she refuses to believe that Kristen is really gone. Then she meets Caspian, the gorgeous and mysterious boy who shows up out of nowhere at Kristen's funeral, and keeps reappearing in Abbey's life. Caspian clearly has secrets of his own, but he's the only person who makes Abbey feel normal again...but also special. Just when Abbey starts to feel that she might survive all this, she learns a secret that makes her question everything she thought she knew about her best friend. How could Kristen have kept silent about so much? And could this secret have led to her death? As Abbey struggles to understand Kristen's betrayal, she uncovers a frightening truth that nearly unravels her—one that will challenge her emerging love for Caspian, as well as her own sanity.

Review:

The Hollow was a little different than what I expected. It was a little hard to get into at first and the real excitement didn't start until the end. Overall I did enjoy it though. The characters were well thought out and the plot was original with twists and turns throughout. I loved the cliff hanger ending! I wasn't sure what to expect when I started this novel, I'd heard a lot of great reviews about it and was looking forward to reading it. It took me longer than I hoped to finish it- I think mainly because I wasn't that into it at first and school just started and everything else. Jessica Verday writing style was great and by the middle of the book I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next. Abbey and Caspian had a nice chemistry and the mystery angle of this book was great. I loved never knowing what was what. I'm definitely hoping for a sequel because a lot of loose ends were left untied. All in all this is a great book for fans of fantasy, romance, and books about friendship. It was a nice read, so don't give up on it if you aren't into it at first. The plot really gets exciting and Verday's writing style is great.

The cover was another part of the book that drew me in. The colors are so vibrant and stand out a lot. I love it! I'm not sure exactly who it is- I'm guessing Abbey? But the girl kind of creeps me out. The idea was so original and awesome. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is one you don't hear a lot about, so this really gave me a lot of insight to the tale. The summary of The Hollow was a little vague about what was going to happen so I was completely taken by surprise at the end. There were some things I think were a little rushed and I was confused at other points, but this is one I liked reading. Maybe if I wasn't so distracted with school and everything and had more time to sit down and focus on it... I don't want to give the wrong idea because I did really enjoy it and am looking forward to the sequel (I hope there is one!).

Overall: 4 out of 5 stars