Hex Hall -- Rachel Hawkins

I thought it was odd that there was a cat on the cover, as Sophie specifically stated at the beginning of the book that she's allergic¹, and because, from what I remember, there wasn't a single scene that featured a cat.  Ahem.  Moving on.

After casting a disastrous-consequence-laden love spell at her high school prom, sophomore Sophie Mercer finds herself packed up and shipped out to High School #20.  Which is a bit different than the last nineteen, as Hex Hallis a reform school for Prodigium adolescents -- witches, warlocks, fae, weres, shifters, and yes, vampires -- who can't seem to fly under the radar in the mundane world.

Once there, she finds herself rooming with the school's sole vampire² -- who may have, incidentally, murdered her previous roommate -- as well as in lurrrve/hate with an extremely attractive yet extremely maddening (you know the type) warlock who happens to be dating one Mega Bitch of a Dark Witch who wants Sophie to join her coven.  She also discovers that her father -- who she's never met -- is a lot more important in the wizarding world than she imagined.  And that there are a whole lot of people who hold that against her.

OH MY GOD, FUN!  Yes, like Academy 7, Hex Hall plays out the Discovery of Friendship and Lurrrve Through Detention³ storyline, but Sophie is a hilarious narrator -- the love spell gone wrong at the beginning made me laugh out loud, mostly because of this line:  "It's okay, baby!  I don't need eyes to see you!  I see you with the eyes of my heart, Felicia!  My HEART!" -- and there are a few plot twists that make it clear that there will be Much Excitement and Drama in the coming books.  (That isn't to say that I didn't see them coming, but that's because um, HELLO, my brain is huge and also because the author provided decent foreshadowing -- not because she slapped her manuscript (or my head) around with the Obvious Stick.) 

It's the first in a series, it ends on a total cliffhanger -- which I know will drive some of my kids bananas -- and I'm very much looking forward to the next one.  A must, must read for those who like the chick-lit style boarding school stories and/or chick-lit-ish YA fantasies.

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¹Query:  If someone is allergic to cats/dogs, would they also be allergic to weres and shifters?  Also, hey look -- I finally got around to looking up the superscript code!

²Discounting Lord Byron, the English teacher.  Yes, THAT Lord Byron.

³I read two in a row completely by accident.  What are the odds?

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Book source:  My local library.

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