Review | School Spirits

School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins
Review by Alyssa
May 2013 by Disney-Hyperion
297 pages
Amazon + Good Reads

"Fifteen-year-old Izzy Brannick was trained to fight monsters. For centuries, her family has hunted magical creatures. But when Izzy’s older sister vanishes without a trace while on a job, Izzy's mom decides they need to take a break.

Izzy and her mom move to a new town, but they soon discover it’s not as normal as it appears. A series of hauntings has been plaguing the local high school, and Izzy is determined to prove her worth and investigate. But assuming the guise of an average teenager is easier said than done. For a tough girl who's always been on her own, it’s strange to suddenly make friends and maybe even have a crush.

Can Izzy trust her new friends to help find the secret behind the hauntings before more people get hurt? 

Rachel Hawkins' delightful spin-off brings the same wit and charm as theNew York Times best-selling Hex Hall series. Get ready for more magic, mystery and romance!"

-Good Reads

School Spirits is the first novel that exists as a spin-off to Hawkins' very popular and well loved (well, at least by me) Hex Hall series. In an attempt to avoid spoilers like the plague, I'm not going to get into how our main character, Izzy, and Hex Hall's MC, Sophie, are connected... because, seriously, that would give away a lot. Just suffice it to say that School Spirits exists in the same universe, after the evens of Hex Hall. 

Hawkins gives us insight into a different aspect of her universe - enter Izzy Brannick... one of the last members of the all female kick ass Prodigium fighting family. After a near fatal encounter with a vampire, Izzy's mom decides that she needs to uproot her daughter to a very, very small town named Ideal... There, Izzy can take a breather from intense monster hunting and try to re-group over a seemingly boring ghost case. Along the way, Izzy learns a lot about her self, her family, and the super natural happenings in Ideal. 

I enjoyed Izzy's character because she was a nice change of pace. She was kick ass, unapologetic, and while she did get a little swoony over the male MC, she didn't go completely boy crazy and allow her romantic interests to distract her from the task at hand. It was also interesting to see the universe from a non-Prodigium point of view. If you've read the Hex Hall series, you know that the Brannicks are very anti-magical folk. 

However, it's the plot that kind of got to me. I felt as though Hawkins could have easily extended the story line into another book or two.... but instead, it was wrapped up in a fashion that felt too easy for me. 

All in all, I did enjoy the story... but not nearly as much as I enjoyed the original series. If Hawkins decided to create another story from Izzy's POV, I will definitely pick it up - no questions asked... but I'm not going to expect to be blown away by it.

Did you enjoy School Spirits? What did you think was up with Dex?!

-Alyssa