Review: The Hollow - Jessica Verday

Where I got it: Library

Rating: 4 stars  

Cover Rating: 4 stars (Very pretty.)
Genre: Young Adult

Publication Date: September 1, 2009

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Page Count: 515 p.

Buy it: Book Depository / Amazon

Abbey's lived in Sleepy Hallow all her life. It's a small town, but she loves it especially because her best friend lives lived there too. Kristen is missing, and rumors are flying. Abbey tries to mourn her friend, but she can't believe that she's dead. Then she meets Caspian though. One day he just appears, and then Abbey can't get him off her mind. It's a nice distraction from the painful memories Abbey has been having. It's a hard year for her, doing all the things her and Kristen were supposed to be doing together. There's a lot of back and forth with Caspian though, lots of secrets that Abbey is getting sick of, especially when she finds that Kristen was keeping secrets too. Abbey wants to help her friend and be close to Caspian, but all the secrets might be too much on top of all the weird that is already going around in Sleepy Hallow.

I was very hesitant to read this one, I was excited when it was about to come out but then I started seeing the very mixed reviews. After awhile I just put it aside and figured maybe one day I'd read it. Then a friend told me I had to read it. So I did. I was definitely not disappointed. I did wish there was a bit more about the Sleepy Hallow legend in the novel, but maybe in the next two books more will be revealed.
I loved that Abbey made perfumes. I just think it's awesome when characters have hobbies, because people have hobbies in real life and a lot of the times it's not reflected in what we read. She seemed to be unnaturally good at it though. I know nothing about perfume making, but some people I think just have the talent for that kind of thing.
Caspian was an odd character and I don't know how I feel about him yet. Abbey fell in love awfully quick while grieving her friend, but I think it was part of her process. She just wanted someone who didn't tiptoe around her, and someone who wasn't a jerk. Not that all the other characters were jerks, but you know...
It was a bit disappointing that there wasn't more about the Sleepy Hallow legend in the book. Each chapter started with a snippet from the tale, and Abbey recounts a brief version to Caspian but the whole mystery of it just seemed lacking. I wanted something more involved; we will see what the next book brings.
I really hope that in the next book Abbey keeps working on the mystery surrounding her Kristen disappearance. I am very interested to see what happened, and will throw the book across the room if she just lets it go. There is no way that the secrets aren't eating away at her. Mostly, I'm just really excited to read the rest of this series.

First Line:
"They said she killed herself."

Favorite Lines:
"It was that moment I fell in love with him. It actually caused me to stop, and time froze for just a second."