~ Book Review: School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins ~

Name:  SCHOOL SPIRITS

Author: Rachel Hawkins   

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Date Published:  May 14th, 2013

Pages: 297

Format: Hardcover

Genre:  YA/Paranormal

Source: Bought/Personalized

AMAZON / B&N

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 Fifteen-year old Izzy Brannick was trained to fight monsters.  For centuries her faily 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!

3.5

When I heard about School Spirits I was like: YES! I am always up for Rachel Hawkins’s work. I absolutely love her Hex Hall series and I was so sure that I was going to love this spin off, but that was not the case. When I started reading, I couldn't stop myself from comparing this book with her other series. I had too many expectations for this story and I felt kind of let down. This book lacked the sassiness and spiciness of Sophie, the main character from Hex Hall.

Izzy Brannick is a 15 years old girl that lives with her mom and sister. Her family has a long history of monster hunting and she is to follow their footsteps. But when her sister disappears without leaving a trace, her mom thinks is time for a change. They have to move to a different town, this include enrolling Izzy in a high school. Izzy had never been exposed to the real world before. She has a mission of capturing the ghost that is haunting the her new school and she needs to keep a low profile. But when she accidentally dislocate someone’s shoulder in her first day of school, she realizes that being a normal teenager is going to be hard for her. Can Izzy trust her new friends? More importantly can she keep the emotional detachment from her friends, just like her mother told her to?

It doesn't seem fair to compare this book to Hell Hax because, if I am to compare it, this book is going to be at a big disadvantage. Here we have Izzy, she is a Brannick, and they’re supposed to be cool-kick-ass-monsters hunters. *Snorts* Izzy is kind of badass but a boring one. She doesn't have any sense of humor and her narration is life-less. Then we have Dez, mysterious and charming boy, that shows interest on Izzy. I thought as the story progressed something awesome and epic was going to happen, well... it didn’t. Dex was just a regular boy with a bad case of asthma that ended up just being  Izzy’s friend.

My final thoughts about the story are mixed. I wanted to enjoy the story, I really did but the plot was premature and predictable. I couldn't understand the whole piss of ghost deal. The book was slow paced, nothing really interesting happened until the very last pages and even then it was not the action that I was hoping for. The ending was blah. So my fellow readers, don't dive-in to this story hoping for a lot a kick-ass action. Easy, kind of enjoyable (if you are 12) story.  

Remember, this is just my opinion and School Spirits has also received 4+ stars on Goodreads.com.