Review School Spirits

School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins

Release: May 14, 2013

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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? 

School Spirits is first book in a spin off series to Rachel Hawkin's Hex Hall trilogy. It follows the story of Izy Brannik, the redheaded girl we meet in Demonglass. I'm not sure how much time has passed since the events of Spell Bound, but I want to say a year or two. Izzy is now dealing with her sister's disappearance, all while fighting beings of the supernatural kind. Her mother gives her an assignment at a (regular) school, where there's been some ghost hauntings supposedly. Izzy thinks it's an assignment beneath her, but pretty soon, she makes friends and actually starts to learn more about the 'modern world'. She's sort of been isolated from it her entire life.

Overall, School Spirits a very easy book to read: fun and fast paced. I also really liked DEX, Izzy, Anderson, and Romy. They're a fun cast of characters that I hope to read more about. Still, I can't help but miss the original gang, especially Sophie. Still, I definitely recommend this book. The typical Hawkins snark is still ever present, and it never fails to make me laugh.

However, it's probably best to go into this book with the mindset that it's NOT a spinoff to the hex hall series. There was no indication of what happened with Sophie, Jenna, Archer, etc. This was perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the book. I was also hoping the subplot of Izzy's missing sister would play some important role. It didn't, but I expect it will as the series goes on. 

RATING: 3.5 SLICES