Author: Anastasia HopcusRelease Date: July 13, 2010
Pages: 400 (ARC)
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Most Appropriate For Ages: 12+Where I Got It: For review from 1 ARC Tours
His love captivated her... his secrets might kill her.
Since her sister’s mysterious death, Persephone “Phe” Archer has been plagued by a series of disturbing dreams. Determined to find out what happened to her sister, Phe enrolls at Devenish Prep in Shadow Hills, Massachusetts—the subject of her sister’s final diary entry.
After stepping on campus, Phe immediately realizes that there’s something different about this place—an unexplained epidemic that decimated the town in the 1700s, an ancient and creepy cemetery, and gorgeous boy Zach—and somehow she’s connected to it all.
But the more questions she asks and the deeper she digs, the more entangled Phe becomes in the haunting past of Shadow Hills. Finding what links her to this town…might cost her her life.
---------------------------------------------------
Shadow Hills didn't completely blow me away, but I did really enjoy it.
The plot is extremely original, aside from the fact that Phe's love interest, Zach, is drop dead gorgeous. But the whole supernatural element was something completely new to me, full of mythology and science. Sometimes, I felt like the scientific parts went over my head, and that maybe they could've been explained better, but I managed to still enjoy the story.
Phe was awesome! She was way too curious for her own good, which I loved. She recognized the crazy stuff going on around her and she demanded answers, which was awesome and so refreshing with so many characters just ignoring the very suspicious stuff going on. Zach was pretty dreamy, even if once or twice I did roll my eyes when he said some cliche to Phe. The side characters were all awesome, and, unlike a lot of times, they all had lives that didn't revolve around the main character.
The writing was impressive, especially when describing Phe's feelings towards Zach.
The ending wrapped things up nicely, but still left plenty of room for a sequel (which I'm assuming is coming). All in all, a very enjoyable and refreshing read. I expect it to be popular this summer, and I'm eagerly anticipating the sequel.
Contest time! I'm offering up one pre-order of Shadow Hills to one lucky winner. As long as The Book Depository ships to you for free, you can enter! (Please be sure that it does ship to you for free by going here.) Just fill out this form. Contest ends June 21. Good luck!
