Demonglass

By: Rachel Hawkins
Publisher: Hyperion
Publication Date: March 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4231-2131-2
Reviewed by: Amy Lignor 
Review Date: April 30, 2011 

In a literary world that is now filled to the brim with YA fiction, many are getting “lost” in the shuffle. However, a novel titled, Hex Hall, which was put into the market last year, was one of the absolute best reads that the literary community was given. Hex Hall was a book about a young girl who was placed in a strange school when it was discovered that this particular girl had certain…supernatural powers. However, unlike most books in the fantasy realm, this author had the ability to add in characters with heart, soul and sarcasm - as well as writing a plot that wasn’t the “norm.” Rachel Hawkins delivered to the public a true story with chills, thrills, excitement, love, and friendship that touched upon subjects like bullying, being different, and managing a life that is difficult enough when you’re a normal teenager.

In this BRILLIANT sequel to Hex Hall, our girl Sophie is back, and her life is even more of a mess than the readers remembered. Sophie is still at Hecate Hall - or what she refers to as Juvie for Monsters. Last semester, Sophie had really gone through it. Finding out that the crush she had on Archer Cross was purely a set-up; that he had been all along working for a group called ‘The Eye’ in order to get information out of her and eventually put her to death because of what she is; as well as certain people dying at the school that she feels responsible for, Sophie has had a hideous life thus far. The only friends she’s really made are Jenna - her vamp roommate, and Cal - a quiet boy who lives at Hecate Hall and takes care of the grounds.

When Demonglass begins, Sophie is trussed up by one of her teachers and thrown into a slimy lake where she must find a way to free herself with her magic, and rise to the surface before she drowns. Of course, the drowning isn’t the hardest part for Sophie. When she bolts from the lake she comes face to face with a father she has never seen. He has arrived, and is at Hecate Hall to take her to London for the summer and try to convince Sophie not to go through with ‘The Removal.’

You see, Sophie doesn’t want this kind of power. She wants it removed so she can be a normal everyday teenager - even if the Removal process could kill her or, at the very least, make veins and scars appear on her pretty face. She requests Jenna to come along with her for the summer so she won’t be alone and, oddly enough, her father brings Cal. Why? Hecate Hall fans - and there should be tons of them - will be quite surprised as to the reason why Cal is in Sophie’s life at all.

When they arrive in London, Sophie’s heart drops as they take her out into yet another “nowhere” location, to a huge house that is over a million square feet, named Thorne Abbey. Turns out, this unending mansion is where Council Headquarters is located - and her father is the head of said Council. The tension builds as Sophie’s summer begins with a bang.

From an old book of spells and dark magic, to a ghost who refuses to leave Sophie alone, to her reunion with Archer Cross, who has to prove to Sophie whether he is friend or foe, to a pair of odd demons who magically appeared one day and are being taken care of by the Council, Sophie’s world becomes a huge mess. When her father explains to her that someone out there in the world is actually “raising” demons, as if planning for a war, everyone’s true colors begin to shine, and Sophie must find a way to become a heroine, or escape with her life.

As good as the first, if not better, Demonglass is a book that you read in one sitting. Rachel Hawkins has created a plot that is non-stop and doesn’t mirror anyone else’s out there on the market today. Sophie is a fantastic character with a ton of humor, who takes readers by the hand and walks them through her magnificent world that involves every magical creature you can think of - but never gets confusing.

Quill Says: Although the characters are many and the realms are fantastical, this story of a young girl just trying to make it through her world is funny, sweet, warm, thrilling, and truly emotionally gripping. Hopefully the third book in this series will be out ASAP!