Review: The Hollow by Jessica Verday

The Hollow by Jessica VerdayPublisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

Pub. Date: September 2009

Age Range: Young Adult

544pp

When Abbey's best friend, Kristen, vanishes at the bridge near Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, everyone else is all too quick to accept that Kristen is dead?and rumors fly that her death was no accident. Abbey goes through the motions of mourning her best friend, but privately, she refuses to believe that Kristen is really gone. Then she meets Caspian, the gorgeous and mysterious boy who shows up out of nowhere at Kristen's funeral, and keeps reappearing in Abbey's life. Caspian clearly has secrets of his own, but he's the only person who makes Abbey feel normal again...but also special.

Just when Abbey starts to feel that she might survive all this, she learns a secret that makes her question everything she thought she knew about her best friend. How could Kristen have kept silent about so much? And could this secret have led to her death? As Abbey struggles to understand Kristen's betrayal, she uncovers a frightening truth that nearly unravels her—one that will challenge her emerging love for Caspian, as well as her own sanity.

From the opening of the book, Verday takes us right into Abbey’s mindset after the loss of her best friend Kristen. We get to see how she copes in her daily life without Kristen. I enjoyed reading Abbey’s reflections on her friendship with Kristen and how inseparable they were and how much fun they had together. They made so many plans together when Kristen was alive and I got a better understanding of Abbey’s feelings of loneliness and the guilt from moving on with her life. Then out of nowhere, Caspian, a mysterious and gorgeous stranger comes into Abbey’s life. Caspian helps Abbey cope with her grief and her loneliness starts to turn into belonging again. I was totally wrapped up in Abbey’s and Caspian’s intense relationship. The newness of their relationship and getting to know each other and falling in love kept me turning the pages.

I love Verday’s writing style and how it made me feel like I’m living in the book alongside Abbey and her fascination with The Sleepy Hollow Legend and her many trips to the cemetery. I also enjoyed the details of Abbey’s love of perfume making.

I really didn’t know what to expect as the pages finally dwindled down, because there are some mysteries yet to be resolved. There’s one major piece to the story that I did not see and that left me baffled with a “Who? What? & How?” I was shocked! Verday did a great job keeping me in suspense. My heart goes out to poor Abbey - Can’t even catch a break! I felt so bad for her. When I finally got down to the last chapter, I knew I would have to wait it out for some answers…

The Hollow is a great start to a series and I can’t wait to read the next chapter in Abbey’s story!

Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars