eBook Review: The Hollow by Jessica Verday

          Title: The Hollow

          Author: Jessica Verday

          Publisher: Simon Pulse

          Edition: I/ Kindle English version

          Published: September 2009

          Page: 528

          ISBN: (A SIN) B00BB8WTUY

          Genre: Young-Adult Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Supernatural

Synopsis:

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. It only makes things worse that everyone now treats Abbey like either a freak show or a charity case. Thank goodness for 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.

***

"A death could change so many things for so many people. It was heartbreaking." (Chapter 19)

Abigail Browning or Abbey was a girl living in Sleepy Hollow whose friend was found dead. She kept questioning why her friend, Kristen Maxwell, died that night. Despite of her grief of losing her only best friend, Abbey also found herself haunted of something she did not understand. Abbey herself loved to make perfume. After her friend died, she kept herself in silent and never intended to make new friend with someone else. 

Abbey had a quite strange habit. She loved paying a visit to cemetery. There lied down her friend, Kristen, and Washington Irving, the author of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Abbey was so much influenced with Washington Irving and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. One day, Abbey met a mysterious guy named Caspian at the cemetery. Even though Caspian was mysterious and strange, Abbey liked him very much. Caspian seemed always there when Abbey needed help and company. As the time went by and their relationship was blossoming. But, without Abbey realized, Caspian was not somebody she had expected before. And the truth really made her heart broken into pieces.

~o~

The Hollow is the first book from The Hollow Trilogy written by Jessica Verday. As seen from the synopsis, this book tells more about ghost, mystery, romance, friendship, and betrayal. I chose to read this book because at first this book was very promising. Moreover, it is because this book contains some story about perfume too. Besides, I like the cover as well. It is so cute and sweet, isn't it?

The main characters involved in the story are not many. Abigail Browning or Abbey is the central character. Her character always appears in every part of the book. Abbey is described as a teenager who likes making custom perfume. She is very silent and quite strange. She only has Kristen as her friend. Abbey likes to go to Cemetery because that place fits her very well. Besides, she and Kristen used to go there together. Surprisingly, Abbey is  the one among major people living in Sleepy Hollow who seems able to see the dead people. Instead of Abbey as the main character, there is also Caspian. Caspian is a strange and mysterious boy. He seems appearing and vanishing in sudden without anybody notices. However, Caspian has successfully made friend with Abbey and his very motif is protecting her no matter what. On the other hand, there are some other supporting characters, such as Nikolas (the caretaker) and his wife, Katy, and Benjamin Bennet, a guy from Abbey's school.

The setting of this book is mostly about Sleepy Hollow. A legendary city in New York. Regarding the setting, this book gains a lot of references from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow written by Washington Irving. Meanwhile, the time setting is present/in modern era.

The conflicts arising in this book mostly related to Abbey's life. To tell you the truth, the conflicts are more about Abbey's psychological conflicts. This book describes how Abbey tries to recover from her loss after Kristen died by making fresh relationship with new friends, such as Caspian, Nikolas, Katy, and Ben. Besides, there is another conflict faced by Abbey related to the legend of Sleepy Hollow as well. This kind of mystery takes Abbey to something she did not expect before.

Jessica Verday has succeed making a story which plot is very easy to follow. However, something quite distracts me when reading this book. I admit that the details are too many. I mean, this book is quite boring because it is like a diary which tells the audience about what Abbey does daily. I think that some parts are quite unnecessary. It would be good if she makes it shorter. Besides, I think that the conflicts are not too exciting. But, I can say that the horror and mystery take my attention the most, instead of what Abbey does every single minutes.

Over all, I like this book. But, honestly I am quite disappointed with some parts of the book which are too long and too boring to read. The best part I like is when there is Caspian in it. Caspian is my favorite character here. Despite of his mysterious appearance, he is very nice and attractive. Well, since it is trilogy, I would like to read the sequel. I wish that the next sequel would be more interesting.

The quotations I like the most:

"Creating new perfumes was a tricky business. It involved several rounds of testing different oil combinations, looking for reactions, checking notes, comparing samples, writing down new notes, and then starting the whole process all over again with each new scent choice." (Chapter 3)

"Life's not a television show." (Chapter 4)

".... try to remember the good memories. They will help the sad ones." (Chapter 5)

"Sometimes all it takes is looking at the problem from a different angle." (Chapter 6)

"See, when you make perfume, you need to have a top note, a middle note, and a bottom note. Then the three notes all blend together to create the scent." (Chapter 10)

"Without trust, what kind of relationship can you hope to have with anyone?" (Chapter 24)

"He stepped closer, until he was right next to me.
"Take my hand," he commanded softly. 
I looked at him incredulously. "What?"
"Take my hand," he said again." (Chapter 25)

My rating: 3 out of 5 crowns

~Happy Reading~

xoxoxo