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wheems01 's review for:
The Hollow
by Jessica Verday
After the supposed drowning of her best friend, Abbey struggles to deal with the tremendous loss she is feeling. One day down by the bridge where Kristen disappeared Abbey meets Caspian, a boy with mysteries of his own. As the two of them become closer, and as Abbey discovers the secrets Kristen kept from her, Abbey begins to suspect that not everyone is who they really seem.
Okay, I admit that isn't my best book summary, but it was the best I could do. See the Goodreads blurb, it is better. I think the reason I found writing this blurb so hard is because I am really not sure what to say about this book. To me, it felt like a lot of time spent going nowhere.
The Hollow has a great premise, and a great title. I love the fact that she tried to set a somewhat creepy mood, a mood that might imitate the one set by Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, but beyond that the book fell flat. I expected so much more from a novel that was using such a spectacular American story.
My biggest complaint is that I felt like the novel didn't go anywhere. By the time we even begin to explore some the paranormal aspects of the story you are already in the last 100 pages. Most of the book is focused on Abbey dealing with her grief over Kristen's loss and her trying to avoid her mother's pushiness. I think we just spent too long rehashing the same emotions, feelings, and ideas over and over again.
The audio version of this book is very well done and I fell like I wouldn't have finished it without the audio version. The unabridged audio book is produced by Blackstone Audio and read by Cassandra Campbell. At first I thought Campbell sounded too old to be the voice of Abbey, but after settling in an listening to it I found her to be quite believable as Abbey. The audio was essential to me finishing this book.
Overall, this book did a great job with setting and mood, but the story only really started getting interesting at the end. It was a long book where nothing really ever seemed to happen. I have a sneaking suspicion that this book was just laying the foundation for the next books in the series. Am I curious enough to continue? I might, but not without the audio.
Cautions for sensitive readers: mild language.