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bbgood 's review for:
The Hollow
by Jessica Verday
I'd known about this book for months before it ever came out. I'm even on Verday's mailing list. The premise sounded cool and the cover looks awesome. But it is true what they say, you can't judge a book by it's cover. The story was boring and rather dumb. so let me save you from five hundred pages of tedious description and boring day to day activities...
****SPOiLERS FOLLOW. ****
There are three main parts to the story's plot.
1) Abby's best friend Kristen disappears. A few months later her body if found in the river. It's supposedly a big mystery why she was even at river at night and how she fell in. So Abby's going to find out! About half way through the book she finds a secret journal Kristen kept that talks about a secret boyfriend, D., that she never told Abby about. Abby feels very betrayed. And that's about all on the mystery aspect of the plot. We find nothing else out about Kristen or why she' was at the river or who D is. Abby doesn't even try to find out. And seriously, who would just put the first initial of a person's name in their journal? anyone? unless the whole entry was short hand, i don't think so.
2) Abby meets a boy named Caspian at Abby's funeral. He's kind of creepy in my opinion since he's just kind of there and doesn't answer her questions. And he has skunk hair. But to Abby, he is Hotte (her word, not mine). Which is pretty much the only thing I could figure she sees in him. Anyway, they meet up a lot here and there, mostly at the graveyard or river. Abby spends a lot of the time wondering what is going on with him, as was I because nothing was going on. Their romance really fell flat for me. Then at the very end, we find out that Caspian is dead. He died two years before in a car accident.
3) I'm sure that the story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is supposed to be an important part of the story, but besides visiting Irving's grave a whole lot and Abby loving the story so very much, there really wasn't much going on. Abby meets an old couple in the graveyard and she really likes them but then at the end she finds out that they are the Headless Horseman and Katrina. Irving kindly changed the end of his written story to protect them. But really, that's all we find out. Nothing else. Like the Headless Horseman was already dead by the time he fell in love with Katrina, so how is that working for them? They're both old now. And both dead (i think).
So all of these three plots are really sparse in the FIVE HUNDRED PAGE book. The bulk of the book is about nothing. What Abby ate, how she does her hair, trying to figure out what to wear to meet Caspian, walking by the river, visiting the graveyard, who she talked to at school. over and over and over and over and over again. All of which had nothing to do with the almost non-existent plot. And she makes perfume and gets a job. All of which have nothing to do with the plot. And made the book so extremely BORING.
And then there is Ben. i am very confused about why he has so many pages in the book. Is this supposed to set up a love triangle for the next book? Because I felt like all 500 pages was a set up for the next book since NOTHING HAPPENED!
I want Abby to get a backbone and be the heroine in her own story. To define her relationship with Caspian after a month, not after seven months and only after she finds out he's dead. I want her to care that her friend had a secret boyfriend that she fought with a lot and who made her promise not to tell anyone about their relationship. Who is he and what did he have to do with Kristen's death? Take an active roll in finding out, gosh darn it! I wanted her to talk to the old couple in the graveyard and find out what is going on, not run away to her aunt's.
I wanted her to take a stand on something, ANYTHING, instead of drift through days having meaningless arguments with her mother about the prom and having nightmares that had no purpose in furthering the plot.
So I didn't like this book. Which I am so sad about because I really wanted to like it. I read all FIVE HUNDRED PAGES even though I was bored after the first fifteen because I wanted to have something happen that would redeem the book for me. Nothing ever did. It just got worse
****SPOiLERS FOLLOW. ****
There are three main parts to the story's plot.
1) Abby's best friend Kristen disappears. A few months later her body if found in the river. It's supposedly a big mystery why she was even at river at night and how she fell in. So Abby's going to find out! About half way through the book she finds a secret journal Kristen kept that talks about a secret boyfriend, D., that she never told Abby about. Abby feels very betrayed. And that's about all on the mystery aspect of the plot. We find nothing else out about Kristen or why she' was at the river or who D is. Abby doesn't even try to find out. And seriously, who would just put the first initial of a person's name in their journal? anyone? unless the whole entry was short hand, i don't think so.
2) Abby meets a boy named Caspian at Abby's funeral. He's kind of creepy in my opinion since he's just kind of there and doesn't answer her questions. And he has skunk hair. But to Abby, he is Hotte (her word, not mine). Which is pretty much the only thing I could figure she sees in him. Anyway, they meet up a lot here and there, mostly at the graveyard or river. Abby spends a lot of the time wondering what is going on with him, as was I because nothing was going on. Their romance really fell flat for me. Then at the very end, we find out that Caspian is dead. He died two years before in a car accident.
3) I'm sure that the story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is supposed to be an important part of the story, but besides visiting Irving's grave a whole lot and Abby loving the story so very much, there really wasn't much going on. Abby meets an old couple in the graveyard and she really likes them but then at the end she finds out that they are the Headless Horseman and Katrina. Irving kindly changed the end of his written story to protect them. But really, that's all we find out. Nothing else. Like the Headless Horseman was already dead by the time he fell in love with Katrina, so how is that working for them? They're both old now. And both dead (i think).
So all of these three plots are really sparse in the FIVE HUNDRED PAGE book. The bulk of the book is about nothing. What Abby ate, how she does her hair, trying to figure out what to wear to meet Caspian, walking by the river, visiting the graveyard, who she talked to at school. over and over and over and over and over again. All of which had nothing to do with the almost non-existent plot. And she makes perfume and gets a job. All of which have nothing to do with the plot. And made the book so extremely BORING.
And then there is Ben. i am very confused about why he has so many pages in the book. Is this supposed to set up a love triangle for the next book? Because I felt like all 500 pages was a set up for the next book since NOTHING HAPPENED!
I want Abby to get a backbone and be the heroine in her own story. To define her relationship with Caspian after a month, not after seven months and only after she finds out he's dead. I want her to care that her friend had a secret boyfriend that she fought with a lot and who made her promise not to tell anyone about their relationship. Who is he and what did he have to do with Kristen's death? Take an active roll in finding out, gosh darn it! I wanted her to talk to the old couple in the graveyard and find out what is going on, not run away to her aunt's.
I wanted her to take a stand on something, ANYTHING, instead of drift through days having meaningless arguments with her mother about the prom and having nightmares that had no purpose in furthering the plot.
So I didn't like this book. Which I am so sad about because I really wanted to like it. I read all FIVE HUNDRED PAGES even though I was bored after the first fifteen because I wanted to have something happen that would redeem the book for me. Nothing ever did. It just got worse