A review by sandeeisreading
The Mystery of Hollow Places by Rebecca Podos

3.0

REACTION AFTER READING THE BOOK

This book wasn't bad, but it didn't blow my socks off either. It has tons of promise. The premise was enough for me to buy the story. The execution of it though, plus the revelation towards the end, was not really my cup of tea.

LONG STORY SHORT

Mysterious disappearances

A stone heart

Ambiguous clues to the past

MEET THE CHARACTERS

I usually enumerate the prominent characters in the book on this part of my review, but for this one, I'll just focus on the main character, Imogene.

Imogene never knew her mum. She only grew up with her dad, then eventually, her stepmother, Lindy, who was actually pretty nice.

I actually really liked Imogene and her persistence. She wanted what she lost to be found. She was going to do whatever it takes to get them back, to find out what happened in her past.

I really liked how she felt like a real teenager. She had angst, but not too much that it ends up being annoying.

THINGS WORTH MENTIONING

♦ THE ATMOSPHERE OF MYSTERY

This book really hooked me and got me glued to its pages. You really are curious as to what really happened and why Imogene's parents disappeared. You weren't sure if it was because of a supernatural reason or if it was just because they were depressed people. You have no idea what was happening, and I loved that.

♦ TEENS ARE REALISTICALLY PORTRAYED

Teens don't always make the most sound decisions. They make mistakes, they don't think things through, and are very often reckless. You'll see that here. But also, you don't see lovestruck teens who has nothing in their brains but boys or girls.

♦ IMOGENE HAS TERRIBLE PARENTS

I really hated her parents. They were selfish, and honestly, just don't deserve to have kids.

♦ IT WAS TOO SLOW

I'm not really a big fan of slow books, and for me, this was one of them. I get why because you'd have to build the tension, but then again, parts of it dragged longer than was necessary.

♦ THE CLIMAX WAS A LET DOWN

I was really expecting to be blown away by the revelation of what really happened to Imogene's parents… but I wasn't. Usually, I'm happy when a book surprises the shit out of me, and this one did, but not in a good way. I really wished it was something more.

IF YOU LIKED THIS, YOU'D PROBABLY LIKE:

I really couldn't think of any book like this at the top of my head right now.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I liked this book for the most part, but the ending really let me down. The thrill of the mystery was done well. Too bad the revelation really didn't deliver as well as I hoped it would.