Review: Shadow Hills by Anastasia Hopcus

From Inside Jacket: Since her sister's mysterious death, Persephone "Phe" Archer has been plagued by a series of disturbing dreams. Determined to find out what happened to her sister, Phe enrolls at Devenish Prep in Shadow Hills, Massachusetts - the subject of her sister's final diary entry. After stepping on campus, Phe realizes that there's something very different about this place - an unexplained epidemic that decimated the town in the 1700s, an ancient and creepy cemetery, and gorgeous boy Zach - and somehow she's connected to it all. But the more questions she asks and the deeper she digs, the more entangled Phe becomes in the haunting past of Shadow Hills. Finding what links her to this town ... might destroy her.

My Rating: 4.5 hearts

Thoughts on the Novel: Right from the start, Shadow Hills is attention-grabbing. It begins with a dream sequence that immediately has the reader on edge and manages to keep being suspenseful right up until the end of the novel.

Each of the characters that Hopcus has created is unique and multi-dimensional, and I liked that even the bad guys may not seem so “bad” once the reader understands their motivations. It takes skill to create well-rounded characters and Hopcus does this impeccably.

It was also fascinating to read about the secrets of the inhabitants of Shadow Hills and to discover that they came with a cost – a thing most people don’t think about when wishing they too had a similar secret.

           

An intense debut novel with a mixture of romance, supernatural, science and mythology, Shadow Hills will have readers asking for a sequel!

Shadow Hills was released by Egmont USA in July 2010.

Comments About the Cover: While not amazing, the cover is eye-catching and its dark colours suit the novel.