The Hollow (The Hollow #1) by Jessica Verday
Publication Date: September 1, 2009
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Number of Pages: 544
Format: Hardback
Buy: Amazon | Barnes and Noble
Description: 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.
The story starts off at Kristen's viewing, and Abbey just doesn't want to be there. Still living in denial that her best friend is missing and has been officially pronounced dead, she hasn't given up hope that Kristen is still out there somewhere. I do have to agree with Abbey on her view on having a viewing and funeral when there is no body to be buried. A memorial service yes, but an actual viewing and funeral no. At the funeral is when Abbey first sees Caspian, and then he shows up at Kristen's house afterwards. Right away I could tell something was off about Caspian after their first conversation. And I'm surprised Abbey didn't write him off as a weirdo and stayed far away from him as possible. Especially after he had said that he was there for Abbey and didn't seem to know Kristen at all. If some guy I didn't know showed up at my best friend's funeral and tell me that he was there because of me, I would of ran far away from him as possible.
At school isn't better. Abbey is sick of everyone "mourning" Kristen when they didn't even know her. I know that Abbey and Kristen were best friends and did everything together, but it seems like neither one of them had any other friends. I was surprised that there weren't anyone else that one of them were friends with, even if it was just a friendship that stayed inside school. She runs into Caspian again, at the bridge where Kristen disappeared, and has a conversation with him. Not only does she start to like him, but he makes her be able to deal with her grief. Abbey also befriends an old man she meets in the cemetery one day and his wife. When Abbey decides to try to figure out why Kristen was at the bridge, she discovers that she had a separate life she knew nothing about, and not anyone was whom that seem to be.
Even though I've never read the legend, I love how the story is based upon The Sleepy Hollow Legend. The plot sounded amazing, but I was ended up disappointed in the book. The majority of the book I just wanted to finish the book. to me it only got interesting at the end. There were little details that I was surprised that Abbey never questioned. With how much she loves the legend, I'm surprise she didn't make a comment on when Caspian told her his last name was Crane. Or at the end when they ended up in the mechanic shop where his dad works, I'm surprised it never crossed her mind that it could of been the shop he works at. I just wanted to smack her half the time. Especially how desperate and pathetic she became about Caspian. I did enjoy her friendship with Ben, and wished we saw more. I was also disappointed when they found Kristen's body. And the fact that when they reburied her with the body, Abbey refused to go. I know she probably didn't want to go through it again, but that was her best friend, she needed that closure. I also thought there would be more revelation about her disappearance/death than what there was.
I was also confused on a few details. The fact that the old couple said they knew what Caspian was a shade by the black streak in his hair, but he had that when he was alive. I also got the impression that White Plains, where Caspian said he lives, is close by. I would imagine that the car crash a few years ago would of been well known, especially since both seems like small towns.
I'll keep reading the series, since I'm curious on how everything will pan out. I would say I give the book a 2.5 rating, but officially I'll make it 3.
Rating: 3/5
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