REVIEW: HEXED / AUTHOR: MICHELLE KRYS / PUBLISHER: CORGI BOOKS / RELEASE DATE: JUNE 10TH
Popular cheerleader and likeable Los Angeles teen queen Indigo Blackwood has it all. She’s ensconced in a Mean Girls-esque crew of frenemies, dating the hottest jock in her high school, and keeping up her Grade Point Average. There’s just a few little problems. After being persuaded to give her ‘loser’ next door neighbour a lift home from school the girls witness what looks like a suicide carried out by a gorgeous Gothic boy. Trying to cope with this, the girls are then summoned and threatened with murder by some shady looking characters interested in a mysterious book that Indie’s mother is guarding. Indie’s about to become embroiled in a centuries-old battle between sorcerers and witches. Why? Well, this is because Indie too is about to discover that she’s a witch. And man, is she hexed…
Author Michelle Krys has written a fun young adult novel; it’s Gossip Girl meets Charmed with a hip hop sound track. The story is told in gossipy first person by – like, duh – Indie herself. However, it’s not all fun, games and teenage snark. Those sorcerers are sadistic, and some good people die. This gives the book an edge to counterpoint the saccharine, bubblegum tone.
There are knowing nods towards popular culture, the sort that some teenagers may be obsessed over: looking good, going to the Jay-Z concert, feeling self-conscious when one of the baddies picks up your old, battered copy of Twilight.
Without dropping any spoilers, the book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. Fortunately for our young readers, Hexed is the first of what is currently a two-book deal. It will be interesting to see what happens to Indie and her friends next…
