The Hollow (The Hollow #1)

“I de­ci­ded right then and the­re to ma­ke a snic­ker­do­od­le per­fu­me to we­ar, so that one day he wo­uld sniff me li­ke that.”
? Jessica Verday, The Hollow

The Hollow is an interesting tale that takes a whole new spin on The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Abbey is just a regular teenage girl who like to make perfumes and is excited about going to prom-until her best friend Kristen disappears. With Kristen gone Abbey is stuck in a cold, grey world that she can’t seem to escape from.

It is an effort for Abbey to get up every morning and just get through the day. Then she meets Caspian. He is a ray of sunshine in her fog filled world. Caspian is a mystery to Abbey and she wants to know more, but he finds ways to avoid answering her questions.

Is the legends that surround Sleepy Hollow true? This romantic mystery will have you questioning all you know and have you eagerly turning the pages to find the answers.

Reader reviewed by KJ

The Hollow was
a little different than what I expected. It was a little hard to get
into at first and the real excitement didn't start until the end.
Overall I did enjoy it though. The characters were well thought out and
the plot was original with twists and turns throughout. I loved the
cliff hanger ending! I wasn't sure what to expect when I started this
novel, I'd heard a lot of great reviews about it and was looking
forward to reading it. It took me longer than I hoped to finish it- I
think mainly because I wasn't that into it at first and school just
started and everything else. Jessica Verday writing style was great and
by the middle of the book I couldn't wait to find out what was going to
happen next. Abbey and Caspian had a nice chemistry and the mystery
angle of this book was great. I loved never knowing what was what. I'm
definitely hoping for a sequel because a lot
of loose ends were left untied. All in all this is a great book for
fans of fantasy, romance, and books about friendship. It was a nice
read, so don't give up on it if you aren't into it at first. The plot
really gets exciting and Verday's writing style is great.

The
cover was another part of the book that drew me in. The colors are so
vibrant and stand out a lot. I love it! I'm not sure exactly who it is-
I'm guessing Abbey? But the girl kind of creeps me out. The idea was so
original and awesome. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is one you don't hear a lot about, so this really gave me a lot of insight to the tale. The summary of The Hollow
was a little vague about what was going to happen so I was completely
taken by surprise at the end. There were some things I think were a
little rushed and I was confused at other points, but this is one I
liked reading. Maybe if I wasn't so distracted with school and
everything and had more time to sit down and focus on it... I don't
want to give the wrong idea because I did really enjoy it and am
looking forward to the sequel (I hope there is one!).

_ Also posted on The Book Scout

Reader reviewed by Yan

 I must admit Ive been dying to read this book since last year when word leaked out. In some areas The Hollow impressed me but in others, it fell short.

First off judging from the summary you can presume that the story will heavily revolve on the death of Kristen or some feature of her correct? Sadly it was about 10% Kristen and 75% Caspian swooning, 5% Sleepy Hollow legend, and 10% daily life activity.

Just chapters after the funeral with Kristen, Abbey somewhat falls in love with Caspian. I was a bit shocked and miffed at this development. Even more so when Kristen is practically dismissed for the next couple of chapters while Abbey continues to swoon over Caspian. Verday though manages to deal with Abbeys grief in the middle of novel of Kristen while inserting several flashbacks of their friendships throughout some chapters. We then get a peak of Kristens secret diary and a mystery D whom Kristen falls in love with. We dealt with that for about a chapter then nothing more until seemingly the last few chapters (only about a line or two). Its all very much frustrating.

I enjoyed the little tidbits of how Abby creates perfumes, the fact that the author talked about the Legend of Sleepy Hollow for readers who may have never heard of it, and the many twists. The old couples? Yup. Caspian? Yup. Abbey running away when nothing makes sense? Definitely yes! Seriously Im tired of people poking their noses into things that you shouldnt. You know those scary movies where youre screaming at the screen No! You stupid idiot, run! Dont open that door! From that moment on I gained respect for Abbey (too bad it was like the last chapter when it happened).

And finally Caspian. I liked him in the very beginning with his weird, funky do (very pale yellow with a jet black streak) but then he plummeted on my like scale. The twist in the end I should have expected&.

The secrets and mysteries of The Hollow are never fully answered. It just builds and builds, up until the point where Im frighten that Verday may not be able to answer them all...or at least to the expectation that the readers may want.

Overall: A many missing holes.

Reader reviewed by Christi

"The Hollow" is a story of a girl named Abbey who lives in the little town of Sleepy Hollow. The story starts off in the middle of the main character at her Best Friends funeral. People are saying nasty things like suicide, drugs, and the like that caused her death. Abbey over hears these things, and knows that it can't be true. The girls had always been drawn to the Sleepy Hollow Cemetary, which also has 'The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow" Author Washington Irving. It is here that Abbey comes, to grieve her friend's death, where she meets a mysterious boy. A boy with a secret that could change Abbey's life forever.

   First and foremost, I want to say that I enjoyed the book. The main character if Abbey was funny, relatable, and had a great sense of humility. She is the kind of Sixteen year old that really does exist, a refreshing voice after pages and pages of fake, posh, teenagers from other YA series. I enjoyed following Abbey around, and listening to her give her opinions on life. I daresay I related with her a great deal. She makes perfume from natural oils, and dreams of opening her own shop one day.
  I loved the setting. Jessica Verday took a lovely legend, and spun it around this novel. I was enraptured, and couldn't put the book down for days.
 However, in some respects I must be honest and say that at times the book ran on a bit. At a hefty 528 pages, 'The Hollow' often swerved off point. Some plot points Verday planted, never were resumed. There were alot of chapters where you follow Abbey through a normal day, nothing in particular happening. The real story in this novel was not revealed until the last twenty pages, and even after the Epilogue your left with a million questions. Not the kind of suspenseful questions, but half thrown together resolutions that don't necessarily make sense.
  Jessica Verday is a new, and very promising Author. I feel that "The Hollow" could have been a little tighter on the story line. I would recommend this book, as it is the first in a trilogy, and I have a feeling the books will get better and better everytime.