The Hollow (Hollow Trilogy Series #1)

by Jessica Verday

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781416985419
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Publication date:	09/01/2009
Series:	Hollow Trilogy Series , #1
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	544
Sales rank:	571,441
Lexile:	HL770L (what's this?)
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Jessica Verday is the New York Times bestselling author of The Hollow trilogy, The Beautiful and the Damned, and the Of Monsters and Madness series. Her short stories were featured in The First Time anthology, which she coedited, and Enthralled: Paranormal Diversions. She believes a shoe isn’t a shoe unless it has a three-inch heel, and nothing beats a great pair of boots. When not daydreaming about moving into a library of her own, she can be found working on her next story, redecorating her office, or buying vintage furniture. 

Read an Excerpt

PREFACE

They said she killed herself. Everyone was saying it.

What started out as a rumor, quietly whispered among small gatherings of polite people, quickly grew into something that was openly discussed in large gatherings of impolite people. I was so sick of hearing them talk about it.

They questioned me. Over and over again, trying to find out if I knew what had happened. But my answers didn’t change. Yet it never failed—someone else would ask, as if one day my reply would suddenly be different.

I didn’t know, but I should have … and I’ve been haunted ever since.

© 2009 Jessica Miller

Editorial Reviews

Gr 7 Up—The Hollow opens with the funeral of 16-year-old Abbey's best friend, Kristen, who vanished near the legendary Sleepy Hollow Cemetery and is presumed dead. On the day of the funeral, Abbey is drawn to Caspian, a mysterious young man who comes into and out of her life during the next several months. While she searches for answers to Kristen's disappearance, she meets Nikolas and Katy, the charming caretakers of the cemetery. During a chance visit to a shop in a neighboring town, Abbey discovers Caspian's secret. This inventive tale from a first-time author cleverly interweaves elements of Washington Irving's famous "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" not only in the setting, but also in the characters of Nikolas and Katy. Abbey's narration is heartfelt and authentically written as her emotions fluctuate from grief at Kristen's disappearance to growing romantic feelings for Caspian to raw anguish at learning the truth about him. Unlike many coming-of-age novels, the minor characters aren't given short shrift; instead, Abbey's parents, her classmate Ben, Kristen's mother, and Nikolas and Katy all come vividly to life through unique personalities, characteristics, and pasts. Readers, particularly fans of Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" (Little, Brown) and other supernatural romances, will clamor for the second novel in this trilogy.—Leah J. Sparks, formerly at Bowie Public Library, MD

School Library Journal

04/27/2015
Verday's debut novel, the first in a planned trilogy, is well-written, but enigmatic and ultimately unsatisfying. Abbey's best friend Kristen is dead, but Abbey knows it couldn't have been suicide as is rumored. Devastated and lonely, Abbey is sleepwalking through her junior year of high school when she meets Caspian, a mysterious boy who tries to help her deal with her grief. He makes her feel giddy and desired, but she's confused and frustrated by their relationship: he runs hot and cold, and he's secretive, too. After Abbey discovers Kristen's hidden diary, she begins questioning how her closest friend could have kept such important secrets from her. The central mystery here is the circumstances surrounding Kristen's death, but little information is gained and nothing is resolved. Caspian is also ambiguous until the last few pages, and there's little supernatural atmosphere despite the focus on Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" (Verday's story is set in the same town). The tale unfolds slowly and doesn't lead to a climax, but rather to more questions, which remain left unanswered at the abrupt ending, presumably left to later books. Ages 12—up. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

In the wake of The Twilight Saga, another supernatural romance rears its ugly head, this time taking on Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. After the death of her best friend, Abbey feels abandoned and alone. She tries distracting herself by creating perfumes, but true distraction comes in the form of Caspian, the "total hottie" she meets in the Sleepy Hollow cemetery. Abbey quickly falls head over heels in love with Caspian, although she struggles with his mysterious and elusive demeanor. Just as things seem like they are back to normal, Abbey makes two discoveries: she finds Kristen's secret diary that reveals she was hiding something from Abbey, and she learns Caspian's true identity. On the verge of a breakdown, Abbey's world slowly begins to unravel when she realizes Sleepy Hollow may hold more truth than legend.

At first glance, Verday's book appears to be overflowing with fabulous potential. The stunning cover art and legendary premise lure readers into thinking this hefty tome is worth the time investment, but the story line drags, disappoints and quickly falls flat. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is the obvious catalyst for the story, but other than the setting, Abbey's obsession with the tale, and the quotes that open each chapter, it is unclear as to how the legend relates until the last few chapters. Unfortunately readers might not feel compelled to stick it out to the very end after reading countless pages describing Abbey's mundane activies like mixing scents, baking cookies, organizing her uncle's office or working on a science fair project. Although the book will definitely sell itself, it is not well written and readers may be disappointed. This scheduled trilogy may be a series to pass up if budgets are tight.

——VOYA April 2010

From the Publisher

A devastated Abbey must attend her junior year at Sleepy Hollow High alone following her best friend’s accidental death. Cassandra Campbell convincingly portrays Abbey’s confusion and depression as she clings to the hope that Kristen is not actually dead. While Abbey’s mournful tones carry the story, Campbell is less evocative as the secondary characters, such as the love interest, Caspian; the graveyard caretaker, Nicholas; and Abbey’s concerned parents. Set in a town with a legendary haunted past, the story has an overall tone that is suitably eerie, and it ends with a surprising twist. Paranormal romance fans will be clamoring for Book 2. J.M. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

DECEMBER 2010 - AudioFile