Shadow Hills by Anastasia Hopcus

Shadow Hills
Author: Anastasia Hopcus
Publisher: Egmont USA
Release Date: July 13, 2010
Edition: Hardcover
* Purchased on my own

Summary from GoodReads: His love captivated her... his secrets might kill her.

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 immediately realizes that there’s something 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 cost her her life.

My Thoughts: 

Persephone--who goes by Phe--moves to Shadow Hills, Massachusetts from Los Angeles to attend school at Devenish in an attempt to understand her sister's last journal entry. What she wasn't expecting, was to come face to face with the boy of her dreams (or rather nightmares) quite literally at Devenish. 

Shadow Hills was certainly an interesting read--proof of this would be the day and a half it took me to read it--and it's one of those books that you know is going to have a sequel (or at least you feel that it must) due to its ending. With that said, I did like Phe and I loved her friendship with Adriana where as Phe's relationship with Zach was electric--quite literally, as the town has some residents that aren't exactly normal. Because yes, there are townspeople in Shadow Hills who can control electric fields, move objects, and even glimpse your thoughts. There is, of course, a downside to all of this, their lifespan is shortened and if you do live longer than expected, dementia sets in. 


Needless to say, Phe begins to poke around--and she learns some things about the town and more importantly, about herself. These revelations lead to a need to know more and that curiosity leads Phe into some sticky situations. The plot was well paced (though the ending did seem a little rushed to me) and I thought storyline was pretty interesting. Also, the writing style fit beautifully--and creepily well sometimes, though it was indeed fitting.


Overall Rating:  ★★★★