The Hollow by Jessica Verday

Title: The Hollow
Author: Jessica Verday
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Copyright © 2009 by Jessica Miller
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Synopsis:

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. Then she meets 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.

It’s been a while since I read The Hollow; but, I loved it so much that I wanted to review it before I did The Haunted and The Hidden. This group of books is based around The Legend of Sleepy Hollow; which I have never really cared for, however, The Hollow Series brought Sleepy Hollow to life for me.

• Abbey – and her friend Kristen grew up in Sleepy Hollow surrounded by Washington Irving’s lore. They are fascinated with the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery where Washington Irving is buried and they manage to spend a lot of time there. Abbey finds solace in visiting his grave and telling Mr. Washington her problems.
• Kristen – is Abbey’s best friend and confidant. They shared everything. When Kristen dies un-expectantly and rumors of suicide and drug use surround her death. However, Abbey believes that she may have been murdered. Then Abbey learns that Kristen has been keeping a very big secret, one that may have ended her life. Abbey believed she knew everything there was to know about Kristen, but there are skeleton’s lurking in the closet.
• Ben – is a friend of Kristen’s from school. He and Abbey will bond over her death and find comfort in one another. Ben is smart, funny, and caring. He gives Abbey room to grieve while remaining a constant in her life.
• Caspien – is a mysterious boy that Abbey meets at Kristen’s funeral. There is something truly unusual about Caspien. When the truth is revealed, it may send Abbey for a nose dive.
• Nikolas – is a “caretaker” at the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. He and his wife, Katy, may be the only people who can answer Abbey’s questions about Kristen’s death and the mystery that surrounds Caspien.

Abbey is having a heck of a Junior year, her best friend dies, she meets a mysterious boy, she learns her best friend was keeping an important secret from her, instead of making perfume she is working at her uncle’s ice cream shop, and she has a feeling that things are certainly amiss in Sleepy Hollow. The secrets she learns may very well send her over the edge.

I loved the mystery in this book. At times it was like a scary ghost story and at others, a deeply romantic love story. Jessica created a world full of lore and emotions that will keep you reading until the very last page. I was drawn into the story from the very beginning, feeding on Abbey’s emotions and possibly her delusions. Each page held a new question, a new mystery, a new revelation.

A definite must read! So go, go read it now…there are still two more books in the series.

 My reviews for The Hollow Series:
      The Hollow (#1)
      The Haunted (#2)
      The Hidden (#3)