Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

Summary: (from back of book). On her 12th birthday, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. Three bumpy years later, after a prom night spell gone horribly wrong, she;s exiled to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries and shapeshifters. By the end of her first day, Sophie has quite a scorecard:three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tag along ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire on campus. Then  when a mysterious predator begins attacking students, and Sophie's only friend is the number one suspect, a horrifying plot begins to surface. Soon, Sophie is preparing for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her.
Review: I really enjoyed this book. Although, the idea of a magical boarding school isn't all that unique, in itself, I thought the way this one was done was really great. I thought the idea of a kind of reform twist was a great idea and Hex Hall is definitely a unique setting in more ways than one. There a lot of surprising plot twists that kept the plot moving and the story exciting, and the cliffhanger ending made me excited to see where the next book in this series will lead. I like the fact that although there is some romance in the story the romantic aspects didn't dominate the entire plot. I hope that in the next book we can learn more about the lives and histories of all Prodigium. I did think that most of the characters were pretty typical, and what I would expect from this type of setting. I liked the fact that Sophie was such a strong character. She was determined to stand up for her friend, and her declaration at the end of the novel made me like her even more. She was my favorite character by far though, I didn't enjoy the other character as much. They were all somewhat predictable and I wish thay had been more different. I also thought that the shifters and faeries should have been given a little more attention.  I think anyone who wants a light, exciting fantasy story should pick this one up.