Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt
My Rating: ★★★
There's a curse on Black Spring. Anyone who settles in this
town can never leave for long because they've become wrapped up in the curse.
Black Spring is haunted by a 17th century witch named Katherine. With her eyes
and mouth sewn shut, she appears wherever she wants. She's a forced to be
reckoned with because messing with her means you're subject to her wrath, so
people throw dish washing cloths and sheets to hide her when she appears in
their home or workplace. A small group of teens decide they want to break the
town's strict rules regarding her and go viral with her presence and what goes
on in their town. Instead, their plan backfires and everyone begins to
deteriorate under the power that Katherine holds over them.
There isn't a dull moment throughout this book. We've got a
group of teenagers going to their secret blog and planning how to go public
with Katherine and the town's curse, and we have various characters that we
follow dealing with the curse. At first, Katherine is presented as a dark entity
that is seemingly cursed to walk the living world for the sins she committed
during her life. People are forbidden to talk or touch her because it could be
a death sentence. However, as the story goes on, Katherine is at the bottom of
the list of evil entities. She just does her thing and people fear her for it.
They fear the day that she brings forth the end of times, so anyone unlucky
enough to live in town is stuck planning their lives around the curse and hope
they don't live to see her evil eye turn on them.
Katherine's a sad spirit lurking around town. We start to
see how people blame her for their actions and the consequences they face. A
few of the teens who want to go viral with their town's story become out of
control. They begin to become violent, which results in the death of an animal
and some people. Some view her as a goddess of sorts and leave her offerings,
much to HEX's surprise. As the town starts to deteriorate and turn into an
angry mob, we see history begin to repeat itself. The people of Black Spring
believe she has turned her evil eye onto them when they begin to turn into the
worst version of themselves. It's interesting to watch how Katherine is a
solemn entity who doesn't want to cause harm. She is merely stuck in this world
with the descendants of those who harmed her during her life.
It's an action packed story that doesn't have a dull moment.
I know it kept me turning the pages to see what happened next. I am
disappointed with the way it ended. It has an open ending, which left me with
many questions about Katherine and the surviving people of the town. I think I
really just want Katherine to be able to rest in peace rather than being forced
to walk this world.
