Hellacious Hickey

Hickey of the Beast by Isabel Kunkle

* Received this book for review from the publisher Candlemark & Gleam

* This book will be available as a serial from Candlemark & Gleam with different subscription levels that will give you options for some cool stuff.


This book gets a grand 4 gnomes and a gnome hat out of 5 gnomes for having a smart funny heroine and a surprising bad guy.

Connie Perez has an interesting upbringing being the kid of a headmaster at a boarding school.  Being a headmaster's kid means that she really knows the teachers and some of the students better then she would like to.  Growing up on the campus makes it hard when you want to be seen as more of an adult.  Connie has the normal beginning high school nerves but after a while things look to be going normally.  This normalcy doesn't last for long, and Connie is right in the middle of some strange events.

These events start with a seemingly regular nightmare.  These dreams that she has though soon turn into warnings of something more.  I certainly know that I'll never think about reoccurring dreams in the same way again.  She seems powerless to stop these dreams so or course she wants to figure out why they're happening.

This is a great setting because being at  a boarding school means that there are plenty of stressful situations and a nice isolated environment.  Slowly students start to get a mysterious illness and some start acting crazy.  There is something very wrong at this school and Connie and her friends think that her dreams may hold the answers.  

I don't think I've read a YA book that had this kind of bad guy before.  The bad guy is the kind of creature that's seen in many a paranormal romance.  Prepare to be surprised by what the bad guy is, I know I guessed wrong at first.  It's nice to see a truly scary bad guy and some creepy situations that you aren't sure the main character will be able to get out of.  

This is a very funny book that will keep you laughing as well as wondering whether Connie will be able to save herself, her friends and survive high school. 

*You can read the first chapter here