Customer Reviews

Hollow Pike

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Lis has moved to live with her sister Sarah to get away from the bullies who were making her life a misery. All she wants is a fresh start somewhere that she will be accepted for who she is and where she won't be tormented daily. When she is befriended by the popular crowd on her first day it looks like she has found what she always dreamt of but the more she gets to know Laura and her crowd of groupies the less she likes what she sees. Is is really worth being part of Laura's gang if it is at the expense of others? Getting to know the school outcasts Kitty, Delilah and Jack she starts to question everything. Then after a prank goes wrong and Laura's body is discovered in the woods Lis finds herself in more danger than she could ever have imagined.

I have been waiting to get my hands on Hollow Pike since the cover was revealed at the Orion Indigo event last year - it was one of my most anticipated novels of 2012! I fell in love with the cover but it was James Dawson's atmospheric writing that really pulled me into the story and kept me turning the pages.

The story is actually less about the supernatural than I expected it to be but that isn't a negative - it just surprised me. The focus is more on the effects of bullying which is such an important subject and made for a really interesting story. As someone who suffered from constant teasing throughout school this is the kind of book I wish I'd had access to as a teen. Even as an adult I connected with Lis, I was reminded of just how I felt at school and I had the satisfaction of seeing Lis stand up for herself in a way I only wish I could have done myself! If you know a teen who is suffering from bullying you should buy them this book immediately. In fact I think you should buy it for any teen as it will hopefully make them think about their actions before they become a bully themselves. I really enjoyed watching Lis trying to find a place for herself in her new school, she slowly starts to realise that in order to be happy you have to be true to yourself no matter what anyone else thinks of you.

Alongside the themes of bullying you also have a creepy and chilling murder mystery to solve. The descriptions of the woods, the mysterious birds that seem to be following Lis and the nightmares that are haunting her all created a spooky feel to the story that had me on the edge of my seat. Hollow Pike is a great debut and I'm looking forward to seeing what James Dawson comes up with next.

I'm not a 15-year-old girl. While reading Hollow Pike, however, I tried to get into the mindset of a female adolescent, as that was the only way I could give the book a fair review. This was more than a little scary, as I had witnessed Sonny Crockett going deep undercover in the original TV series of Miami Vice, then being unable to return to his true self. What if the same thing happened to me? How would a teen girl's personality trapped in the body of a big, hairy Scotsman manifest itself? Well, if Hollow Pike is accurate, I'd accompany every verb with an adverb, I'd describe possible things as impossible (impossible eyes, impossibly long legs, and so on), I'd consider people my best friends two days after meeting them, and I'd be forever doomed to exclaim, "OMG!" when encountering anything at all. I took the risk, though. Embracing my inner teenage girl, I dived headlong into the OMG-fest.

Aimed primarily at teenage girls, Hollow Pike is a coming-of-age story. The main character, fifteen-year-old Lis London, moves from Wales to northern England in order to escape a campaign of bullying at school. The proverbial fish out of water in her new surroundings, Lis becomes plagued by recurring nightmares in which her face is held beneath the surface of a forest stream. OMG! Nightmares! She meets three new friends - Kitty, Delilah and Jack - who are part of the so-uncool-they-must-be-cool crowd. OMG! BFF! Lis discovers that Delilah and Kitty are lesbian lovers. OMG! Teenage lesbos! The ultimate outsiders! And if you're thinking things couldn't get any more nonconformist, you'd be wrong...Jack's sexuality is ambiguous. OMG! A homosexual, bisexual or possibly asexual boy! What is this Hollow Pike place? A modern-day Sodom in rural England? Being more traditional in her sexual predilections, Lis falls for former-fat-kid-turned-rugby-player Danny. OMG! Romance! Lis's flirtations with Danny don't go unnoticed by the beautiful and popular Laura, who has her own designs on him. Laura's bitchiness towards Lis drives the new girl further into the comfortable solace of her new friends. For a joke one afternoon, they plot Laura's murder. OMFG! Pretend ritualistic killing! Lis hears rumours that witches were once killed in Hollow Pike's woods. In a local charity shop, she finds an old book that confirms the town's dark past. OMG! Witchery and sacrifice! Right here in Hollow Pike! Lis lures Laura into Hollow Pike copse, where Kitty, Delilah and Jack are hiding, dressed in hooded-monk robes. Their plan to scare the bejeesus out of Laura works well. She flees screaming into the depths of the woods, where she is killed for real. OMFG! Actual murder! Wracked by guilt over leading Laura into the woods, Lis soon realises that she has more to worry about: she may be next on the killer's list. To give away too much more of the plot would spoil any surprises. The events that follow Laura's death involve schoolteachers with shadowy secrets, ancient sects driven by religious dogma, eccentric old budgie-keeping witches and...of course...teenage lesbians! OMG! PMPWE! (Peeing My Pants with Excitement.)

So let's ask the important questions to determine the book's literary worth. Do we first meet the heroine in her ordinary world, then travel with her on a journey into new places and experiences? Yes, and the author does an excellent job of this. Does the story communicate that there's more to life than having a boyfriend (or girlfriend, if you happen to be a teenage lesbian)? Yes, but not convincingly. Does the author describe the subject matter (witchcraft, secret sects, ritual killing) with an adeptness that shows knowledge of those topics? No, not even close. Does the main character learn the importance of facing her fears (rather than running away from them, as she did at the beginning of the book)? Yes, and this seems to be the central theme of the novel; an admirable theme it is too. Is there an overriding moral to the tale? From what I can gather, it's either 'lesbians have more fun' or 'trust your inner voice and have courage in the face of adversity'.

Hollow Pike is a decent story with a wee bit of originality. If the author had edited out 95% of the book's adverbs, I might have awarded it four stars. Being bombarded by adverb after adverb is not only irritating, but also a sure sign of lazy writing. Constructive criticism from a stickler: choosing a strong verb removes the need for an adverb. Peppering a story with adverbs reduces its readability. All things considered, I'd give Hollow Pike 3.5 stars if Amazon allowed half points.

Lis London has moved to the historic, and rather eerie village of Hollow Pike. She's determined to make a new start, and that means leading a normal school life and actually making friends. As Lis comes to terms with Fulton High's social pecking order, things seem to go well, she's even get's in with the popular crowd.

But this happiness isn't set to last. Lis is plagued with night terrors and horrific visions of death naturally preventing her from sleep but combining with managing to invoke the wrath of Queen Bee, Laura, leads to life in Hollow Pike taking a downward spiral. Lis' only solace comes from the school's so called Freaks `n' Geeks. Yet, Lis and her friends can only take so much; they come up with a plan which will see Laura get a taste of her own medicine. But sometimes pranks can go too far...they can even be fatal.

On the surface Hollow Pike is a High School `whodunnit' with a healthy dose of the supernatural. This certainly isn't a new concept; Pretty Little Liars, Mean Girls and The Craft all come to mind with this book. The novel could be in danger of being the fawning British sibling - trying too hard to be American cool. However, Dawson soon finds his stride, writing a novel with it's own identity and a story which succeeds in thoroughly creeping out the reader and sucking them into an unnerving mystery.

I think the story's ultimate strength comes from Dawson's ability to intuitively recapture the anxieties of being a teenager. We're not talking bad skin, or knickers tucked into pants. He drags up the harsh realities of having all those hormones packed into one small space. Bullying - and perhaps crucially the more sinister and psychological effects of girl cruelty, is not shied from here. In Lis we find a character with whom it's impossible not to empathise or at least sympathise.

The supernatural mystery which pads the story, of course, makes this a more enjoyable read. Dawson has to be congratulated, however, on creating a novel which isn't one of just superficial scares and twists, but goes some way into exposing, and actually reminding us older readers, that sometimes life's horrors come from the places that are considered most safe.
OH, and it's a ruddy fantastic cover!

This is a really exciting debut novel - a spooky story, with a murder mystery and teenage romance thrown in, so there is something for everyone!

At the beginning of this story Lis arrives in Hollow Pike in Yorkshire to live with her older sister. She needs a new start. She has been bullied at her school in Wales and she feels that a change of scenery, a new school and some new friends will improve her life considerably. Hollow Pike has ancient connections with witchcraft and everyone has a tale to tell about the witches that were murdered in the woods long ago. Lis has a series of nightmares where she dreams she is in the wood, being chased by someone who wants to kill her - so much for escaping her demons by moving to Yorkshire! Then a girl from her class is found murdered in the wood and Lis fears she will be next. Talking to Danny helps so much, but maybe Danny knows more about these macabre events than he is telling her.

I had no idea how this book was going to end - it took me by surprise - and that is a very good thing! James Dawson has created an interesting group of teenage characters. As in most schools the pupils in year 11 at Fulton High School come from a mixture of home situations, from Kitty's mansion to Delilah's home on an edgy estate, there is an `in-crowd' and a group of outsiders, there are the bullies and the bullied and there are the geeks. This is a story that will grab readers who like a mystery that is anchored in a situation they will recognise.

Reading the synopsis of this book, I thought that it was a YA book about witches. In the book, Hollow Pike is meant to have a long history of witchcraft. However, this is quite misleading, as witches and witchcraft do not feature a great deal within the story. Apart from there being a history of witchcraft, that's about it.

At the beginning, I thought that HOLLOW PIKE showed some promise. Lis is quite a likeable character and her experiences at the beginning start to create tension and a sense that somehthing is going to happen. However, after about a third of the way through, I began thinking "Ok, so when does the witchcraft part come into play?"

HOLLOW PIKE isn't a bad book, it just wasn't what I was expecting. And, as someone who reads a lot of YA fiction, there are better stories out there.

The first thing that draws you to this book is the striking cover, which suggests dark witchy goings-on, and in some respects, James Dawson doesn't disappoint. It certainly is a dark story, and the descriptions of Hollow Pike and its history of witchcraft and persecution set the scene well. The themes of bullying and persecution in the present day also fit well into this atmosphere, but like some other reviewers, I was surprised that the emphasis was less on witchcraft and the supernatural, and more on a murder mystery and teenage love.
I thought the characters were well written and interesting, and the story really had me hooked. I did feel it all got slightly Scooby Doo at times in a "Let's solve the mystery ourselves, gang!" kind of way, but overall that didn't stop me enjoying it. Considering the writer is male, he does a great job of portraying the female protagonist's mindset and feelings. I felt it was overall a good story, well told by a talented author. I look forward to reading more of his work.

Where do I start with my love for this book? Honestly at times the authors words sounded like I had written them myself so I immediately felt a connection with the book(we got a Glee reference in there which is always good for me!). The main character Lis was completely relatable and I was really intrigued by the quirky group of Delilah, Jack and Kitty that she ends up hanging around with, to me they felt the gang in The Craft movie where they are so effortlessly cool you just want to be associated with them.
Theres witchcraft in this book, vivid dreams and a real sense of unease (one scene in it where Lis is trapped inside the house felt like it was straight from a great teen slasher movie) and I was constantly wondering who the bad guy was going to be - no I didn't guess right. I actually can't wait to see what James Dawson comes up with next!

There has been a lot of pre-publication buzz surrounding this debut by British author James Dawson, so I couldn't wait to pick it up as soon as it arrived. I initially thought that it was going to be about witches and witchcraft but although that was an element of the story it didn't figure as predominantly as I'd imagined. The plot is actually more concerned with learning to start life over with a fresh slate in front of you and given that chance what you'll do with it. That's the dilemma that faces Lis London when she moves from her home in Wales to live with her sister in the town of Hollow Pike.

Told in a third person narrative, I was impressed that a male author could write so convincingly from a female point of view. The dialogue was fresh and engaging and I immediately felt a connection to Lis who was bullied at her old school and has moved away to escape the people who've taunted her for so long. The book conveys quite a serious message about the impact that bullying can have on people and this was dealt with in a sensitive manner but without pulling any punches about the damage that it can cause.

I found the start of the book a little slow going which mainly focused on introducing the key players and establishing the plot. However, the second half was much better with the tension really being ramped up, leading to an explosive ending which sent shivers down my spine. The story itself seemed to change direction quite rapidly, but I thought it cleverly combined different genres, mixing together a paranormal tale about witches with a contemporary modern day thriller. I would have liked to have seen more of the romance between Lis and local boy Danny, but on the other hand, it was nice to see girl power trumping the boys for once!

Overall 'Hollow Pike' was an enjoyable and exciting read which continually left me guessing about all the secrets that the characters were keeping hidden. I often didn't know who could be trusted and who was hiding something. I'm really looking forward to future offerings from this very talented British author.

I was really excited about this one, having first seen the cover in the summer - and what a cover! Witchiness, forest, birds - it's all there and all are important in the story. This was an excellent read which was more subtle in its witchiness than I expected, and all to the good. Sometimes the books you're most excited for can disappoint, but not so here. This debut demonstrates skill and control, above all: control of plot, character, setting and tension.

This is, primarily, a chiller which had me doing that horror film thing where you wait for the jump moment. James Dawson, you owe me for a shoulder massage to get rid of the tension you put there!

Lis is an engaging character who gains our sympathy immediately, as we meet her in the throes of one of her nightmares. The sense that she knows what's coming, the dread she feels and yet her complete inability to prevent it are palpable and guarantee you'll want to read on.

We soon also learn that she is moving to the country to get away from bullies. As the new girl, there are also attempts to bully her in her new setting. The teen relationships are a real strength of this book, portrayed realistically, as is their speech. It's clear that Dawson is familiar with kids this age (as a former teacher). I loved the 'weird kids', Kitty and Jack, and their attitude towards the 'in crowd'. The contemporary setting and believable characters intensify the tension in this perfectly-paced tale filled with misdirection.

As well as contemporary teen culture, Dawson also knows his folklore. The witchy elements to the story are well-researched and avoid any overblown or romanticised ideas, making certain that the novel retains the maximum creep factor. This is not a paranormal romance, even though it features both the paranormal and some romance - it's darker than that and the romance is not the main plotline.

Overall, I'd readily recommend this to lovers of chillers and witchy tales.

Sometimes when I'm really looking forward to a book, some strange thought process goes on in my head which means I don't read the much anticipated book straight away. It's almost as if I'm afraid that the book won't live up to my expectations or sometimes I feel as though I'd like to hold onto that anticipation just a little bit longer. Such was the case with Hollow Pike by James Dawson. I'd heard many wonderful things about it, but I just didn't feel like it was the right time to read it yet. And then I did read it and kicked myself for waiting as long as I did.

Because Hollow Pike is a wonderful addition to YA and James Dawson had written it with a wonderfully authentic teenage voice. I really liked Lis as a character and felt for her predicament as a bullied teenager who has moved someplace new to start over. Things don't go quite to plan when Lis falls in with a popular crowd at her new school, only to find out they are the type of mean girl she moved there to escape from.

Lis is just finding her feet in Hollow Pike when things of a creepy nature start sneaking in. Hollow Pike is filled with stories of witchcraft and since moving, Lis has been suffering from very disturbing nightmares of murder that leaves both Lis and the reader very uneasy as to what the nightmares signify. Honestly, this whole book has such a great atmosophe about it. I was spooked out by the second half of this book, not entirely sure what to make of the witchcraft element, not sure at all who the murderer is and I was left guessing about how it all turns out, which is fantastic as I love a good thriller.

It isn't all dark and dangerous though, Lis and her outcast friends, Kitty and Jack are quite funny together. I loved that there is an actual relationship between Lis and her sister who she has come to live with. And also, Lis' crush on Danny was the ultimate in sweet and awkward.

Hollow Pike was a very enjoyable experience for me to read and I highly recommend it!