Book Review: Hollow Pike by James Dawson

Title: Hollow Pike

Author: James Dawson

Genre: Horror, Young Adult

Publisher: Orion Children’s Books
Publication date: February 2nd 2012
Paperback: 314 pages

Something wicked this way comes… She thought she’d be safe in the country, but you can’t escape your own nightmares, and Lis London dreams repeatedly that someone is trying to kill her. Lis thinks she’s being paranoid – after all who would want to murder her? She doesn’t believe in the local legends of witchcraft. She doesn’t believe that anything bad will really happen to her. You never do, do you? Not until you’re alone in the woods, after dark – and a twig snaps… Hollow Pike – where witchcraft never sleeps.

Stand alone or series: Stand alone

How did I get this book: Review copy from the publisher

Why did I read this book: The beautiful cover grabbed my attention and since I was in the mood for a good Horror novel, I requested this title to give it a go. Plus, I am keen on reading more British novels.

Review:

Warning: this review contains a few spoilers

Lis London¹ moves to Hollow Pike so that she can escape the bullying back home. She moves in with her sister’s family and hopes to start a new life and make new friends. To start with, she falls in with the popular Mean Girls who turn out to be the wrong crowd and to her horror, she experiences bullying from the other side of the equation. Disgusted with her new “friends”, she ditches them and joins the “freak club” – and her three new friends Delilah, Kitty and Jack become her new family and she starts to fall in love with Danny, a rugby player with both the looks and the brain. Unfortunately for Lis, the bullying doesn’t stop there and life at the new school is not the fresh start she was hoping for – not to mention that she is also plagued by the terrible nightmares in which someone tries to kill her.

Then their nemesis (Mean Girl) Laura is viciously murdered and Lis starts to wonder not only about her new friends but also about the local legends of Witchcraft.

Hollow Pike starts really well as a very atmospheric Horror read. There is an increasingly sense of disquiet about Hollow Pike stemming not only from (potentially) supernatural elements but also from the very human characters. Actually, in a way, the story is quite reminiscent of both Heathers and The Craft. One of the positive aspects of the story is how there is a real opportunity to draw comparisons between historical witch-hunting and present-day bullying especially as more information is disclosed about Hollow Pike’s past history of witchcraft and how those innocent women were mercilessly persecuted. Although I don’t think this parallel is explored with the depth it deserves, the potential is definitely there. The author has a knack for writing suspense and incorporating very atmospheric elements (whenever the copse was mentioned, I got the heebie-jeebies) and for creating genuine Teen-Brit dialogue. I also appreciated the diverse cast of characters (two of the main characters were Bisexual, for example).

That said, there is a marked difference in tone and pacing between the first two thirds and the final part of the book. The story went from a slow-paced atmospheric, scary read to a downright info-dumpy clichéd ending complete with Villain Speech and everything and I quote:

“Ok, I suppose there’s time for a brief history lesson.”

The romance between Lis and Danny goes from sweet and funny to melodramatic. Throughout the book she had been really cool and laidback about her feelings for Danny, totally owning up to the fact that she thought he was hot and she wanted to snog him then all of sudden it is super-dramatic:

“She had to leave; reason dictated it was the only thing that would keep her alive, but something inside her, something beyond reason, wanted Danny”

There is also an element of frustration that comes from my own personal relationship with Horror stories and I wonder: is it a truth universally acknowledged that Horror stories will – more often than not – feature characters doing stupid things and illogically reacting to events? Yes, I am aware that I am totally generalising but it sure feels like it sometimes. Or maybe I am just unlucky and end up picking up the wrong ones: the ones that follow that trope. The truth is though, I usually find myself extremely exasperated when reading Horror.

Your frenemy has been brutally murdered by someone on the same night you played a prank on her and you have actual footage of the killer? Keep it to yourself for fear of being considered a suspect. You are being chased by a killer and are pretty sure said killer is inside your house? Go looking for him in the dark when you are all by yourself. The killer has broken into the house and is a danger to you, your family and your baby nephew? Don’t you tell the baby’s parents or the police. Instead, keep the secret, share it only with your friends who are equally bent on keeping secrets, go about life as though nothing is happening (why not start dating the hot guy at school?) and when things get really tough, decide to leave town. Because YOU are the most important thing in the world and no one else deserves protection.

Can age of protagonist (15) account for all this remarkable irresponsibly? I am not so sure. Especially when said character is supposed to be smart and is actually very self-aware about her situation and even makes fun of horror movies heroines. Pot, meet Kettle. I also know that fear makes people behave illogically but it is hard to buy into it when events occur repeatedly and over a longer period of time.

In the end, Hollow Pike turned out to be a very frustrating read in spite of the positive aspects.

Notable Quotes/ Parts:

Lis knew she was dreaming, although this brought little
comfort as the blood ran over her face. It rushed up her nostrils and caught in the back of her throat. The metallic taste choked her, panic creeping in.

This was not the first time she’d knelt in the red stream. She had encountered this nightmare many times in recent weeks and each time the vision became more realistic, more visceral. Sometimes, the focus of the dream was her long, wet hair matted to her face. Sometimes it was the freezing rain and howling wind. Sometimes it was the frenzied screams far away in the distance. On this particular visit, Lis was very aware of the pebbles, so cold and round and perfect under her hands. They scraped her skin but somehow she knew that the blood rushing over her body was not hers.

More of the excerpt HERE.

Rating: 5 – Meh.

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