Review: The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle

The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Release Date: September 25, 2012
Purchase: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

Katie is on the verge of her Rumspringa, the time in Amish life when teenagers can get a taste of the real world. But the real world comes to her in this dystopian tale with a philosophical bent. Rumors of massive unrest on the “Outside” abound. Something murderous is out there. Amish elders make a rule: No one goes outside, and no outsiders come in. But when Katie finds a gravely injured young man, she can’t leave him to die. She smuggles him into her family’s barn—at what cost to her community? The suspense of this vividly told, truly horrific thriller will keep the pages turning.

  
My Thoughts:
The Hallowed Ones has scared the ever living daylights out of me and I LOVED it!  If you are looking for that creepy Halloween read look no further!  I can guarantee this one will satisfy your spooky craving and leave you shivering with goosebumps.  

In the first few chapters I thought this book was going to turn out being more of a psychological thriller rather than in your face creatures of the night scary, but boy was I WRONG.  I will NEVER forget page 120 and I will NEVER walk into a huge store cooler again *shudders*  To put all this into perspective for you I was so scared out of my mind that I would not open my closet or go into my guest room because the lights were off in there and I was terrified something would grab me!  I have also sworn off my basement..nuh huh not going in there ever again.  What makes this book so scary are the vampires.  I know we have all read about them before, but lately it seems all the vampire books are about the dreamy vamp.  Don't get me wrong I still love my dreamy vamps, but every once in awhile it is nice to bring back the scary vampires and all the gore. Laura Bickle does this brilliantly!

The story starts off normal enough with Katie and Amish teenager getting ready to leave her community for Rumspringa. This is where young men and women are offered the opportunity to see the world and make their choice whether they want to commit to the Amish lifestyle or not. Most come back and pledge their faith, but some discover that they are meant for more. Katie isn't sure which side of the fence she will fall into and when a helicopter crashes into the field by her house, Katies dreams of going off are sidelined by the impact this crash has on her community. Katie finds out that the Outside has been taken over by something and that her little community is one of the only safe places left in the US, but for how long??  When Katie takes matters into her own hands things really get put into perspective and holy vampire babies does IT.GET.REAL!

I haven't ever read a book set in this type of setting so I was enthralled by all the Amish culture and practices. I will say that this book tends to be a little heavy handed with the religion, but I didn't feel preached too. The author did a wonderful job at keeping the background, history, and faith as just a part of the book. It felt more like I was in a history lesson and I really enjoyed it learning about the Amish way of life.  The only other thing that didn't quite sit well with me was the ending. I am not sure if I liked how it all went down.  I liked the blood crazed vampires and to see that they do have somewhat of a thought process kinda bummed me out.  I am going to give the author some leeway here though because I have faith in her and I have a feeling she will keep these vampires scary.

I thought this book was fantastic!  It totally held my attention and I am eager for the sequel!

4.5 Snowflakes