Review: The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle

What: The Hallowed Ones (The Hallowed Ones #1) by Laura Bickle

Who: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

When: September 25th 2012

How: Borrowed from library.

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.

Oh my gosh. Lately I have been reading okay books. Ones that I don’t abhor, but ones I don’t love, either. And then, this morning, I was rifling through my library books, and I remembered that I had requested The Hallowed Ones be ordered in because I loved the look of it. It’s overdue, and I didn’t want it to become another one of those library books I really want to read but end up returning and never reading. So I picked it up. And here I am, six hours later, writing a review for it.

I simply could not put The Hallowed Ones down. From the moment it started, I was sucked into the amazing world building and character voice that Bickle has given us in this novel. I mean, I only stopped reading this book throughout the last six hours to check my blog three times, and do necessary things for normal bodily function, like eat food. And then it was straight back to The Hallowed Ones.

Katie was an amazing character to read about. She was devout in her Amish beliefs, but wasn’t ready to accept the rule and authority of others without making sure that she was willing to accept it first. This made her an awesome and interesting character to read about. If you don’t want to read a novel heavily focussed on the Amish way of life, and many thoughts about religion itself, I wouldn’t suggest The Hallowed Ones to you. However, it was this in depth look into the Amish life, and Katie’s questioning of God and religion that entranced me so whilst reading this novel. I found her thoughts captivating, and they had me wondering along right alongside her. I loved her absolute dedication to anything that she applied herself to. She didn’t complain about anything, even when she was handed the most awful of tasks. But she didn’t just obey blindly. She risked a lot by being the person she was – a really good person.

I adored Alex’s character, as well. I thought he was wonderfully fleshed out, and I loved that he didn’t judge Katie for being the way she was. Sure, he didn’t agree with it or accept it wholeheartedly, but he didn’t try to change her or force her to abide by a different way of life. One of my favourite scenes in the novel is where he and Katie are talking about all the ancient Greek gods. It was beautiful.

Alex and Katie’s relationship was amazing. I loved how Alex was passively protective of Katie, and how he always worried, and always comforted her. And then AND THEN *squeals* Siiiigh. It was so perfect. They are so perfect. Whilst I am here swooning about these guys, the romance was NOT at the forefront of this novel. It was a nice addition to an amazing story. But I just so happened to fall in love with this relationship more than anything else. As so often happens with me. Hopeless romantic that I am.

The Hallowed Ones is a slow book. You’re not thrown into the midst of an action-packed supernatural novel. Heck, I wasn’t even sure if it was going to turn into a supernatural novel. But it did. Slowly and surely with eerie suspense and suspicions and creepiness. It was fantastic. I love Bickle’s take on a thoroughly popular supernatural creature – it brought a whole new freshness to the story that made reading it thoroughly enjoyable. If I go too far into it, I believe I would wreck the amazing experience that is The Hallowed Ones.

The writing style absolutely gripped me from word one, and is the kind that you find yourself settling into very easily. The Hallowed Ones is beautifully written, but reading it is so very effortless – in the most epic of ways. I found myself immersed in the world entirely whenever I landed my eyes on the pages.

One thing that I thought could have been improved upon a little bit was the description of Katie herself. I had no idea what she really even looked like until halfway through the book. And I am still a bit mystified as to how old she is, too. I would have liked to be given the details of our fantastic heroine.

I seriously cannot wait until I can read The Outside. I desperately want to know what happens to Katie and Alex, and pretty much the whole world inside this story.

© 2014, Chiara @ Books for a Delicate Eternity. All rights reserved.