Title: The Hollow Girl
Author: Hillary Monahan
Release Date: October 10, 2017
Rating: ★★★★★ / 5 Stars
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Horror, YA
Five boys attacked her.
Now they must repay her with their blood and flesh.Bethan is the apprentice to a green healer named Drina in a clan of Welsh Romanies. Her life is happy and ordered and modest, as required by Roma custom, except for one thing: Silas, the son of the chieftain, has been secretly harassing her.
One night, Silas and his friends brutally assault Bethan and a half-Roma friend, Martyn. As empty and hopeless as she feels from the attack, she asks Drina to bring Martyn back from death’s door. “There is always a price for this kind of magic,” Drina warns. The way to save him is gruesome. Bethan must collect grisly pieces to fuel the spell: an ear, some hair, an eye, a nose, and fingers.
She gives the boys who assaulted her a chance to come forward and apologize. And when they don’t, she knows exactly where to collect her ingredients to save Martyn.
I received this book from the publishers through Netgalley in exchange of an honest review
Content warning: racism against Romanies and slurs, sexual abuse and rape, gore and usage of blood in spells.
I don’t normally gravitate towards books with horror in it, because let’s be real, I’m a scaredy cat… and I’m very visual when it comes to horror. However, I saw a lot of people hyping this up on my TL and I had to request it.
Thank. Heavens. I. Did.
Let’s begin by addressing how awesome Monahan is for adding such a delightful to read author note in which trigger warnings were added. See how easy that is, publishers? Just… do it. Also, it made me love the book and the story even more to know its significance to the author. It doesn’t hurt that this book is my first ever with Romany representation that’s #ownvoices.
The cultural significance of Bethan’s background was a delight to read. It reminds me so much of my own (I’m middle eastern.) So many of Bethan’s worries concerning her reputations and how the people in her community thought of her rang so true to my age-long anxieties. The way Monahan portrayed the ugliness of the boys who belonged to the same community as Bethan rang so true because often enough, the enemy would usually be from another community or another race, when the person you’ve grown up with could hurt you in inconceivable ways.
The anxiety that came from Bethan’s fear for her honor made me shiver with worry because I could relate so much. The scenes in which Silas and his cronies would surround her, make her feel cornered and inferior were agonizing to read. They’re also so extremely to read because they portray such a raw experience for femmes everywhere. As I mentioned in the content warning, there is off-page mention of rape which acts as the point in which the plot turns very dark. That’s not to say that the beginnings of the book aren’t dark; matter of fact, the anxious feeling I had about Silas and his demonic friends came from their first appearance.
At the heart of the book is also the story of growth and healing after trauma. While not many victims of physical assault can take revenge with their two hands like Bethan, the book did come off as very hopeful in the end. The realistic reaction Bethan had to what happened to her made me love her even more. She proved, page after page, how strong and yet entirely human she was. We see her go from a slightly naive nervous witch’s apprentice to a young woman who’s thrust into the role of a recovering victim who would go very far to set things right.
The relationship between Bethan and Martyn is also very sweet. While not overwhelming, it was perfect because in no way did the book center their romance. it rather gave hints of how these two people could grow to be very loyal and protective of one another due to the event that shaped their lives.
There’s also another important relationship between Drina and Bethan. Drina is Bethan’s “Gran,” not by blood but because she raised Bethan since she was a baby. I absolutely adored Gran with every bit of my heart. Her brand of cool yet extremely loyal and loving in subtle way was so perfectly balanced. The way she turned soft on Bethan but retained some of her cool so Bethan wouldn’t feel the need to feel like a fragile thing close to breaking was absolutely amazing.
The Hollow Girl is a hauntingly beautiful, paced very appropriately, it talks about Romany culture, about the role men play in women’s lives whether positive or negative and it deals a lot with rape culture. With a twist of magic, not all of it dark, and a budding friendship/romance, it will clutch onto you and not let go.
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