Name: Hollow
ISBN: 9781989407141

Rhonda Parrish

The old camera was supposed to change Morgan's luck. And it did. From bad to worse.

Hollow

A car accident shattered sixteen-year-old Morgan's family. Now her brother's dead, her mom's paralyzed in more ways than one, her dad lives at work and her seven-year-old sister Amy tries too freaking hard to salvage everything. What's more, high school is its own special kind of hell, where her ex-boyfriend delights in spreading rumors that shred her reputation and make her feel like a loser.When she finds an old camera in a creepy abandoned hospital, it seems like her luck is finally changing. And it is changing--from bad to worse. Because of course it is. Each time Morgan photographs one of her classmates they become corrupted versions of themselves. It's like the camera steals their goodness, their essence, and leaves them hollow.Then her sister uses the camera to take a selfie. No matter what the cost, Morgan will find a way to reverse the effects of the cursed camera and save Amy, before her already-fractured family completely self-destructs.

Trigger warnings: (view spoiler)[sexual assault (on- and off-page), loss of a family member/child, grief, depression, difficult mother/daughter relationship
Representation: depression (hide spoiler)]

There was a lot that Parrish packed into Hollow. But because this was such a short book I think it left something to be desired. 

Hollow is marketed as a horror story. And while the book does deal with a sense of creepiness, sorrow, and darker atmosphere I wouldn't be recommending this for those chasing a scary story.

Overall, this is a story that explores a girl's attempts to deal with grief and the breaking-down of her family after the loss of a little brother. It also deals with dealing with assault from someone present in one's everyday life. 

Everything else in this story - the abandoned hospital, the cursed camera, the creepy bird - they just didn't feel fleshed out enough to matter. These components felt forced and separated from the rest of the story. 

I think there was a lot of potential in Hollow. Had it been approached differently, with a more in depth exploration and development between the different story components this could have been a standout for me. As it is, however, I'm just left wanting something more.



  Note: Review copy received via NetGalley. This does not impact opinions within this review.


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Happy reading! ❤

Hollow

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