Hell Week

I really enjoyed this fun, well-written book, especially because it helped pull me out of my post-hurricane funk. In this second volume of Maggie Quinn: Girl Vs. Evil, Maggie goes through sorority rush, but only because she intends to write an anonymous exposé column for the college newspaper. Naturally, she finds much more than she bargains for. One of this series' strongest features is Maggie's voice, and if you've met the author, you just can't help but picture her as Maggie because they have the same spunk and humor. I also particularly enjoyed this story because I was once in a sorority myself, although it was a local instead of a national. Being in the sorority was good and perhaps even necessary during the rather anti-social show more period that comprised my first two years of college life, but I ultimately "deactivated" from the sorority at the beginning of my senior year, in part because I just couldn't face the ridiculousness of Rush, which if I recall correctly was dragged out over several weeks. I felt I had outgrown the rituals and structure of sorority life, although certainly not the friendships, by that point. But I digress. In any case, Hell Week also treats Maggie's relationships in a touching but not overly sentimental way. And I adore the cover -- Stepford Sorority Girls! I'm looking forward to next year's Highway to Hell, when we'll see what Maggie gets up to on her Spring Break. show less

Maggie Quinn took on a demon at her senior prom and is hoping that her college experience will be less fraught with danger. She would like to study to become a photojournalist, but the college newspaper doesn't take freshmen. She decides to convince them to change their minds by going undercover to write about fraternity Rush Week despite having no actual desire to enter a sorority.

As she attends parties, she comes to believe that something odd is going on at Sigma Alpha Xi. When she is invited to join, she slowly discovers what is happening. Those girls are just too lucky. And the advisors seem to have a hidden agenda.

Maggie is also experiencing some memory problems. All of a sudden, she can't remember her dreams and seems to keep show more losing track of her desire to investigate the sorority. With her friend Lisa away at college and her potential boyfriend Justin seemingly distancing himself, she feels like she is all alone in trying to find out what is happening at the sorority.

But when she needs them, Lisa and Justin both step up to figure out what is happening at the sorority and finding a way to stop it.

This was an entertaining young adult title. I liked Maggie's relationship with her family. Her grandmother is a constant support for her as she tries to accept her psychic gifts. I liked Maggie's determination to succeed in college and with her potential future career. The paranormal parts of the plot were well done.

Fans of YA and the paranormal will enjoy this story. show less

A few short months ago, Maggie Quinn defeated the seriously evil demon that was trying to take over her senior prom. Now Maggie's back in Hell Week, and she can't even crack the staff of the Bedivere College newspaper. What gives? But Maggie's luck suddenly changes when she goes undercover as a pledge to Sigma Alpha Xi, the campus' most popular - and most secretive - sorority. Her Phantom Pledge articles are a hit, and that's not the only place where Maggie's life has taken a turn for the lucky. It's not long before Maggie starts to question whether there's something supernaturally lucky about the Sigma Alpha Xis - even beyond their abnormally perfect hair.In Highway to Hell, which will be released in April 2009, Maggie and Lisa take show more off on a totally demon-free roadtrip. They're going to spend Spring Break on the beach at Cabo San Lucas - ironically, of course. But thanks to a middle of the night encounter with a dead cow in the middle of a deserted Texas highway, the girls are stuck in a tiny town with some very unusual characters. (Luckily, one of those characters is a devastatingly gorgeous real-live cowboy.) Things quickly take a totally unsurprising turn for the supernatural, and once again Maggie is hot on the trail of some unusual demonic activity. After making inquiries at the only bar in town about what animal could have gruesomely killed the cow that totaled their jeep, Maggie and Lisa are becoming more and more sure that the mythical chupacabra is very real - and very nasty.The second and third books in the Maggie Quinn: Girl vs. Evil series stay true to the super-sarcastic, laugh-out-loud funny voice of Prom Dates From Hell. But now Maggie's well past her early skepticism. She's accepted that there are demons hanging out in her neighborhood, and that as the local psychic investigative journalist with a spellcasting best friend and a love interest who studies supernatural mythology, she's the one who's going to have to deal with all the evil beasties that pop up in her area. And as Maggie acknowledges her psychic powers and begins to learn how to use them, they no longer feel like a tacked-on plot point - they're an integral part of both books.These books start to dig further into the how and why of the demons and magic that are popping up around Maggie Quinn, and the mix of folklore, religion, and superstition are a strength of Clement-Moore's. Maggie's boyfriend brings the theoretical knowledge, and her sorcerer friend Lisa brings the practical application. It's Maggie who pulls it all together, using both her natural curiosity and her psychic Spidey-sense. Highway to Hell brings some traditional brujas into the picture, as well as the intriguing addition of a priest-in-training to their crew of demon-battlers. The young priest is a great foil for Lisa the sometimes-evil sorceror, and he also has his run-ins with Maggie, whose relationship with religion is pretty well summed up in Hell Week:"Facing Evil with a capital E makes a convincing argument that somewhere, in some shape or form, there was Good with a capital G, too, and I wanted no mistake about which side I was on.I'm not saying team Father, Son, and Holy Ghost is the only team in the G league, but it's what I defaulted to when I needed to get my spiritual ducks in a row. Even so, I'm not exactly what you would call a reverent traditionalist.'Okay, God.' I stared up at the dark ceiling. 'Maybe you could throw me a bone here. I'm going in circles and could really use a signpost.' I paused, trying to sound at least a little supplicant. 'So. . . anytime you're ready, that would be great.'"-Hell Week, page 166The question of where God falls in all this mix of magic and mayhem is a welcome addition to the world of the books, and I hope that the priest character will be back in future Maggie Quinn adventures.With their fast-paced action, sharp tongues, and quick wit, Maggie and her friends are a great match for any teenage Buffy fans in your life. They potentially have some appeal to readers of the Twilight books - but you might want to make it clear that if Maggie Quinn runs into a vampire in her biology class, that vampire's going to have a stake through his heart sooner than he can say "I'm madly in love with you!" The teen-friendly covers make these books a pretty easy sell, but it's the bitingly funny characters and their smart take on some implausible situations that will keep readers coming back. As Maggie puts it, "'Yes, we're in over our heads... Maybe there's someone in the world who actually understands how all this works, who's fully equipped with the armor of righteousness and the flamethrower or smiting or whatever else is in the arsenal of Team Good. But unless they're hiding behind a mesquite tree somewhere, me, my freaky brain, my sorcerous friend, and my paladin boyfriend are all that stands between Hell and Texas'" (Highway to Hell, page 293). show less

After her mother becomes surprisingly pregnant, Maggie Quinn, college freshman, elects to stay home and attend nearby Bedivere University. Wanting to break into the difficult world of college journalism, Maggie goes along with the excitement of sorority rush, in order to write an anonymous column exposing the inanities of the tradition.

It’s not long, however, before Maggie gets into things that might be way over her head. Sigma Alpha Xi, the sorority that has selected her—actually selected snarky, disbelieving, disenchanted her!—to be a pledge, is comprised of a bunch of young women and alumni who seem to be uncommonly lucky in all aspects of their lives.

Is this just a natural byproduct of being part of a desired college group, or show more is there something more sinister working here…like a Faustian contract with the devil? With the help of Justin, her not-quite-just-a-friend yet not-a-boyfriend, and some new and old friends, Maggie races to discover the secrets behind SAXi…before it’s too late.

With her trademark wit and humor, Rosemary Clement-Moore delivers another crowd-pleaser in her Maggie Quinn: Girl vs. Evil series, though I’m beginning to think the story may be falling into a rather predictable rut. The characters, especially Maggie and those closest to her, are lively, and don’t fall into stereotypical categories of “MC’s steadfast best friend, “MC’s perfect unrequited love,” “The Villain,” and so on. Maggie’s parents keep dry wit constantly on hand, and Justin, Maggie’s love interest, is realistically adorable as chivalrous to the point of chauvinistic.

What bothered me most about HELL WEEK, however, was its absolute similarity to the first book in the series, PROM DATES FROM HELL. If by the second book I am already sick of Maggie’s routine of Cluelessness, Sudden Realization, and Valiant Vanquishing of the Demon, how am I going to keep on reading her future books? I found it too easy for me to put this book down, which was probably why it took me several weeks to finish.

If you’re looking for a light, funny, and feel-good paranormal read, then HELL WEEK is for you. Otherwise we should all hope that Rosemary will start branching out from Maggie’s world: it gets old quite fast. show less

While the main conflict of this installment does lift…well, everything from clichéd B movie plot (Sorority girls from Hell!), Clement-Moore still manages to make the second book in the Maggie Quinn series entertaining and funny.

To begin with, tangent: Quite obviously, the majority of YA books deal with the fact that high school is pretty much every single teenager/young adult’s life. What grinds my nerves, however, are the ones that treat high school as the end-all, be-all. Does high school suck? Good God, yes. But there’s this fantastic thing after high school (should the kids choose this route): college. Unfortunately, there’s a good chunk of YA that doesn’t really acknowledge this magical place. So, I tend to like books show more that go for a bit more young adult and deal with the early college years (because, let’s face it, a lot of the high school drama still happens in post-secondary education, but there’s a whole new game to play there).

So, getting into this made me smile, because I could relate with Maggie about starting over in college. Sure, she doesn’t exactly get all of the dorm drama, but everything else—the new social schedule, the class load, getting knocked down by professors because you don’t have the credits yet—it brings a new level to the atypical YA book. I also liked watching Maggie going through Rush; again, it’s something that feels actually realistic (sorority girls from Hell aside), and the stress of Rush plus classwork plus demon-slaying manages to play a role in the plot.

Unfortunately, much like the last book, there really isn’t all that much to the villains. Victoria and Juliana are pretty much the Real Housewives of the Ninth Circle, who ensnare naïve pledges to further their own wealth and power. (It’s actually described as a demonic pyramid scheme, but seeing as how they’re at the top, yeah, it’s their show.) There’s no real depth or explanation for their actions, aside from being blonde and perfect and being bitchy.

Generally, I liked the current members and pledges of SAXi. Devon’s probably my favorite, as she’s the most willing to mentor Maggie. Also, the death of her boyfriend made me really feel for her; out of all of the girls, she’s the most sympathetic. I liked Holly, although I didn’t grab onto her story and history with her mother. She’s snarky and plays off of Maggie well, but there should have been more to her character. My big frustration with the SAXi girls is that, by book’s end, almost every single one of these new friends leaves Bedivere U. If there’s anything good about a college experience is meeting new people and making connections with them. The fact that all of these girls, who just had their souls saved by Maggie, got unceremoniously dropped at the end of the book irked me; is it a problem for her to have another friend aside from Lisa and Justin?

Aside from that, I liked how Maggie approached the idea of doing Rush and how it effects her Seer powers. It’s interesting that when she mentions that she had visions of Greek letters, Maggie tries to get something positive out of her visions. Her first thought isn’t completely “Crap, have to go defend the world from evil,” but rather, very reporter-like, “Well, we’ll check it out, and maybe I can get a column out of this.”

While Lisa doesn’t show up until the end of the book, she suddenly gets another depth to her characterization. I’m still not a fan of how her sexual assault was handled, and while it’s nice to see her try to redeem herself after summoning a demon, it does bother me that the issue at hand is pushed aside. I would have at least liked a hint of Lisa’s progress with dealing from that aftermath, not just “I summoned a demon, I’ve got a reserve seat in the handbasket to Hell.” I wanted to know a lot more about this in general.

In the last review, I mentioned that Maggie’s relationship with her family also felt natural. It really feels like she’s closer to her dad, and how he’s willing to help out with her more intriguing questions. It also helps that he does get worried whenever she entangles herself in one of these Evil-busting schemes. Maggie’s mom got a little more development in this book; again, she cares and worries about her daughter, even if she’s not completely in the loop. I do have a nitpick about her mother being all upset that Maggie doesn’t have a boyfriend and isn’t interested in girly things and that means she’s not normal. I think we’re a little beyond that. And I generally like Gran, but there’s really not much more to her than being the mentor figure. She’s a fun adult figure, but with not much substance.

Despite my issues, I still really enjoy this volume. It’s a fun read, while putting Maggie in a new element that actually does affect her powers (demonic or not). Aside from the fact that there’s no real cast expansion (which would have been a fantastic edition), I loved reading this book and really wanted to know what happened next. show less

Smart and sassy Maggie Quinn is back and she's in college. In an attempt to join the staff of the local newspaper, journalism student Maggie infiltrates the sorority rush, writing anonymous pieces under the name "The Phantom Rushee". As Maggie goes through rush, she uncovers something sinister going on with one of the sororities and it's up to her to squelch the evil blossoming on campus.

If you need a Buffy fix, pick up Maggie Quinn. It's bursting with sarcastic humor and has a dash of romance. I enjoyed it quite a bit and am looking forward to the next one!

Maggie is a freshman in college and wants to make her mark with the town or at least the school newspaper. To do this she decides to rush soroities and write a series of articles about the corrupt greek system. This is a great idea except instead of being completely rejected for the nerd she is, Maggie attracts the attention of the most powerful sorority on campus. What could they possibly see in her? Could it be her supernatural powers?? But that would mean they have powers. Sorority girls with magical powers? Be afraid, be very afraid.

I really enjoyed this second book in the series. Maggie is funny in a snarky way that is cool. The supporting characters are fun and the budding romance is sweet. Thoughout the book we see Maggie's show more dedication to family, friends and doing the right thing. It is a good read for older teens. show less