Review: Hollow

Hollow by Taylor Grothe
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Peachtree Teen for the pre-release copy of Taylor Grothe's Hollow. Below is my honest review.

Taylor Grothe's Hollow was their debut YA horror novel, and boy did it deliver hard! You jump right into the story, with neurodivergent Cassie returning to her hometown after leaving four years prior. While she was gone, she fell off the grid and didn't keep up with her old friends, mostly because she was struggling with new diagnoses and her parents' divorce. So stumbling upon said friends, including the girl she had feelings for before leaving, definitely was an awkward situation. As they try to rebuild something, a group camping trip takes a massive turn and the group is split, shoving Cassie into a cultish community living out in the wilderness, The Roost. From there, the story pushes darker and darker, as Cassie tries to balance who she is with who she wants to be and how she wants to relate to other people... and her friends are all in danger, lost in the woods.

1- I love books with cults, even if they're just intentional communities with cult-ish similarities.

2- I loved the neurodivergency rep.

3- I loved the LGBTQ+ rep (but I will note that stopping in the middle of chase scene to ask what pronouns to use was a little awkward).

4- I loved the buildup to a grande finale. It was top notch.

5- Some of the twists aren't as surprising, but how they're revealed is still fantastic.

I'll definitely read more from Taylor Grothe, especially since I've seen they have at least two more novels coming in the next few years.

Highly recommended for YA fans, horror fans of all ages, and people who just like a good page-turner.

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