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

The Hallowed Ones (The Hallowed Ones #1)
by Laura Bickle
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Format: Kindle, 311 pgs.
Published: Sept. 25th 2012 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Genre: YA, Amish fiction/ Paranormal

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"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." -Goodreads

Review

"'Plain folk are taught that evil is spiritual. The absence of God.'

      Mrs. Parsall bit back a sob. 'Well, it seems as if God's left the building, and we're left to our own devices.'" (pg. 71)

 

I love Amish fiction, and I love paranormal literature, so when I saw the summary of this book, of course my interest was piqued! I’m so glad I tried this book to help me get out of my reading slump because it’s unique characteristics was just what I needed.

"'It was nothing like you see in the movies, these creatures. There's no seduction. No passionate luring of the victim to a dark side of velvet. This is just the stink, rotting underbelly of evil without its makeup.'" (pg. 126)

One of the min reasons why I fell for this book was the way the author portrayed the Vampires. These aren’t the typical fancy romantic “let me suck your blood” type of vampires, oh no! These are the vicious, tear you to pieces “I’m going to take your blood” type. The Hallowed Ones greatly deviates from the norm and I even loved the obstacles Katie had to endure, first with her intended beau, Elijah (who I just wanted to kick,) then with the mysterious circumstance of the Outside, Alex (an outsider she secretly took in and begins to fall in love with,) and the Bishop and Elders that denied and lied about the truth to their community. In every amish book I’ve read the Bishop is ruthless, unemotional and cold, but this took it to a new degree. The Ordnung must be upheld, but surely, bends in the rules can be made in extreme unforeseen circumstances such as a Vampire attack. 

"There was a difference, I had decided, between knowing and believing. An I wanted both." (pg. 3)

As Katie struggles with her faith, and learning of the strength of different faiths, she uncovers the only way people can protect themselves against the vampires. The only problem is, with the Elders aid in hiding the truth, how can her people protect themselves when they do no believe in these monsters? I am very pleased with this take on vampires and amish life, and I absolutely cannot wait to start on book two, The Outside!
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First Line: "After the end of the Outside world, the Plain folk survived." (pg. 1)
Last Line: "I unlatched the age and we stepped through into the unknown together." (pg. 310)

Quotes:

"It was a scandalous thing, that magazine. The women in it seemed obsessed with expensive clothing and makeup and horoscopes and sex. There rarely seemed to be much mention of the other parts of a woman's life: of work, of families, of being part of a community." (pg. 43)

"'If this is a disease of science... I don't understand how something spiritual could stop it.'" (pg. 150)

"'Like Spock said in Star Trek: 'The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.''" (pg. 151)