The hollow was the perfect place to hide.Or so Free’s dad said when they fled California, her five-year-old brother illegally in tow, to hide out in the West Virginia mountains and make some fast cash. As her father disappears with increasing frequency, Free watches her brother largely alone among drug dealers and thieves–until their neighbor Cole appears with lots of questions and determined to … determined to the crack the un-crack-able Free.
When the family she’s desperate to protect is ripped apart, Free turns to Cole for help and can’t deny the pull she feels toward the boy with too many questions–and who holds just as many secrets–finding that Cole might need her as much as she needs him.
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***Actual Rating: 4/5 Dreams-Unliving Stars***
Into the Hollow featured two teenagers, Free and Cole, living in the Appalachia Mountains Area, trying to figure out what was going on with their lives. When Free’s father went too far by dealing with the devil, her younger brother and her life was in serious jeopardy. They were hunted and threatened by the most notorious gangsters/drug dealers in the area so escaping their nightmare was hardly an option.
Mercifully, with the help of Cole, a cute neighbor who ended up going to the same school as Free, she regained her composure and found back the confidence and motivation she needed to keep moving forward. Little did Free know Cole may be fighting against his personal demons all this time he was doing his best giving her a hand.
As an aspiring journalist, Cole had a habit of putting down headlines in his notepad wherever he went. I loved his random thoughts and inner feelings for Free because he was such a sweet cinnamon roll with a kind heart and a soft spot for this math whizz girl (even though he doesn’t like math that much, ha!).
Despite the adversity both Free and Cole had to encounter, there was a pinch of humor in their daily banters that I absolutely adored. However awkward and inexperienced they were when it comes to love and life, they never backed away from stumbling through darkness just to find the silver lining.
In the beginning of the story, I was totally obsessed with the background setting and character development. I highly appreciated how mature and thoughtful Free and Cole were because in my opinion, that was the highlight of this book. To my slight disappointment, I got lost somewhere in the middle of the story since Cole had way too many questions about Free that were left completely unanswered, untouched. I found myself searching for answers but to no avail.
Thankfully, the story picked up its pace as the ending approached. As relieved as I was to see Free and Cole figure a tiny part of their messed-up lives out, which resulted in them staying clear of the rabbit hole, I would definitely appreciate more if there could be more detailed disclosures on the whereabouts of those villains. I mean, I was pretty curious about what happened to them since they were sort of a crucial part of the story. Don’t get me wrong, the story itself was indeed an awesome-sauce with its well-developed characters and realistically heartfelt plot; it’s just that there were too many unsolved problems to thoroughly enjoy it.
All in all, Into the Hollow is a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED book from me because I think everyone should meet Free and Cole and take a closer look at how they sought the light through darkness, baby step by baby step. It’s an uplifting story since the characters were flawed, stuck with their messed-up families, but somehow fought their way back to normalcy successfully. My favorite feature of the story? It’s undoubtedly its bittersweet touch of reality and helplessness I believe some people in real life are still struggling with, whatever dark corners in the world they are in. Enough said, please go give this book a try and let me know what you think!