The Hiding Spot

1. The Hallowed Ones features a look at Amish life. I haven't read any other YA books that focus on this, so it was entirely new to me.2. There is discussion of religion and individual beliefs, but it's not overbearing. I actually enjoyed it a lot, which was unexpected.3. Katie, the MC, is a bit of a rebel, but maybe not in the way you might think. She's actually a "good girl,", but she's a very free thinker. She questions things instead of blindly accepting them, something not exactly encouraged in her community.4. There's a touch of romance. I love that Katie and her love interest are very different in many ways, but similar at their core.5. The monsters in the novel were unique. I've heard them referred to as vampires, and I suppose that they are a version of vamps, but I feel like they need their own name.6. This book is intense. The themes, the gory murder scenes, the decisions made by the characters. Whoa.7. There's a woman from the outside world that ends up taking shelter with the Amish as all hell breaks loose outside. The comparison of how she reacts to the situation and her views about life in general versus the way Katie's community reacts and thinks is fascinating.