“Unhallowed Halls” by Lili Wilkinson was published in February and has captivated young adult readers with the brilliant writing and plot. Wilkinson’s writing was dazzling, how she would describe the main character’s feelings and emotions, it was like I was there in the book watching these situations unfold.
In the beginning we get introduced to our main character Paige Whittaker. She was born into a privileged family, had a loyal friendship, and a steady romantic relationship. Intelligent and ambitious, Whittaker spends her time buried in books, excelling in her studies, and dreaming of a life beyond her family’s expectations. Beneath her composed exterior lies a terrible secret; she was born with a curse, the ability to harbor multiple souls in her body and control them.
Whittaker used to meet her friend, Cassie, behind the old school building at the Devil’s chair. A crooked stone seat everyone whispered haunted. The place always felt colder, shadows stretching too long in the fading light. One afternoon, Whittaker found Cassie cornered by a teacher’s furious voice. Something dark stirred within her, but before she could stop it, the world around her blurred into darkness, rage, and screams. When the haze in her eyes lifted, she saw the once living teacher now at her feet lifeless.
Cassie’s eyes only held terror, and from that day forward she avoided Whittaker. The days grew longer along with their friendship. Once a friendship that was unbreakable now left buried along with the teacher.
I loved everything about this book; the tension, the atmosphere, and the way it balances beauty and unease. Every scene feels alive, rich with emotion and detail, drawing the reader into Whittaker’s chaos and the haunted world around her. It’s a story that lingers long after the last page full of mystery, darkness, and heart.
As the breakfast bell rang, Whitaker came to sit at the table with her new friends, but as she approached they changed their conversation. Whitaker could immediately tell her new friends were hiding something from her, from everyone.
Later that evening, Whitaker finds herself sitting with Cyrus and Oak in the quiet common room. Oak, ever the Mystic of the group, shuffles a worn deck of tarot cards. He offers to read Whittaker’s fortune, his tone playful but eyes serious. The cards whisper as they fall, and Whittaker turns hers over. The tower card stares back, a crumbling tower split in the middle by lightning.
A tense silence follows as Cyrus and Oak exchange a look, sharpen knowing as if something unspoken has just been confirmed between them. Their expressions, part recognition, part unease, suggests that the card means something more than simple bad luck. When Oak excuses himself, soon after Cyrus slips page a her card its back surface marked with a code confusing but intriguing, like a quiet promise that what just happened is only the beginning of something far more dangerous.
Whitaker arrives at the tower, and after speaking the passcode out into the open air, the door slowly opens, revealing a room, a dim, circular room lit by only flickering candles. Chalk drawn symbols on the floor faintly glow as she steps in and she finds her friends in the process of a magical ritual.
As the situation unfolds Whittaker begins to sense that something is wrong, the air feels heavy, the candles gutter as if resisting the words being spoken. Then the truth surfaced, the headmaster never brought her here for her potential, but for her curse. They plan to use her as a vessel to contain demons, a living gateway to power they can control.
Horror settles in but her friends rally around her, their loyalty fierce and unwavering. Together, they craft a desperate plan; Oak and Gideon will risk bodies with the teachers to uncover what the Headmaster’s are truly plotting before Whittaker is trapped in a fate worse than death.
Their plan begins with careful precision, every step balanced between courage and danger, but magic is never predictable. When they attempt to transfer a demon spirit into the teacher’s body, something goes terribly wrong. The demon ends up going into Whittaker’s body, causing her to struggle and feel unbearable pain. As she screams, the demon breaks free twisting the ritual out of control.
In a single breath, it dives into Oak’s empty body, seizing the stolen vessel before anyone can react. Oaks possessed form bolts into the shadows, leaving chaos in its wake. Now with fear pressing at every corner, Whittaker and the real Oak are forced to hunt it down in secret, hiding the disaster from the Headmasters before the truth and the demon consumes them all.
Despite their desperate efforts, Oaks body remained lifeless, the damage influenced by the demon possessed was irreversible in the aftermath. Whittaker and her remaining friends confronted the Headmaster’s in a final harrowing battle through the courage to sacrifice and strengthen their bond; they dismantled the dark forces ahead and snared them, bringing an end to their sinister plans. Whittaker emerged with a renewed sense of purpose in life beeline her journey, marking the beginning of a new chapter in her life.
I would give this book a ⅘ stars. I loved the writing. Everything was beautifully planned and it felt like I was truly inside the story better connected with the plot. It was a fun and engaging read though I probably wouldn’t read it again. Fans of “A Lesson in Vengeance” by Victoria Lee, “Dead Beautiful” by Yvonne Woon, or “Down a Dark Hall” by Louis Duncan will likely enjoy this book as well.
