'Hollow' is the perfect queer Fall story.

The gothic horror elements satisfy a craving for spookiness and adventure while providing a fun and interesting twist on the Sleepy Hollow story of the headless horseman. Even if a little cliché at times, the authors are aware of them and use cliché tastefully in order to lead the reader down one path and have them expect things that more often than not will not be true. While the heavy use of cliché wasn't an issue, the story did feel like it was lacking more depth, as the twists and turns felt obvious and easy to figure out.

Where 'Hollow' does shine, however, is in the fantastic cast of characters it has. It was incredibly easy to connect with all of them, especially the protagonist, as empathizing with them through their "fish out of water" experience allowed for a fresh perspective on the town and the absurd yet charming small town year round holiday. Themes surrounding identity and standing up for ourselves and our friends were very prominent in the book, and gave the relationships between the three main characters a lot of weight (and a fun love triangle).

Overall, 'Hollow' is a lively Halloween read that will get you ready for spooky season, with a darling queer romance, and a treacherous evil plot that could get in the way of it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with a digital arc of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

This lovely graphic novel follows the mysteries that reside within a small town community that appears to be infatuated with lore and the hidden horrors that surround them all. After the main character, Izzy moves to this town and is faced with the town's well-known "mascot," the Headless Horseman, she immediately begins to research what kind of phenomenon she has to deal with. Surprisingly the Headless Horseman is not as terrifying as he seems, and Izzy becomes aware that the life of his crush is in great danger, and in order to save her, she must be able to face the villain that wants her gone. This Halloween-spirited story follows the beautiful bond between three teenagers who come together to fight off the evil that plagues their beloved town before it consumes them all.

I absolutely adored this comic. The art style was so endearing and it was able to acutely represent the nostalgia of a small-town community and the whimsical adoration that is felt all year round, because of their connection with each other. Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year and it was incorporated so well into this story, especially with the subtleties of these inexperienced teens that learn to grow and love each other in times of difficulty. The sapphic relationship between Izzy and Vicky was so subtle and impactful with emotions, especially with how well the author was able to portray their connections, with the illustrator being able to heighten it visually. The story was short and sweet, with not a minute of dullness to be seen, especially with how evenly paced this entire comic was. I will admit that the closure could have been a bit more drawn out, especially as it was immediately faced after the entire climax, but other than that I loved everything else about this graphic novel.

Overall, this is exactly what I needed to read, especially with the constant buzz of admiration that I have for that special time of the year - Halloween. I think that this story was a breath of fresh air, especially for lovers of coming-of-age stories, as well as readers who thrive on the subtle senses of nostalgia that novels are able to give to us. I am grateful to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with the opportunity to read such a lovely graphic novel.

In Sleepy Hollow, Hallowseen isn't just a holiday, its an entire season!

Isabel "Izzy" Crane's moves to Sleepy Hollow with their mother, where everyone believes in the legend of the Headless Horseman. Izzy thinks its just a stupid tourist thing, until they have an experience of their own. Turns out the Horseman and the legend truly is real, and the ghost needs their help. Izzy and their new friends Croc Byun and Vicki van Tassel, descendant to the Katrina van Tassel the legend is all about, sets about to help the Horseman.

This is the perfect October read with great fall vibes, cozy spooky times, wholesome relationships and heartwarming romance. The art style is so so cute and the setting is warm and gives the Halloweentown vibes. If you want to read a spooky but cozy story with a cute sapphic romance, then this is the book for you! It's a great take on the legend of Sleepy Hollow and

REP: disability, LGBTQ+ characters, POC-characters, specifically: hispanic, korean-american characters
TW: animal death
GENRES: YA/Teens, paranormal, romance, mystery

trigger warning
<spoiler> animal death </spoiler>

Izzy is new in Sleepy Hollow, and it's october. The leaves are changing their colour and the town is gearing up for Halloween, the headless rider is omnipresent - any maybe even real.

We have a sapphic romance and I am not sure if we have a lesbian couple or not. Izzy chooses not to use her full name, Isabel, and dresses not femme, but I can't tell if Izzy is butch or non binary.

When chased by a ghost, Izzy decides to talk instead of scream, resulting in a scene that made me laugh out, which happens very, very rarely.

This was fun, and I'd recommend it if you want a spooky story that is not really horror-y with a cute light romance.
The arc was provided by the publisher.

This graphic novel has been on my TBR for a while now so I was beyond excited to read it!

Izzy’s mom has relocated the family to Sleepy Hollow - a town obsessed with the legend of the Headless Horseman - for a job in a fancy restaurant. Now Izzy not only has to contend with a new place, a new school and making friends with Actual People instead of books, but with everyone’s belief that the Horseman is out to get them. Her confidence that they’re all being ridiculous wanes when she has sightings of her own, and her crush on a descendent of the Van Tassel family certainly isn’t helping matters. With mysterious events occurring in town, a friendship group forms to get to the bottom of these paranormal happenings.

All the central characters in this are loveable, but Izzy - from how she dresses to her belief that she can Logic her way out of anything - was a favourite for me. Though there are some arguments between them, I really appreciated how they all ended up communicating with each other. There was also a side character who used mobility aids throughout which was so cool to see on the page! I loved her involvement with the group and I really hope there’s more to come with this series.

With a sweet sapphic romance and a loveable trio at its core, such cute art/character design (that I’m really just in love with) and a paranormal mystery, this is a queer read that’s perfect for spooky season!

I really enjoyed this graphic novel. The artwork is awesome, it really drew me in!
This would also be perfect as a Halloween read.

It's a retelling of Sleepy Hollow, with of course a spooky storyline of the Headless Horseman, and a loveable trio trying to stop a curse that's been going on for decades.

It has a sweet queer love story and wholesome friendships.

It's a great, not-to-scary, but mysterious story, with good representation and diversity in it, perfect for the spooky season!

"Hollow" is a good comic for people like me, who like Halloween and spooky vibes, but not actual scary stuff.
It is fun, the characters are great and the story definitely went in a completely different direction than I first expected.

"Hollow" by Shannon Watters is the perfect spooky October read. The graphic novel is beautifully illustrated and pays homage to the original Sleepy Hollow legend while updating the tale with modern and diverse characters. The only complaint I have about this graphic novel is that it was too short!

Reasons to Read this book!
* Fall Vibes - Fall is here and it’s spooky season soon! This book is a perfect read to get you in the mood.
* Modern Sleepy Hollow - This is a story about the modern day sleepy hollow and how their location is effected by the Washington Irving legend.
* Descendants from story - The main characters are descendants of the characters in the story. At least Vicky Van Tassel is…But in comes a new girl, Izzy Crane who might also be connected to Ichadbod.
* A sinister villain - Here in Sleepy Hollow, everything is branded with headless horsemen. But is he the really threat to the van tassles?

This was just adorable! Izzy just moved to Sleepy Hollow, and ghosts aren't her thing. However, after numerous sighting of the headless horseman, Izzy and her new friends Croc and Victoria Van Tassel, find out that maybe he isn't the villain of the story and that someone else is after Vicky.

The perfect spooky fall read! I got early access on Netgalley and I absolutely loved this graphic novel. It's a retelling of a classic, features queer characters, and is based around Halloween time. What more could you want?
The artwork was so cute as well.
I would absolutely recommend reading once it comes out on October 4th, 2022.

What a fun, spooky story! I'm glad I picked it up.

The art style was wonderful, the characters were depicted in an expressive manner and the setting was incredibly atmospheric. What I enjoyed the most was the characters -- they're vibrant, easy to like and well developed. The romance here was so cute and, honestly, the depiction of developing a crush was just incredibly accurate. The mythos of the story was uncomplicated but developed enough not to leave many questions unanswered, the threat sufficiently scary. I really enjoyed the Horseman, the final scene and Victoria's development.

Listen. I am slightly reviewer-blocked today so here's a TL;DR: it's a fun, interesting graphic novel that's perfect for Halloween. Just trust me.

This was a fun, not too spooky graphic novel about sleepy hollow. Perfect read to get ready for Halloween with some lesbian romance! I think the printed version of this would be more enjoyable to read (compared to an ebook).

SO MUCH FUN!
That's according to both my daughter and myself. The spooky atmospheric writing was wonderful and lighthearted, the characters were well developed and interesting, and Hollow can be read in one quick sitting. Definitely a cute book that is perfect for October!

This was an absolute delight to read it was as if Alice Oseman wrote a fantasy graphic novel which had similar themes to Halloweentown (an absolute classic of my childhood). I needed this growing up: there were not many graphic novels when I was younger and definitely not ones with characters who have LGBTQIA+ labels and so I thank both Watters and Boyer-White for creating this masterpiece which I hope if there is a sequel may go into Izzy's background and identity a bit more but overall this had a brilliant plot. Plus it slightly dives into the idea of forced responsibility for those who are a staple of community i.e. Vicky in this graphic novel, but it could definitely change the way that many treat child stars in real-life. The fantasy idea behind the legend of sleepy hollow is an interesting one to date into modern ages and I think this graphic novel showed perfectly who this could be done. And the illustrations! Beautiful.

This was a nice and quick read, perfect for autumn and Sleepy Hollow fans. I loved the art style and story, and the fact that it's queer. Just a chef’s kiss honestly.

I absolutely adore "Hollow"!
It was spooky, fun, adorable and with an amazing set of characters!
I loved everything and I will definitely read it in the future as well!
The illustrations were amazing and there were so many times where I had to put my phone down just so I could marvel at their beauty.
Our three main protagonists were adorable and I loved their interactions, they are my new favorites!
Lastly, I loved reading about the myth the book was centered on and I would like to research on my own a bit more.

Thank you again to NetGalley for an ARC.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a fun, quick read perfect for autumn. The art was colorful, skillful, and atmospheric, and lent a really nice visual aspect to the story. It was a cool modernization on the classic legend of sleepy hollow, with a diverse cast which is always appreciated. The action and mystery pushed me to keep reading and the sapphic romance was a major plus.

NetGalley ARC Educator 550974


A wonderful retelling of the Smoky Hollow legend. It's more diverse as are the characters. The main characters are young ladies, one who is aware of her ties to the legend, while the other is not. Together with new found friends they face a dangerous foe. It is a one sitting read with fantastic artwork.

Absolutely delightful, humorous, and heart-warming, Hollow took me by surprised with how much I enjoyed it! I thought it would be more along the adventure/spooky lines–and don't get me wrong, it's a great Scooby-esque, Halloween romp–but what really stood out to me was the fantastic characters and lived-in feel of the world that Watters and Boyer-White created. Izzy and Vicky were adorable. Croc is chaotic, warm-hearted goodness. This is one that I'm going to be shoving in all my friends' faces while screaming about my love for it.

My one gripe? It wasn't LONG ENOUGH.

Thanks to NetGalley and Boom! Studios for the opportunity to read this ebook ARC. All opinions are mine alone.