SuitabookThe hollow girl
Hillary Monahan
- Reading
- Check in before and during reading, particularly around the assault and graphic magical violence. Pause afterwards to separate the novel’s revenge fantasy from real-world responses to sexual violence and to discuss representation thoughtfully.
- Themes
- Trauma, agency and revenge: Bethan responds to rape and the severe assault of Martyn by seeking powerful magic and revenge against the attackers. The premise foregrounds Bethan’s agency and presents retaliation as a cathartic fantasy, but does not establish how the complete story evaluates revenge or recovery.
- Romani representation and magic: Bethan belongs to a Welsh Romani clan, while the story’s caravan life is closely associated with a magical healer and its young Romani men are described as perpetrators of extreme violence. The book reportedly tries to distinguish Romani morality from the attackers’ behaviour, yet criticism argues that the overall depiction remains stereotype-laden.
- Magic and moral cost: Saving Martyn requires Bethan to collect grisly body parts, after a warning that this kind of magic has a price. Magic is central and physically gruesome, but its moral meaning and ultimate consequences remain unclear.
- Worth knowing
- Before reading, discuss whether the reader wants a story centred on sexual assault and violent revenge. Afterwards, consider how the novel balances Bethan’s agency with the treatment of trauma, magic and cultural identity.