The Summoning (Darkest Powers #1)
by Kelley Armstrong
Date: 2008
Publisher: HarperCollins
Reading level: YA
Book type: prose novel
Pages: 390
Format: paperback
Source: Indigo
When Chloe Saunders hits puberty and starts seeing ghosts, of course everyone thinks she's crazy. Before she knows it, she's been sent to Lyle House, a group home for troubled teens. But things are not quite what they seem, and Chloe must uncover the truth about Lyle House and its inhabitants.
I picked up The Summoning and The Awakening for $10 each a while back. I've only now gotten around to starting the series.
It's odd; I quite enjoyed The Summoning, even though I can't quite figure out what the plot was. I guess it was mostly to do with Chloe figuring out who (and what) she is.
I quite liked the characters. They were, for the most part, well-defined and interesting. In some books, all the characters are so similar that you can't quite figure out who's doing what. That's not the case here.
Kelley Armstrong is obviously not a brand-new writer, and it shows in the quality of her writing. Aside from a few weird typos, I didn't have too many problems with the text itself.
As for the story... Well, the pacing did seem a bit strange to me. For the longest time, it was just Chloe hanging around the group home, trying to make sense of her new powers and her new neighbours (although there was one wonderfully creepy scene in the basement that was pretty exciting). When things finally started happening toward the end of the book and questions started being answered, my reaction was, "Oh! Now we're getting somewhere." Unfortunately, we didn't really get anywhere before we were treated to a cliffhanger ending. I'm glad I've got The Awakening on hand, ready to read!
All in all, I found The Summoning to be an enjoyable read. Fans of paranormal fiction will eat it up!
Plot: 3/5
Characters: 4/5
Pace: 3/5
Writing: 4/5
Originality: 4/5
Overall: 3.6 out of 5
I was afraid you wouldn't like it but I'm glad you did! The second book's even better ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that you liked this one :) Trust me, the second book is even better. The third one was definitely my favorite.
ReplyDeleteSo glad to hear that you enjoyed it. It's one of my favourite series so far and it only gets better!
ReplyDeleteI love Kelley's writing although I confess I haven't finished her Women of the Otherworld series yet. I have The Summoning waiting to be read on my shelf, I've heard fantastic things about it. I'm glad you liked it!
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