Chloe is just an ordinary teenager... or so she thought. All of the sudden Chloe can see ghosts. This happens in school and it makes her freak out. Which in turn, lands her in a home for "disturbed" teens called Lyle House. There she is told that she cannot really see ghosts but has hallucinations caused by schizophrenia. All Chloe wants to do is get better so she can get out. There she meets some other kids that are there for different reasons. All have been diagnosed with one problem or the other. As they start to get to know each other they start finding that Lyle House isn't really what it seems to be and maybe they are not really getting the help that they need.
This was a fun and easy read. The book kept me entertained all the way to the end. It had a quick pace with enjoyable characters. I think the only problem I had with the book was the confrontations between Chloe and Derek. At the beginning it was believable but after awhile it seemed too drawn out. Chloe was supposed to be this all around nice girl yet she was always so rough on Derek. At the beginning he seemed like a jerk but after a while, when he was trying to be nice, Chloe was still hard on him which kind of seemed out of character for her. With that said, it was still an enjoyable book. Warning: the book leaves on a cliff-hanger. So if you get halfway through this book and you are liking it, you might want to run out and get the 2nd one so you have it handy.
four stars! This book was well-written and VERY CLEAN, as books for young adults should be. The title, Darkest Powers, is misleading. This book is not about dark powers or dark evil. It's about kids with supernatural abilities. A bit of advice, though, this is the first in a series and ends abruptly, like a to-be-continued.... make sure to have book two on hand!
As a huge fan of Kelley Armstrong's adult Women of the Otherworld series, I was very eager to see what she would write for a young adult audience. Once again Armstrong delivers! Those familiar with her adult novels will happily recognize paranormal world-building elements from that series making an appearance here, but rest assured The Summoning is the first book in a separate new series for young adult readers.
And a great series its starting out to be! Exciting, atmospheric, and creepy, this book is hard to stop reading! This is a world where the things that trouble teens aren't just social issues or drugs, and where the changes that come with adolescence can be...startling. This was a fun read from beginning to end. The only bad thing is the wait for the next book!
four stars! This book was well-written and VERY CLEAN, as books for young adults should be. The title, Darkest Powers, is misleading. This book is not about dark powers or dark evil. It's about kids with supernatural abilities. A bit of advice, though, this is the first in a series and ends abruptly, like a to-be-continued.... make sure to have book two on hand!
I liked all the characters in this book.They have their own issues they try to deal with while discovering and controlling their gifts. I can't wait to read the next book to see where and how the characters end up
Do you see things that aren't there? Maybe your mind is playing tricks on you. Maybe you're seeing a ghost.
Chloe Saunders is your average teenager. She likes talking to her friends, wears cool designer clothes, and talks to cute boys. Then one day at school, Chloe see a custodian with half of his face burned off. She runs off screaming, but he follows. The teachers thought Chloe needs some help, some counseling, but Chloe is still shaking from her first episode of seeing a ghost. Regardless, Chloe is sent to a group home that specializes in trouble teens, Lyle House.
Lyle House isn't so bad. Its run by a few female nurses who make sure the kids eat nutritious meals, exercise, and get their homework done. In between their day of schooling, there is usually an hour or so put aside for their individual counsel sessions. Chloe is told she may be schizophrenic and she just wants to get better so she can go home. But either the medication isn't working or she really is seeing ghosts because she keeps seeing them everywhere.
After Chloes roommate is transferred from the facility, strange behavior from the remaining teens flourishes. Chloe believes there may be more to her housemates besides a mental illness. How else could Rachelle burn people with her hands or Simon levitate items with just his mind? But digging into the dangerous secrets that surround Lyle House may reveal more skeletons than Chloe can handle.
I've read all of Kelley Armstrongs adult series to date, and was intrigued when I found out about her new Young Adult DARKEST POWERS series. She has done another wonderful job of world-building and character development. Just the right mix of drama, mystery, and a touch of the paranormal turns THE SUMMONING into a superb, engaging read. The ending though is a cliffhanger, so be prepared! I will be looking to read more about Chloes adventures in THE AWAKENING.
16 pages into this I give up. Boooooring. Snzzzzzzz. I can't understand these reviews. I could barely make it through the first few pages. I only kept reading because I was hoping for a better plot to swallow. The book jacket summery reads better than this splinter in my hand.
Didn't like this book at all... skipped pages.
Plot wasn't interesting, unless maybe I was 35 years tounger and a teenager again.
I have read the first four book in Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series and thought the first three were great and the fourth was just okay. When I saw Armstrong was going to write a young adult series I was excited to see what she would write. This book is okay, but it is nothing special.
Chloe just wants to go to her awesome art school and not be the new kid for once. All that changes when she starts seeing ghosts and ends up committed to the Lyle House, a group home for troubled teens. Chloe is diagnosed with schizophrenia and promised quick release as soon as she is "better". Well Chloe is starting to find out that all the kids in the Lyle House are "special" in different ways that may not be so much medical as magical. She is also finding out that Lyle House is more than it appears to be.
This is an okay book, but it didn't blow me away. It takes a long time to get the story going. I felt like 2/3rd's of the book was spent setting up the story. Then things pick up and start to get mysterious and interesting. But that first part was a pretty boring read. Chloe is an okay character but spends most of her time trying to runaway from her problems, trying to blend in, or hiding. I really didn't find her all engaging as a character and the same can be said of the rest of the characters in this book. This book was also creepier than I thought it would be, almost more of a horror than a paranormal read at times.
The idea of supernatural powers as mental illness is interesting but has been done before. Amelia Atwater-Rhodes did an interesting take on this in her book Persistence of Memory. At the end of the book the plot starts to expand some and things get much more interesting. Right at the end of the book we also see Chloe trying to act with some sort of conviction. So, I am hoping the next book will find Chloe a more likable character.
The writing is nothing special, but it is easy to read and somewhat engaging. Not a ton of action in this book either. Armstrong is creating an interesting world but we only get a partial idea for it in this book. The book ends on a total cliffhanger with absolutely nothing resolved, which always irks me. So, I would recommend having the second book on hand or else you will be totally unfulfilled after the first book.
I already have the second book on hand so I will read it. I am not all that impressed with this series so far though. The characters were weak and the pacing was slow. Things did pick up at the end of the book, so I am hoping that the second book will prove to be more interesting.
Overall it was an okay book but there are better series out there to read. Melissa de La Cruz's Blue Bloods series is very good, Maggie Stiefvater's books are great, and Lesley Livingston's books are also interesting reads if you are looking for good supernatural teen series. I also enjoyed Aprilynne Pike's Wings and Michelle Rowan's Demon Princess series.
four stars! This book was well-written and VERY CLEAN, as books for young adults should be. The title, Darkest Powers, is misleading. This book is not about dark powers or dark evil. It's about kids with supernatural abilities. A bit of advice, though, this is the first in a series and ends abruptly, like a to-be-continued.... make sure to have book two on hand!
