Book Review: The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong

Title: The Summoning
Author: Kelly Armstrong
Publication Date: July 2008
Genre: Young Adult Urban Fantasy
Age: 12+
Pages: 390 pb
Series: 1st in the Darkest Powers Series
Publisher's website: HarperCollins
Author's website: www.kelleyarmstrong.com
Book Acquisition: bought new paperback

She sees dead people - and they see her.
Chloe Saunders used to have a pretty normal life. But that changed on the day she met her first ghost. Locked up in Lyle House, a group home for troubled teens, she finds out that there's more to the home's teen residents than meets the eye. Will Chloe be able to uncover the dangerous secrets of Lyle House...or will its skeletons come back to haunt her?
This thrilling first volume in the supernaturally charged Darkest Powers series by international bestselling author Kelley Armstrong will keep readers awake well into the darkest time of night.

(back cover of paperback)

This one was sitting on my shelf a while and I only just got a chance to read it. I wish I hadn't waited so long because I really enjoyed it! Why? For a couple of reasons, which I will now share with you :)
*Ghosts:
I love ghost stories but if one is not careful, they can come out way too cheesy. No worries though because Chloe's ghosts contain zero cheese. Some creepy crawlies and a few heebie geebies but that's just the way I like them.
*The reality factor:
Chloe feels like a very real person. She makes mistakes, she gets angry and scared. Her reactions to what she experiences are very realistic in my opinion and this adds a layer of detail to the story that I found very enjoyable.
*First person narrative:
I think stories told in the first person can get a bit of a bad rap. I know people who don't like them because you are only getting one characters view point through out the story. While this is usually true, I don't think it takes away from the overall story, if done well. In the case of The Summoning, it is done well. As a reader, we are only privileged to Chloe's knowledge. There are so many unknowns in her world and discovering their secrets as she does really moved the story along for me. I couldn't wait to turn each page and find another piece of the mystery (and maybe some of the other mystery - oh, and then a piece of the puzzle I didn't even know was missing!)

Overall, I very much enjoyed this book. I'm glad it's a series and I really cannot wait to find out what happens to Chloe. The only point I might have a small problem with is the twist at the end...not sure how I feel about that but I'm reserving judgement until I read the others in the series.

Darkest Powers Series (which is listed as a trilogy on the author's website)
1. The Summoning - July 2008
2. The Awakening - May 2009
3. The Reckoning - April 2010

Some other books by the author:
*Otherworld Series - Paranormal Suspense Adult series that take place in the same world as the Dark Powers series
*Angelic (2009)

Some other websites to check out:
*Publisher Author Page
*Fantastic Fiction Author Page (great list of all Kelley's books)