Review: The Summoning

Title: The Summoning
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal
Pub Date: July 2008, HarperCollins
Trade Paperback, 390 pages

Synopsis

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?

My Thoughts

I'm going to be honest here. I did not really get into this book until the last third of it or so. The rest of it just didn't hold my attention for some reason. However, that last third was so good that I am determined to continue reading this series.

There are several things I appreciated about this story--its premise, the focus away from the usual vampires and fairies while still being paranormal, the dynamic between the "troubled teens" and the Lyle House employees... At the same time, I found it rather unbelievable that Chloe would not realize or would simply deny that she was seeing ghosts, when it was pretty obvious what was going on. Overall, the characters could have used a bit more development, though obviously some were fleshed out more than others (Chloe and Derek, for example). The writing is generally good, though at times I found myself wishing it was more descriptive and captivating.

What really saved this book for me, though, was a big plot twist towards the end. Honestly, I never get tired of them although I know some people do. And with The Summoning, I really didn't see it coming. By the way, I should mention that I regret not having The Awakening right here to start, as the first book does end with quite the cliffhanger. All-in-all it was a pretty good read (not great, for me) but I see a lot of potential and I hope to pick up the story again soon with the second book. One other random note: I really love the cover of this book!

My rating:



Other reviews of The Summoning:

Graeme's Fantasy Book Review ~ A Book Blogger's Diary
Darque Reviews ~ Teen Book Review ~ Just Blinded Book Reviews
Em's Bookshelf ~ J. Kaye's Book Blog ~ Reader Rabbit ~ Tez Says
Becky's Book Reviews ~ Book Review Maniac ~ Garden of Books
The Compulsive Reader ~ Unmainstream Mom Reads
Wendy's Minding Spot ~ The Book Obsession ~ The Eclectic Reader
And Another Book Read ~ The Page Flipper ~ The Story Siren
Ceridwen's Book Lounge ~ KD's Library ~ Karin's Book Nook
A Patchwork of Books ~ WORD for Teens ~ Ink and Paper
Reality Bites... Fiction Does it Better ~ I Heart Monster

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