Review: The Awakening

Title: The Awakening
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Genre: Young Adult, Fiction, Paranormal
Pub Date: April 2009, HarperCollins Publishers
Hardcover, 368 pages
Book Source: purchased from BN.com

Synopsis

If you had met me a few weeks ago, you probably would have described me as an average teenage girl — someone normal. Now my life has changed forever and I'm as far away from normal as it gets. A living science experiment — not only can I see ghosts, but I was genetically altered by a sinister organization called the Edison Group. What does that mean? For starters, I'm a teenage necromancer whose powers are out of control; I raise the dead without even trying. Trust me, that is not a power you want to have. Ever.

Now I'm running for my life with three of my supernatural friends — a charming sorcerer, a cynical werewolf, and a disgruntled witch — and we have to find someone who can help us before the Edison Group finds us first. Or die trying. 

My Thoughts

Unlike the first book in Armstrong's Darkest Powers series, I thought The Awakening was pretty fast-paced from the beginning. The characters are growing and developing much more in this book, but the plotting still feels a little shaky and all over the place. Nevertheless, I am anxious to see how this story unfolds and wraps up in the third book, The Reckoning, which is due out in April.

This book finds Chloe learning more about the Edison Group and the experiment they have been performing on children with supernatural powers. Not only does this storyline focus on Chloe and her friends' quest to discover the truth about the Edison Group, but Armstrong also gives us a glimpse into the dark and difficult life for kids on the street. The two characters who probably grow the most during this stage of the adventure are Chloe and Derek, both discovering what they are capable of and trying to understand how they can control their respective powers. Even Tori shows us what she is capable of (though still obnoxious as ever), and together, all four of them, Simon included, make a smart and resourceful team.

If you enjoyed The Summoning, I think I can safely say that that you will enjoy The Awakening, perhaps even more than the first book. I know I did, and I am looking forward to finding out how Armstrong wraps this story up in The Reckoning.

My rating:



Other reviews of The Awakening:

Darque Reviews ~ Graeme's Fantasy Book Review

Karin's Book Nook ~ Just Blinded Book Reviews ~ Steph Su Reads

Today's Adventure ~ The Book Obsession ~ KD's Library

Wrighty's Reads ~ Tales of a Ravenous Reader ~ The Story Siren

The Eclectic Reader ~ Reverie Book Reviews

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