Review: The Summoning

Title: The Summoning

Author: Kelley Armstrong

Release Date: July 1^st, 2008

Series: Darkest Powers #1

Number of Pages: 390

PublisherL Doubleday Canada

Source: Bought

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After years of frequent moves following her mother’s death, Chloe Saunders’s life is finally settling down. She is attending art school, pursuing her dreams of becoming a director, making friends, meeting boys. Her biggest concern is that she’s not developing as fast as her friends are. But when puberty does hit, it brings more than hormone surges. Chloe starts seeing ghosts–everywhere, demanding her attention. After she suffers a breakdown, her devoted aunt Lauren gets her into a highly recommended group home. 

At first, Lyle House seems a pretty okay place, except for Chloe’s small problem of fearing she might be facing a lifetime of mental illness. But as she gradually gets to know the other kids at the home–charming Simon and his ominous, unsmiling brother Derek, obnoxious Tori, and Rae, who has a “thing” for fire–Chloe begins to realize that there is something that binds them all together, and it isn’t your usual “problem kid” behaviour. And together they discover that Lyle House is not your usual group home either…

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I was really excited about reading this book. After all, I LOVE the Women of The Otherworld series, and I had heard so many great comments about Armstrong’s YA series. Yet, it wasn’t as good as I was expected. I just was disappointed, because I was really hoping to love it. I liked it, just not enough to go to all my friends and tell them they should read it NOW.

The book was really slow for me at first. I just couldn’t get into the story. It took me 150 pages to really get into it. After that, I was captivated, but this first part is one of the reason I was disappointed in this book. As good as the plot was, I just needed a little something more. The ending is killing me, to be honest. I really want to know what happen to everyone. I have to; it will probably keep me up tonight… It shows that she already knew this would be a series, because the ending screams “Sequel!”

I like Derek so much! There is something about him that makes him such an interesting character. His brother Simon didn’t interest me as much. I’m rooting for the big guy! Chloe was great to me. She reacted in a normal way. It would have really sucked if she just had accepted that she could see ghosts. That wouldn’t have been realistic. Other than that, the characters didn’t make any big impression on me. Except maybe for Rae, I feel like her real problem isn’t fire, but attention. Maybe not as extreme as Tori, who completely annoy me in a good way, but it is still there.

I love Kelley Armstrong. I think she’s an amazing writer, but I don’t think it is her best work ever. I think her adult series was better. Yet, it won’t stop me from buying the sequel really soon, so I can know what will happen next for Chloe and company.

It is a great first book for this series. Based on just the first one, I wouldn’t tell you to put it on the top of your list, but maybe the sequel will change my mind!

7/10!