The Summoning (Darkest Powers #1) Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 390
Release Date: July 1st, 2008
Rating: 4/5
Synopsis: My name is Chloe Saunders and my life will never be the same again. All I wanted was to make friends, meet boys, and keep on being ordinary. I don't even know what that means anymore. It all started on the day that I saw my first ghost - and the ghost saw me.
Now there are ghosts everywhere and they won't leave me alone. To top it all off, I somehow got myself locked up in Lyle House, a "special home" for troubled teens. Yet the home isn't what it seems. Don't tell anyone, but I think there might be more to my housemates than meets the eye. The question is, whose side are they on? It's up to me to figure out the dangerous secrets behind Lyle House... before its skeletons come back to haunt me.
Review: So here's the story of my Darkest Powers reading life. I accidentally bought the entire trilogy in one book. I accidentally do a lot of weird things while reading, like that time I checked the sequel out of the library but then decided to go ahead and read it anyway.
"Who are you people? What is going on? What is this book even about?" that was a fun time.
Chloe Saunders is your typical out of place not yet developed teenage girl. I have to admit that I found her a little bit annoying, more often than not, but she's a kid so I just rolled with it. The book opens with what she calls her 'normal' life. Living in an apartment all on her own cause her Mom is dead and her Dad is some big executive that is never home. She starts the morning with a lecture from her housekeeper before heading off to her private performing arts academy.
She complains about being too skinny, hair too mousey and ginger, body too boyish. She gives herself red streaks in her copper hair to try and look more mature but the only person who seems to appreciate them, is her.
The book then starts out with the big red dot.
THE PERIOD!As comes with every young girls period are sudden insane illusions of people no one else can see. Wait... no, that's definitely not normal. So here's where things actually start to take an interesting turn! A perfect example of how science constantly misdiagnosis us with disorders we do not have, Chloe sees one ghost and is labeled as a schizophrenic. ONE GHOST PEOPLE. Geeze, do all Mediums have this trouble?
So she is sent to Lyle House a place for troubled teens where they say she will have a quick recovery... I wasn't aware that having a mental illness made you a 'troubled teen' but okay, also since when can you recover from schizophrenia? All of that aside, Lyle House is where the mysterious but awesome story really begins.
There are twists and turns, cute boys, and missing friends. It's where we discover the secrets about Chloe's 'disorder' and the secrets hidden beneath Lyle House the true reasons for its existence.
It's filled with funny, complex characters, wit and an OTP that doesn't quit (even if they both refuse to accept that they're an OTP). Who knew that mutual dislike could make for such a likeable pair.
It ends for us, as all good series do, on a cliffhanger, which is super convenient for you if you accidentally bought the trilogy. The only real complaint I have about this book, is just that there wasn't enough of it.
Favorite Quotes:
"That's what we all want, isn't it? Power without price."
"Oh, for God's sake. Save your piss. Don't save your piss. It's all the same to me."
Simon peeked around the corner, brows lifted. "I was going to ask what you guys were doing, but hearing that, I think I'll pass.”
"If I was crazy, would I know it? That's what being crazy was, wasn't it? You thought you were fine. Everyone else knew better."
Recommendation: If you like modern paranormal, mysterious, YA fiction than read this book people. Do it up.
