The Summoning (Darkest Powers, Book 1)
by Kelley Armstrong
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Book Summary Information
Author: Kelley ArmstrongEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-03-31
ISBN: 0061450545
Number of pages: 416
Publisher: HarperCollins
Book Reviews of The Summoning (Darkest Powers, Book 1)
Book Review: The Perfect Mix of Fright and Suspense
Summary: 5 Stars
Curtains fluttering in the breeze, the dark pressing down like a blanket. You turn the pages slowly, absorbing every word and detail as the soft sent of the paper fills your nose. The tension in the book is at a max and you glance over your shoulder to make sure that the sliding shadows behind you are really just that: shadows. Back to the book, you dive in, completely immersed in the terror that's overcoming the main character.
Suddenly your husband walks into the room with a loud creak of the floor boards and very ungraceful clomping. You leap out of bed, just about pee your pants and threaten to throw your book at his head if he ever dares to scare the living crud out of you again.
Yep. Been there.
THE SUMMONING by Kelley Armstrong taught me a few things. One is to never read a book at night, by yourself, in a house that you are not 100% convinced is empty of ghosts. The other is to tie a stinking bell on your husband, parents, siblings, small children, pets, and any other moving critters in your house lest you wind up in the situation I described above.
Seriously - I need some more bells.
We all know I'm not one to get creeped out by the normal monsters; werewolves, vamps, and zombies just aren't that scary. In fact, they can be pretty hot at times (Edward, Jacob, Jasper, Marc, The Black Dagger Brotherhood, Kenyon's men, etc.). What does scare me is ghosts. Something about the there, but not really there nature of them is just not cool. If I can't lock them out with a good steel door and a deadbolt, they're going to give me nightmares.
Why Ms. Armstrong? Why?
Even as I ask, I know the answer. For a really great story, that's why. Combining some great characters, a few lighthearted moments, a good deal of suspense, and a few scenes that should be rated PG-AAAAHHHHH!!!!!, she has managed to create one killer book. In fact, despite the whole almost peeing my pants thing, I've got the second book, The Awakening, cued up and ready to go, that's how much I loved the first.
THE SUMMONING is the story of Chloe Saunders, a teen who has been practically orphaned. With her mother long since passed away and her father inaccessible due to his work, Chloe has grown up pretty much under the hand of hired help. When things start to go a little crazy for her, they really go crazy. Beginning to see some strange things, it's the man with the half-melted face chasing after her that really sets her off. Sent to the Lyle House for her own protection, Chloe has to figure out how to survive in this home for troubled teens while at the same time keeping her sanity. That's not easy to do when the house holds secrets and someone wants her to unearth them.
Don't like scary stories? It's possible that I'm a wuss and you won't find the scary parts as frightening as I did. Then again, it's also possible that you will and we'll have to go out and buy stock in bells and motion detector lights. The parts that truly creeped me out were few in number but intense. They truly added to the story and gave it that edge that signifies a really great read. Would I read THE SUMMONING again? You betcha!
My favorite aspect of the first in The Darkest Powers trilogy was probably the character development. I loved how we got to learn right alongside Chloe. As you meet each character, Ms. Armstrong gives you enough to get an inkling that something other might be going on. As the story progresses, you get to learn the whole story. Her way of leading you through the book, enticing you with little niblets here and there is masterful. To me, that is the one aspect that takes this book from being one that young adults might love, to a book that anyone can get into.
I highly suggest THE SUMMONING to any lovers of creepy books, suspenseful books, or anything paranormal. Don't let my observation that there are creepy parts discourage you from picking it up. Even though the book gets the adrenaline pumping at times, the story is such that there was never a question that I would continue reading it. The only question was how quickly I could get everything required of me done so I could dive back into the story.
Summary of The Summoning (Darkest Powers, Book 1)
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.
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