Teen Review: The Reckoning

The Reckoning (Darkest Powers #3) by Kelley Armstrong
Release Date ~ April 6, 2010
Doubleday Canada ~ Random House Canada
ISBN13: 9780385665360
Paperback purchased personally
Note: there are some spoilers for the first two books in this review. You can find reviews of The Summoning here & The Awakening here.
Goodreads Synopsis:
Only two weeks ago, life was all too predictable. But that was before I saw my first ghost. Now along with my supernatural friends Tori, Derek, and Simon, I'm on the run from the Edison Group, which genetically altered us as part of their sinister experiment. We're hiding in a safe house that might not be as safe as it seems. We'll be gone soon anyway, back to rescue those we'd left behind and take out the Edison Group . . . or so we hope.
I really, really loved the first two books in Kelley Armstrong's Darkest Powers series, so I was excited and also a bit sad to come to the end of the trilogy.  It took me a little bit just to get into the book because I wanted to make it last as long as possible.  When I came to the end of the novel, I was sad but also very pleased with how it all ended.

1. Chloe's acceptance of her powers:
   
   Throughout the whole Darkest powers series, Chloe has been very apprehensive about her newfound power.  She refuses to use it(not even for practice), so she is basically left defenseless, acting as the damsel in distress.  By the time the third book rolls around, she is still scared about using it, but she comes to an acceptance of it.  She finally comes to realize that it's okay for her to use her power.  The change is gradual, but I really liked seeing just how much Chloe has come along from the first book.
2. A twist!  A twist!:
   
   I really think that Kelley Armstrong writes twists well.  While they are not the most unique plot twists there are, I do fnd myself genuinely surprised when I come across them.  There have been plot twists in the previous two novels, but I really liked the ones in this particular book.  I thought that they made a lot of sense to the plot, and they added to the overall story very nicely.  There aren't too many turns, so you don't become tired of them easily.  There are enough, though, to keep a strong interest in the book.
3. The Open Ending:
   
   This book has one of those endings that you will either love or hate.  I just happened to love it.  Many of the loose ends are tied up at the end, but there are still a lot of questions that are left unanswered.  I liked that the ending is left so open.  We get to imagine where the characters go next, and how their lives turn out ourselves.  Although I usually dislike this kind of ending, everything that I was hoping would happen, happened.  So I was happy with that.  It also left a space for another novel if the author did decide to write another book-even though this is only supposed to be a trilogy.

Again, a couple of times Chloe did get a little bit annoying because of her refusing to use her powers, so she was basically useless.  I was really glad that she did evolve a bit so she was not half as useless by the end of the novel.I think that fans of the Darkest Powers trilogy will really enjoy this novel.  If you haven't read the Darkest Powers, I highly reccomend you do so.  I'm sad that this trilogy is over, but I'm really glad that I finally gave in and read it.

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