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.

Purchase Links

United States	Canada	International
Amazon	Amazon Canada	The Book Depository
Barnes & Noble	Chapters Indigo

Teen Review: The Awakening

The Awakening (Darkest Powers #2) by Kelley Armstrong
Release Date ~ April 28, 2009
Doubleday Canada ~ Random House Canada
ISBN13: 9780385665346
Book borrowed from library
Goodreads 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. I’m a living science experiment—not only can I see ghosts, but I can raise the dead without even trying. Trust me, that is not a power you want to have. Ever. I’m running for my life with three of my supernatural friends and we have to find someone who can help us gain our freedom back before the Edison Group finds us first. Or die trying.

After I finished reading the summoning, I went right away to my school's library to read the sequel.  I was able to read it within the span of 3 days.  I enjoyed it so much that I could hardly put it down.  I had a lot of high hopes from the first book, and this book didn't fail to deliver a great novel with amazing suspense, romance, and general creepiness.

1. The Mysterious Edison Group:
   
    In the first novel, we heard about the Edison Group, but not a lot was revealed about them. Don't get me wrong, they're still very mysterious, and again only a bit is revealed about them, but the whole thing is just so fascinating that you have to keep reading, because you just can't wait to piece together everything.  While this is not a particularly new idea, I think that the group is still really interesting nonetheless.
2. More action:
   
   There wasn't a lot of action in the summoning, except for around the second half of the book. There were a lot more action and fight scenes, which I enjoyed. While many of them are against the Edison Group, a fair number of them are also against other groups of people. It was nice to see other types of foes in the novel, besides just the main villains.
3. The Non-Frustrating Love Triangle:
   
   Like I've said before, I'm not a huge fan of love triangles. I'm constantly cheering for the guy who will inevitably lose, and I end up hating the other for it. I genuinely liked the two guys in this love triangle: Derek and Simon. They are both very, very different. Derek is the typical tall, dark, and handsome guy, while Simon is the classic boy-next-door. They both have a lot of chemistry with the protaganist, which I think is why I like this triangle so much.

In some areas of the book Chloe bugged me a little bit because she refused to use her powers to protect herself, so she wound up being the damsel in distress a lot of the time. She did get a bit better by the end of the book, though, which I was glad of. While I didn't like this book quite as much as the previous, I think that it continues the story very well from where it leaves off, and makes a great addition to the Darkest Powers series. 

Purchase Links

United States	Canada	International
Amazon	Amazon Canada	The Book Depository
Barnes & Noble	Chapters Indigo	Audible

Teen Review: The Summoning

The Summoning (Darkest Powers Trilogy #1) by Kelley Armstrong
Release Date ~ July 1, 2008
Doubleday Canada ~ Random House Canada
ISBN-13: 978-0385665346
Book borrowed from library

Goodreads Synopsis
Chloe Saunders sees dead people. Yes, like in the films. The problem is, in real life saying you see ghosts gets you a one-way ticket to the psych ward. And at 15, all Chloe wants to do is fit in at school and maybe get a boy to notice her. But when a particularly violent ghost haunts her, she gets noticed for all the wrong reasons. Her seemingly crazed behaviour earns her a trip to Lyle House, a centre for disturbed teens.

At first Chloe is determined to keep her head down. But then her room mate disappears after confessing she has a poltergeist, and some of the other patients also seem to be manifesting paranormal behaviour. Could that be a coincidence? Or is Lyle House not quite what it seems…? Chloe realizes that if she doesn’t uncover the truth, she could be destined for a lifetime in a psychiatric hospital. Or could her fate be even worse…? Can she trust her fellow students, and does she dare reveal her dark secret?

Recently, Brenna and I had the privilege of going to one of Kelley Armstrong's book signings.  There was a question period, and after hearing all these questions about her other series, The Darkest Powers, I knew that I had to read it.  I had some time on my reading schedule to read whatever I wanted, so I chose this book.  I am so glad I read it because I think it's AMAZING.

1. Chloe's Character Development:
   When the novel starts, Chloe is very...  Weak.  She is very much a damsel in distress type, and there's nothing really that special about her.  At the beginning I only thought Chloe was alright as a character, but as the book progressed, I saw her change.  A lot of really creepy stuff happens to her at Lyle House, and you really see her mature as a character.  She begins to become more confident in herself, and far braver than she was in the beginning.  I liked seeing how the different experiences that she went through shaped herself.  I thought that this was really good because she's just 15, which is the age where many normal teens go through a lot of changes in finding out who they are in life.  I liked how Chloe started growing up a little bit, and I found that it made her character more real.
2. Super Creepy Lyle House:
   I've always kind of liked creepy things.  I kind of like getting scared and a bit disturbed.  I was a bit surprised when Lyle House was creepier than I was anticipating.  Armstrong does a fantastic job at describing the different situations, and building up tension.  I started getting scared with the characters, and wondering what they were going to do, or even what they could do.  As you might have guessed from the plot synopsis above, there are ghosts in this book.  The ghosts were really well done.  There was a whole variety of friendly, strange, and downright disturbing ghosts.  I liked how this book had just the right amount of creepiness, without being too over-the-top.
3. Cliffhanger ending:
   If there's one thing that Kelley writes really well, it's a cliffhanger ending.  They're really effective in that, I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel.  She cuts off the book just at the peak of the drama, and the action, and the plot twists.  I don't find them to be really annoying, they just make me excited for the next book.  The cliffhanger at the end of this book kind of reminded me of the end of the first book in the Chaos Walking Trilogy, because they both end just when things are getting really exciting.  I'm so glad that I'm reading these books now, because if I read this as soon as it had come out, I don't think I would be able to wait that long for the sequel.

If you are a fan of the Darkness Rising series by the same author, and you still haven't read this series, or you're looking for something a bit creepy, but also exciting at the same time, you will like this book.  I can't really think of any complaints for it, except I hope that we find out more about the other characters in the next books.  Other than that though, no major complaints.  I really enjoyed this book and I'm so glad that I finally read it.

Purchase Links

United States	Canada	International
Amazon	Amazon Canada	The Book Depository
Barnes & Noble	Chapters Indigo