Teen Review: The Calling

The Calling (The Gathering #2) by Kelley Armstrong

Release Date ~ April 10, 2012
Doubleday ~ Random House Canada ~ HarperCollins (US)
ISBN13: 9780385668545
Review copy received from Random House Canada for review

Goodreads Synopsis:
Maya Delaney's paw-print birthmark is the mark of what she truly is--a skin-walker. She can run faster, climb higher, and see better than nearly everyone else. Experiencing intense connections with the animals that roam the woods outside her home, Maya knows it's only a matter of time before she's able to Shift and become one of them. And she believes there may be others in her small town with surprising talents.

Now, Maya and her friends have been forced to flee from their homes during a forest fire they suspect was deliberately set. Then they're kidnapped, and after a chilling helicopter crash, they find themselves in the Vancouver Island wilderness with nothing but their extraordinary abilities to help them get back home.
I had really high expectations for this book, considering that The Gathering had left me hanging at the end.  Luckily for me, this book met all of my expectations.  This novel starts off exactly where the last left off, which I was really glad it did.  Nothing was skipped over in this addition to the trilogy.

1. Explanation and more development:
   If any of you have read the first book in this series, I'll imagine that some of you were pretty confused in the last book like I was.  I was a bit woried that I would just be expected to remember what was going on in the last book, and that nothing would really be explained.  Thankully, if you were like me, this book explains most of it.  Now don't get me wrong, not everything is revealed.  I mean, I'm still a bit confused about what's going on still, but for the most part I'm on the same page.  While it is gone over a couple of times, I didn't find it repetitive or annoying; it helped me to put the pieces together.
2. The Twists!
   I don't think that this will come much as a suprise to many of you, but this book had a fair number of twists in the novel.  I'd say it was about as twist-y as the last one, which is quite a lot.  I will admit that I'm vaguely confused about all of the twists, and what is actually going on.  Then again, neither do the characters, so at least you don't feel like you're just really slow for not understanding.  I didn't find the twists pointless or anything, which I was really glad of.

I really think that if you enjoyed the first book in this trilogy, that you will enjoy the second just as much.  I was very well-written, and it was up to my standards that I had set for it.  I don't really have too many complaints about this book, although I do wish it was longer.

Teen Review: The Gathering

The Gathering (Darkness Rising #1) by Kelley Armstrong
Release Date ~ April 12, 2011
HarperTeen ~ HarperCollins in US (Doubleday ~ Random House in Canada)
ISBN13: 9780061797026
Purchased personally
Goodreads Synopsis:
Sixteen-year-old Maya is just an ordinary teen in an ordinary town. Sure, she doesn't know much about her background - the only thing she really has to cling to is an odd paw-print birthmark on her hip - but she never really put much thought into who her parents were or how she ended up with her adopted parents in this tiny medical-research community on Vancouver Island.

Until now.

Strange things have been happening in this claustrophobic town - from the mountain lions that have been approaching Maya to her best friend's hidden talent for "feeling" out people and situations, to the sexy new bad boy who makes Maya feel . . . . different. Combine that with a few unexplained deaths and a mystery involving Maya's biological parents and it's easy to suspect that this town might have more than its share of skeletons in its closet.

In The Gathering, New York Times best-selling author Kelley Armstrong brings all the supernatural thrills from her wildly successful Darkest Powers series to Darkness Rising, her scorching hot new trilogy.

One of the only reasons I decided to read this book was because it was one of the ones we could choose to read in my school book club.  I read it, and needless to say, I actually really liked it.

1. Setting:
   This is the first paranormal book I've read that was set in Canada, and I really liked it. It takes place in a small town on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia.  I found that you could really see the slight differences in culture in Canada, as opposed to the United States.  The Aboriginal culture was especially strong in the novel, which I found was very unique and was done really well.
2. Strong Heroine:
   Maya is one of the most likable, strong female leads that I've read about.  When a guy she liked hurt her, she might be sad for the next paragraph or so, but after that she'd get over it.  I also liked her character, in that she was stubborn, and kind of harsh, but was also kind and fair.  Whenever something bad happened to her, she was able to deal with and move on(for the most part).
3. Mystery:
   Let me be theorist one to say that there are a LOT of questions that this book raises.  I mean, by the end of the book I hardly even really knew what was going on.  Some might say that it was just annoying that there were more questions that answers, but I figure that that's what the sequel is for.

I think that if you are looking for a paranormal book, but you want something a bit different, you'll really like this book.  I'm really looking forward to the sequel, because I really do want to know what happens next. 

Canadian Doubleday Trailer:


US HarperTeen Trailer: