Review: The Calling by Kelley Armstrong

April 10th 2012, HarperCollins
326 pages, ARC
Received from Publisher
Second in Darkness Rising series
In Series: The Gathering
Young Adult Fiction

Maya and her friends--all of whom have supernatural powers--have been kidnapped after fleeing from a forest fire they suspect was deliberately set, and after a terrifying helicopter crash they find themselves pursued by evildoers in the Vancouver Island wilderness.

Cover Review:


While this cover is beautiful it has absolutely nothing to do with the story and I prefer my covers to have something to do with the contents. A paw print would be awesome!

Opinion:

This is almost a post-apoplyptic sequel to The Gathering. Although, I wish I could have connected with the characters more the plot moved at almost a lightening pace and culminated it yet another great ending.

I haven’t read The Gathering for almost a year, so I was a bit lost at first. I usually HATE the author putting the entire previous books into like 500 words in the first chapter, but some explanation of who the characters are would have been nice. Or you know you could not be lazy and read the first one again.

Maya is the narrator and as such I can’t decide if the lack of differentiating between characters was simply because she is judgmental or if the character development was simply poorly done. Either way, I would have liked to see more personality from the characters instead of just 2d stereotypes.

It was hard for me to connect with most of the characters, but each character I enjoyed at some point during the storyline. I did get incredibly annoyed with them as well. When the dog has more personality than the main character you have an issue. Daniel, who is sorta the co-lead, is projected as this stereotypical leader. He seems to always have the right answer at all times and is kinda a boy version of a Mary-Sue. Not that Maya isn’t as well. Does she have any flaws other than “Oh, I expect too much from people sometimes” The only character that didn’t annoy me was Corey. He’s funny, flawed, and simply adorable.

The plot is 5 teens tramping through the forest while dealing becoming supernatural entities and not being able to trust anyone. If the plot is more important to you than characterization than this is the book for you! The plot is never-ending twists and turns with tons of surprises along the way. Having absolutely no one you can trust and having the government (or secret organization) after you with all their gadgets and all you have is your feet and supernatural talents is kinda always gonna be a good plot. At least for me.

I enjoyed the book and finished within a day, but I simply wanted more personality.

Rating:

Rie

I'm a wife, student, and a dog-lover who reads when I should be folding laundry (bane of my existance), I write (rarely as academic papers consume my life), and love getting wrapped up in fiction.

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The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong

April 12th 2011, HarperTeen
359 pages, Hardcover
Secret Summer Santa
First in Darkness Rising
Young Adult Fiction

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.

 
Opinion:

Maya is a great character. She has flaws, but mainly she has courage. Courage to face down obstacles outside herself an inside herself. Maya is surrounded by a group of characters that make this courage possible. Always being there for her regardless if she is in the wrong.

Daniel, her best friend, is a great character that I would love to delve into deeper. He has depths that are undiscovered. He has an abusive father, but instead of simply allowing his father to be abusive he stands up to him. This is not a trait that you see much of within fiction and can be a rarity even within reality. Even if he wasn’t such an upstanding citizen, great friend, and overall nice guy this would have me loving him, but he is so much more. He is popular and what he says goes most of the time.

There are 3 overall plots. The mystery Serena, which we are introduced to just as the book opens. The drug cooperation's secrets that isn’t fully developed in this book and lastly the biggest plot point which is Maya herself.

Maya works with animals. She sees wild animals that others don’t have encounters with, heals animals that are wounded, and protects others from the wild animals. The paw print birthmark and her physical traits are the only clues she has as to where she came from, but this doesn’t stop her from being a great daughter.

Maya’s parents are one of the only ones I’ve seen that are truly good parents within YA. Most parents are absentee at best, but her parents are always there to help her out.

Oh, and Rafe, I don’t really like him. He seems like a very flat character in comparison to Daniel. No, I’m not team Daniel. I don’t want Maya with anyone at the moment. I think she’s the type that would benefit from not having a boyfriend at the moment. Daniel is a great friend and I would hate to see him be with Maya.

The only problem I had with this book was it felt at times to be like Lost. More and more questions were brought up and none were answered. Even in the end we don’t have a real clue as to what is going on and I’m the type that wants to understand the book before going into it. If you like suspense this will give it to you.

I can’t wait to read the next to find out more about Maya, Daniel, and her abilities. I really enjoyed reading the first installment of the Darkness Rising series.

Rating: 

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