The Summoning and The Awakening are the first two books in her thrilling teen fantasy series. The story follows 15-year-old Chloe Saunders and a group of other teens with supernatural abilities.
Summary of The Summoning
In The Summoning, readers watch as Chloe, a rather normal teenager whose mom had passed away when she was young, awakens her supernatural gift—she can communicate with spirits. After creating a scene at school, she’s sent to Lyle House, a group home for troubled teens. There, the authorities try to instill the idea that Chloe’s “spirits” are actually a product of her schizophrenia. But as Chloe meets the other kids at Lyle House, she learns that all of them are beyond troubled. They each have a supernatural power; there are witches, magicians, werewolves and of course necromancers, which is the official name for Chloe’s ability to raise the dead.
Soon the teens discover that there’s more to Lyle House than meets the eye. It was created many generations ago as a venue to experiment on gifted people. To this day, the experiments are still being conducted by an inhumane group of people called the Edison Group. And worst of all, Chloe and her new friends are the subjects. They plan an escape from Lyle House, hoping to enlist the help of her two friends’ father. But the Edison Group is hot on their trail, prepared to eliminate them by any means possible.
(The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong | Doubleday Canada | July, 2008 | 9780385665346)
Summary of The Awakening
The Awakening continues the story where The Summoning left off—with Chloe locked in a room at the Edison Group’s headquarters. Her two close friends Simon and Derek are still on the run. Once Chloe finds a way to dodge the Edison Group’s unrelenting surveillance, she and her nemesis, Tori, escape and meet up with the guys.
The majority of the novel follows the four teens as they run for their life, living on the streets and battling the elements and other unavoidable dangers. The book is less plot driven than the first, feeling more like a bridge between the first and eventual third book than a full story on its own. However, Kelley Armstrong uses this extra time to explore the dynamics of friendships and human behavior. The characters evolve and build strong bonds.
Perhaps not as thrilling as the first novel, The Awakening is still a well-written story, and for the characters, a life-changing and life-threatening journey.
(The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong | Doubleday Canada | April, 2009 | 9780385665353)
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