I’m taking a break from reviewing Sanderson’s epic doorstopper, Wind and Truth, to devour something a little lighter. This is the first Kelley Armstrong novel I’ve read, following the recommendation of a colleague, and I very much enjoyed it!
The Darkest Powers Trilogy
Kelley Armstrong is best known for her adult fiction, specifically the Women of the Other World. By contrast, I anticipate that The Summoning is a lighter entrance to the world of Armstrong’s supernatural fiction.
The Darkest Powers trilogy is pitched towards the YA audience, so The Summoning features a cute love triangle that is steamy enough for me.
Comprised of three main books (as trilogies are, by definition), this series also contains some prequels and novellas that I might read once I finish the core story which is told across The Summoning (#1), The Awakening (#2), and The Reckoning (#3).
The Plot of The Summoning
Chloe Saunders is a teen with a dream and a troubled past. A missing mum and an over reactive imagination. Except, her imagination is not at fault—the ghosts are real, and so are the powers that surround her.
A small teen, Chloe’s puberty is late, much to her dissatisfaction, but with its arrival comes her supernatural powers. With the arrival of her powers, comes a mental institution for difficult children.
The question is whether Chloe and her peers’ issues are imagined, real, or somewhere inbetween…
The Prose of The Summoning
From the very first chapter, Armstrong’s writing reminding me of Derek Landy, though Armstrong was publishing long before Landy’s Skulduggery Pleasant dropped into my eleven year-old hands.
The similarity between the two goes beyond the teen supernatural stories. I felt it most in the shortness of the scenes that feel written with a script in mind. In the case of The Summoning, however, it’s more poignant because Chloe is determined to see her future in directing. She often thinks in scenes, sometimes as a coping mechanism to help her to overcome difficulties, such as crawling around a spooky attic or basement.
The first person narration means that Chloe’s fascination with films and movies bleeds profusely into the writing. I haven’t read Armstrong’s other fiction, so I couldn’t say how unique this style is to the Darkest Powers trilogy. These short scenes could be catering to a distracted youth with short attention spans, or it could be close to Armstrong’s usual style.
Aside from the deliberate influence of film and theatre on this series, personally I wished for descriptions that could be a little meatier. The shortness, or the cinematic delivery, cuts opportunities for the poetic short. For me, this is a shame, but I did utterly devour the book, so I can’t say that it’s a mistake.
Chloe might be fifteen years old, but she does not care for love and romance… or so she thinks.
Romance and Relationships in The Summoning
For me, the plot traced a fun but fine line between flirting and a lightly trope-y love triangle. Chloe’s determination to stay on mission is inspiring, especially in the face of a bare chest or a devilishly unavoidable touching in an enclosed space.
The romance is not a main ingredient in this book, but more the icing on the cake.
Regarding Chloe’s other relationships, I thought they were fairly compelling. Aunt Lauren is an interesting character, and Chloe’s friendships are a curious mix of superficial (in an accurate and appropriate way for teens) and the beginnings of meaningful friendships. I’m looking forward to seeing how everything develops for her in the future.
Conclusions
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, so I’d rate it 4.5/5.0 stars! I’m looking forward to the next one, I might not have ESP, but suspect I might finish the second book soon…
…and two days later, here’s the link to my review of the sequel, The Awakening.
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