The Summoning - Kelley Armstrong

The Summoning
Kelley Armstrong
390 pages
After years of frequent moves following her mother’s death, Chloe Saunders’s life is finally settling down. She is attending art school, pursuing her dreams of becoming a director, making friends, meeting boys. Her biggest concern is that she’s not developing as fast as her friends are. But when puberty does hit, it brings more than hormone surges. Chloe starts seeing ghosts–everywhere, demanding her attention. After she suffers a breakdown, her devoted aunt Lauren gets her into a highly recommended group home.

At first, Lyle House seems a pretty okay place, except for Chloe’s small problem of fearing she might be facing a lifetime of mental illness. But as she gradually gets to know the other kids at the home–charming Simon and his ominous, unsmiling brother Derek, obnoxious Tori, and Rae, who has a “thing” for fire–Chloe begins to realize that there is something that binds them all together, and it isn’t your usual “problem kid” behaviour. And together they discover that Lyle House is not your usual group home either…

Chloe Saunders is a fifteen year old art school student with the normal trials and tribulations of a teenager, except that her father is always away on business and her mother is deceased. That all changes the day she sees the ghost at her school. This gets her sent to the Lyle House - a place for troubled teens. She soon discovers that they have something in common and that she is not just stuck in a house full of crazy teens.

Most of the book I thought it was about a 3/5, but the last bit of the book had me going! It was an easy read - had it finished after one sitting, but still enjoyable. I really did like it, but this earned itself a rating of four after it truly picked up. I was shocked, surprised, and had a bit of whoa-this-is-crazy thoughts going on.

I don't want to say too much and give away the good stuff, so I am stopping here. I recommend this and I think you will enjoy it too. It does have a huge cliffhanger ending and and I'm excited to get he next book, The Awakening.


What I give this book:

The Magnolia League - Katie Crouch

The Magnolia League
Katie Crouch
368 pages

After the death of her free-spirited mother, sixteen-year-old Alex Lee must leave her home in northern California to live with her wealthy grandmother in Savannah, Georgia. By birth, Alex is a rightful, if unwilling, member of the Magnolia League, Savannah's long-standing debutante society. She quickly discovers that the Magnolias have made a pact with a legendary hoodoo family, the Buzzards. The Magnolias enjoy youth, beauty and power. But at what price?

As in her popular adult novels, Crouch's poignant and humorous voice shines in this seductively atmospheric story about girls growing up in a magical Southern city. (Goodreads)

When sixteen year old Alex's (short for Alexandria) mother dies in a horrific car accident, she has to leave her home (a hippie commune) in California to live with her grandmother in Savannah, Georgia. Alex is less than happy with her new life in Georgia, but little does she know what life is about to become. Her grandmother, who goes by Miss Lee, is not only a part of, but the head of a long standing society called the Magnolia League and that she is to be a part of this herself even if she doesn't want to be. She also learns that their wealth, power, and youth are from something deep, dark, and with a past as long as the League itself.

I absolutely loved the cover of this book! I thought it was gorgeous and intriguing. I have been wanting to read this for quite some time now and I am glad I was finally able to.

I was surprised by how I was drawn into this so quickly. I loved the world that was created - the southern tradition, everything. Being from the South, I like settings that take place here. Some of the places mentioned, I remembered from being there myself, so it made it easier for me to be drawn in.

Alex is spunky, non-conforming, and although for me she was a little whiny at times, I really liked her. She comes the Georgia with scraggly clothes and dreadlocks - not the least bit acceptable in this debutante world. Still, she was determined to not lose herself or the things she learned from her mother, who was also once apart of this high society. She quickly learns that there are darker elements running the show in Savannah and that everything isn't what it seems to be - even after she learns the truth behind the Magnolia League. She is faced with choices, both simple and incredibly difficult and even some that her life may depend on.

I can say I didn't much care for Hayes or Madison at first, the other two Magnolias her age, but in the end they grew on me a bit. Dexter was a good character as well, funny and someone who genuinely liked Alex when no one else seemed to give her the time of day (and those that did show her attention was only due to the fact that she was the granddaughter of the head of the Magnolias).

I liked Thaddeus a lot. Being the brother of Hayes, I liked that he didn't get himself caught up in the women's affairs in the League and that more than anything he wanted his sister to have a life outside of living to impress and be something more than someone in high society. He wanted her to live. I also loved the relationship between him and Alex. Perhaps a bit predictable, but I still looked forward to the time they spent together.

I will say my only complaint is the abrupt cliffhanger ending. It really sets you up for he next book in the series The White Glove War, which I am eagerly awaiting!


What I give this book: