I sat down at my computer this morning and tried to think of something interesting to say about my reading experience of The Summoning. It seems though, that all of my creative faculties have been sucked away since I spent eighty percent of this book imagining what the story COULD have been.

The story is like the little engine that could. It has the potential, it's chugging away, it's working hard. Only as it turns out it's The Little Engine That Could Have Been Something interesting.

The first pa More...

As seen on The Readventurer

"The Summoning" is the first YA novel written by Kelley Armstrong. It tells a story of Chloe, a 15-year old girl who suddenly finds herself capable of seeing ghosts. Only, of course, nobody believes her and she is quickly sent to a boarding house for disturbed kids for psychological evaluation. It turns out however, that the house and its inhabitants are not quite what they seem to be.

While this book was definitely a page turner, I was a little disappointed in it. I fe More...

This book was nearly impossible to put down and I have no doubt that the menacing allure of the setting and plot hindered my ability to do so.

There were several compelling plot points going on in this chilling tome, but somehow they not only found a way to co-exist, they actually enhanced one another. The idea of necromancers alone was an eerily intriguing concept but to then confound it with a mental institution setting was sheer sinister brilliance. As if it weren’t creepy enough for the hero More...

I think I’m one of the last people to read this! I’ve heard nothing but how good this novel is, and that I must read it ASAP. When I received a copy of The Awakening, the next novel, I knew that I needed to read The Summoning, right away. (I’m almost glad I waited to read it, so I could start The Awakening right away! What an ending!)

This book is everything I was hoping for and more! I’ve never read Armstrong before, I really want to read her adult fantasy series, but I just haven’t had a chance More...

3.5 - 4 Stars

This was a We Love Lisa Kleypas Group “Secret” Santa pick from JessicaB. Thanks, Jessica!

This is going to be a fairly short, and a bit uncertain, review. Yes, I can do short ones without hottie photos! ^_^

This is my first Kelley Armstrong book.

Chloe Saunders is a late bloomer and puberty doesn’t fully hit her until her 15th birthday, when weird things start happening to her. She's seeing people that nobody else can. When she suffers a breakdown in school, her guardian, Aunt Laure More...

^^SURPRISINGLY GOOD!^^

So I bought this book last year at a summer book fair, I was not expecting to like it cus me and Kelley weren’t friends after reading Bitten, which I felt was mediocre at best but this book came as a surprise. First I was all like typical teenage stuff, girl complaining about life, afraid to ask boy to the dance typical stuff. Until this girl starts to see things that no one else can and then it became all kinds of interesting.

Chloe Saunders is having some weird dreams abo More...

Reading this book made me clench my jaw so much it's still hurting several hours later. Although the story is not a standalone, it really left me with a bone chilling feeling and I truly can't wait for the next book in the series.

Chloe's a young girl struggling with her new found power, Lyle House and her housemates, the setting itself is filled with teenage hormones and jealousy. It's filled with mysteries and no one seems to be what they appear,this is especially true for her housemates. We jo More...

Oh, how I wanted to adore Kelley Armstrong's The Summoning.

And, to be fair, there's a lot to like here between just the cover and the first handful of chapters. Armstrong promises us the dark and alluring story of Chloe Saunders, a fifteen-year-old girl who, in one day, both gets her first period and starts seeing ghosts. I was initially won over by what seemed like the depth of Chloe's character--not only does she suffer from the very real adolescent affliction of menstruation, but she also see More...

The Summoning by Kelly Armstrong is a story about Chloe Saunders who is a fifteen year old necromancer just beginning to realize her powers. She is not quite aware of its possibilities and at the onset of her revelation; she suffers a meltdown in school and is placed in a house supposedly for mentally ill teens. When she arrives at Lyle House, Chloe discovers that her fellow patients also have unusual powers and all is not what it seems to be.

The story started off well enough, but really didn't More...

Payah nih. Saya yang semangat ngajak temen-temen baca bareng, sepertinya malah paling kecil ngasih bintang, hihi.

Hmm, sepertinya sejak era Harpot dan Twilight, seri fantasi meningkat drastis, plus semuanya berseri pula. Ada yang sukses menyusul, ada pula yang tersendat-sendat. Balik ke Summoning ini, imho sih dark fantasy ala TW, walau dgn sentuhan supranatural kali ini.

Summoning berkisah tentang Chloe, gadis yang bisa melihat hantu, ala Haley Joel Osment di 6th sense, hanya saja si Chloe ini b More...

4,5 stars

What i think, is that i should have read this book a long time ago...that's how good i though this one was.
This is a story about a very special group of teenagers. For those of you who are familiar with the author's series "Woman of the otherworld", i will just tell you this: _Imagine all those characters, werewolfes, necromancers, witches, half-demons, the whole group....now imagine them growing up having no idea what they were. Imagine them growing up without someone who understands w More...

The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong is in two words – brain candy. I don’t know why, but it reminded me of Twilight, only I actually enjoyed it. The Summoning is paranormal YA about Chloe, who finds herself in a group home for teens with mental illnesses.
Read the rest of my review here

Reviewed by Margaret Waterman for TeensReadToo.com

"A banner week for me. Getting short-listed for the director spot. Nate asking me about the dance. My first period. And now my first criminal act. After I fixed myself up, I dug into my backpack for my brush and emerged instead with the tube of hair color. I lifted it. My reflection in the mirror grinned back."

Chloe Saunders is a very special girl. Not just because she has an in-depth and intense obsession with movies, filming, and directing. No More...

From when Chloe Saunders was just a little girl, she saw ghosts. Of course then, she thought they were only nightmarish imaginary friends. And her life seemed to become almost normal when they moved out of that haunted house and after her mom died. But when Chloe hits puberty, she starts seeing the ghosts again. Now she’s forced to stay in Lyle House so she can learn to cope with her “schizophrenia.” But the other kids at Lyle House have also been incorrectly diagnosed with mental problems. Ther More...

'I see dead people' - well, it worked in "Sixth Sense" and it definitely works here, mainly because there's so much more here than that. Chloe gets her first period and is harassed by a very gross-looking ghost on the same day - at school, of course! She's happy about the first event, even tho she has to vandalize the bathroom dispenser to get a sanitary napkin, but the ghost (her second of the day) really freaks her out, and the school insists on two weeks of counseling in a group youth center More...

Wow, this is actually a really good book. I was unsure, I figured it would be all teenish and full of teen talk and "like you know, like he did like this like?", but it wasn't, it is a great read, I plan on reading the entire series.

This review has been edited for a large number of reasons. First off I found I as too hotheaded after reading the book. Now that I have my head in the right place I'll be editing it so that not everyone feels so angry about it. Sorry bout that, but I get like that often. It's the anti-Twilight part of me coming out, and I'm trying really hard to bottle it in


The plot I can't say is original, which was probably the first turn off for me. I go for books that have that something in them that sparks More...

I really liked this one. I was hooked within a few chapters. Chloe sees dead people. But when she has an unexpected encounter with a dead janitor at school, she gets sent off to a home for troubled teens. Soon though Chloe realizes that she isn't the only one with unusual talents. This is the first of a trilogy, and I do have to agree that it is very much a set up for the rest of the story. The ending was a little frustrating, but I loved the premise and all of the twists and turns. I think it w More...

I don't know why I wasn't expecting this book to be very good, but I really liked it. It's Kelley Armstrong's first young adult novel, and I think she really nails it. It was interesting enough that it can captivate an adult audience, but wasn't too mature that it would turn off some of the younger readers.

I enjoyed the story line, and I remembered that it takes place in the Otherworld, the same as her adult series about half way through the book... and it all made sense then! I wonder if we'll More...

Chloe sees ghosts, maybe. Or she's schizophrenic. Whichever it is, she's happy to take the drugs and do the treatment, and stop seeing the creepy things she's seeing so she can get back to her regular life.

But then she realizes she's not the only teen in the house whose mental problems might actually be supernatural abilities, and she might never get her regular life back, ever.

This is the first book in a new series, and because of that, it's all set up, set up, set up. I kept waiting for the st More...

Some books I have to force myself to read past the first 50 or so pages, no matter how good the books end up being. The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong was not one of those books . It captivated me right from the first couple of sentences , I was intrigued and curious about what would happen to this female protagonist .
The summoning is the first book of the darkest powers series , which revolves around the life of Chloe Saunders, a teenager who holds the ability to see ghosts . This exceeded al More...

I enjoyed this book. It had a fast pace story that sucks you right in and leaves you wanting the next book.

I like the mix of supernaturals characters in the story. Especially Chloe and Derek.

Well written, interesting and suspensful story with strong characters and many make you smile moments.

Well, reading the first book in a Kelley Armstrong trilogy is a bit like sex with my exboyfriend. Lots of build up and then it's just over and you're not really sure how that could be it.

From the very first page of the prologue I was drawn into the story. It has been a long time since I read a book with ghosts in the plot line. This was a good one to read to re-introduce myself to ghost stories.

Not only is this book about a girl who can see ghosts, it is a mystery, as well. As I read, I had more and more questions: How did Chloe inherit her abilities? What happened to her roommate? What exactly is up with Derek? Who is the ghost trying to contact her at the group home? Where is More...

I was weighing this between 2 and 3 stars for a bit. I saw my friends' ratings and they ranked between 3-5 stars, so I was wondering why I was even contemplating giving this 2 stars. Was I reading the same book as they? Maybe because I was reading a pdf version, I was missing some paragraphs or chapters or something? But anyway, the 50+ or so last pages were the deal-breaker for me.



I guess my main problem was: The writing was just so-so. It's a YA Paranormal book, right? I'd expect to feel cree More...

Din nou o carte pe care am citit-o în mai puțin de o săptămână, nu pentru că ar fi fost scurtă sau ușoară. În ultimul timp am spus foarte des asta despre o carte, dar pe bune dacă am putut să o las din mână. Nici măcar în ora de română!

Invocarea este o poveste despre copii cu puteri supranaturale, ca mai toate cărțile care apar în prezent în librăriile din țară, dar și dincolo de graniță. Ceea ce este diferit la aceasta, ceea ce o face să fie specială, este modul în care sunt priviți acești copi More...

You can read reviews at my blog, The Armchair Librarian!

Unlike a lot of my fellow bloggers, I'm not a huge fan of YA. A lot of the time, I feel like potentially awesome plots are dumbed down or censored so as not to offend the kiddies' delicate sensibilities--conveniently overlooking the fact that the kiddies are, in all likelihood, engaging in far more dubious activities in their own free time. Adolescence is gritty.

And even if it isn't, it, like, totally is. Because drama.

I'd heard nothing but More...

When I first read this book I was like...


I remember when I first read this book, it was the night before I wrote my Life Science exam last year. After waiting for the shipment of the book (I ordered it online) and then ignoring it for a whole week it finally caught up with me. Of course it was like freaking Pandora's box near me. I told myself I’d just read a few chapters and leave it, so much for that happening; I remember I couldn’t put the freaking book down. Now after re-reading this book I More...

Wonderfully written characters, exceptionally good and genuine rendetion of human relationships and paranormal elements that aren't too complex to annoy the reader, but used in the fresh, urban-fantasy-ish way that I adore.

The whole Darkest Power-series captivated me from page one on.

I'd like to point something out that makes me seriously fall for Kelley Armstrong. Authors tend to give their characters mental deceases or a traumatic childhood but then, later, make it unrealistic, unbelievable. I More...