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The Awakening (Ghost Huntress #1)

by Marley Gibson (Goodreads Author)

3.86 of 5 stars 3.86 · rating details · 1,073 ratings · 142 reviews

The first in a trilogy. Get out your tape recorders, crystals, and extra batteries-- you're about to go where our world meets the spirit world.
Psychic Kids, Paranormal State, Haunting Evidence--these and countless other television shows are making believers out of millions of people: Ghosts exist, and they're living right beside us. For centuries, individuals have been tr...more

Paperback, 338 pages

Published May 4th 2009 by Graphia

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Young Adult Ghost Stories

24th out of 88 books — 107 voters

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Jul 05, 2009 BOOK BUTTERFLY rated it 3 of 5 stars

Most teenagers worry about making friends and fitting in when they have to move. But what do you do when your new town is haunted, and on top of it all, you seem to have become some sort of homing beacon for every restless spirit in the area?

Kendall Moorehead is just a typical teenage-girl-next-door when her family moves out of the hustle and bustle of Chicago and into the quiet, sleepy town of historic Radisson, Georgia. Since the move, Kendall has had the annoying problem of not being able to...more Most teenagers worry about making friends and fitting in when they have to move. But what do you do when your new town is haunted, and on top of it all, you seem to have become some sort of homing beacon for every restless spirit in the area?

Kendall Moorehead is just a typical teenage-girl-next-door when her family moves out of the hustle and bustle of Chicago and into the quiet, sleepy town of historic Radisson, Georgia. Since the move, Kendall has had the annoying problem of not being able to sleep. But when she begins experiencing the pain of those around her and hearing strange voices, that's when she becomes really panicked. It's not until a chance encounter with local psychic Loreen Woods that Kendall is able to come to grips with what is really happening to her. She’s not schizophrenic (like her ultra religious mom thinks she might be). She's just psychic!

When Kendall confides in next door neighbor and newfound friend Celia about her abilities, Celia eagerly suggests they begin ghost hunting together. Kendall embraces her newfound gift with gusto, and vows to rid her home of the ghost she's made contact with, as well as the more pressing problem of a malevolent spirit taunting her father at work. Armed with an unlimited Amex and Celia’s bountiful knowledge of paranormal investigative tactics, the duo quickly assemble a quirky team of charismatic characters to assist them.

Ghost Huntress, Book 1: The Awakening was a fun, fast paced beginning to a spooky trilogy. Kendall was a likeable and believable teenager who just happened to be struggling with a unique gift. The drama of restless spirits added a nice contrast with familiar issues of teenage insecurity, family quibbles and relationship misunderstandings. Kendall’s diverse ghost hunting team added an interesting dynamic to the book and I enjoyed their well drawn characters. One of my favorites was the recently popularity impaired Taylor Tilkins, a beautiful, talented photographer with a nervous tendency to blurt out French expressions. Celia Nichols, the walking encyclopedia of knowledge with an impressive ability to relate any situation to a Shakespearean quote, was my other favorite character.

There has been some criticism about Gibson’s use of product naming in the book, and while I understand the potential for a book to become too dated down the road, I believe Gibson’s teen audience will appreciate the numerous cultural references in Ghost Huntress and identify with Kendall even more because of them. However, older readers may become turned off by the constant product labeling and some editing down might’ve helped the book connect with a much wider audience.

It was obvious when reading Ghost Huntress that Marley Gibson had done thorough research on ghost hunting equipment and techniques. I appreciated how she described in detail the basic types of equipment, but didn’t lose the reader with too much technical jargon. Another interesting aspect of the book was the incorporation of personal and spiritual protection methods for ghost hunters. I never realized there was so much religion intertwined with ghost hunting. The scene where ghosts did actually appear are what really drew me in though.

BOTTOM LINE: Grounded in science, Ghost Huntress is an entertaining, spooky offering in what promises to be an exciting new ghost hunting series. Make sure to read the great excerpt at the end of the book for Ghost Huntress, Book 2: The Guidance due out in September too. It’s a great teaser for the sequel!
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May 17, 2009 Kristi (The Story Siren) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Ghost Huntress was a really different take on the paranormal/fantasy book that I’m used to. Mainly because it’s supposed to be “real” to a certain extent. I mean people actually do this stuff. The ghost hunting part. There is even a paranormal investigator group in my area. I’m too much of a chicken to even attempt what these girls did.

It’s obvious that Gibson knows what she is talking about when it comes to investigating things that go bump in the night. It was really neat to see the technical...more

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Feb 10, 2009 Molly rated it 2 of 5 stars

I wanted to like this book! I love the cover and thought that I would've loved to read a book like this when I was a teenager (loved Amityville Horror, In a Dark Place, etc.) Just too much going on in this book with a ridiculously overdone faux teen voice. If I read one more time where someone was giving her friend "the 411" I would've thrown the book across the room. A lot of eye rolling, not much good writing. Especially because this a series, I would've expected the author to NOT pack so much...more

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Mar 09, 2011 Reading Vacation's Mom rated it 4 of 5 stars

REVIEW
This series introduced me to the world of ghost hunting. Gibson clearly did a great deal of research for these books because she includes descriptions of ghost hunting tools and techniques. I actually wish there had been a bit more explanation because some of the tools were a little confusing to me.
I liked Kendall as a main character. Aside from her psychic abilities, she seems like a rather average teen. The story is told by Kendall in her teen speak. This did not bother me, but I can see...more

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May 02, 2013 Ian Wood added it

Full disclosure up front: I have no beliefs whatsoever in psychic powers (or ghosts, space aliens, gods, demons, angels, vampires, werewolves, magic, etc., etc.!). I'm not necessarily antagonistic towards these things- if I were, I wouldn't be reading these novels! Some of them would be fun and cool if they were real, but there is simply no evidence for them - and I'm talking about real evidence: verifiable scientific evidence. That's the gold standard as far as I'm concerned.

There's a much more ...more Full disclosure up front: I have no beliefs whatsoever in psychic powers (or ghosts, space aliens, gods, demons, angels, vampires, werewolves, magic, etc., etc.!). I'm not necessarily antagonistic towards these things- if I were, I wouldn't be reading these novels! Some of them would be fun and cool if they were real, but there is simply no evidence for them - and I'm talking about real evidence: verifiable scientific evidence. That's the gold standard as far as I'm concerned.

There's a much more detailed review of this novel on my blog, as usual.

And no, I don't buy the excuse that you can't scientifically test the supernatural. Yes, you can! If the supernatural has an effect on the real world, that effect can be measured, and if all natural explanations for the effect are ruled out, then you have prima facie evidence supporting your case. That kind of evidence has never shown up. And that kind of evidence isn't proof! It would still require much more testing and evaluation. But I don't buy this assertion usually attributed to Carl Sagan that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Bullshit, Carl! Any claim, extraordinary or not, requires sufficient evidence, no more, no less. And remember that science isn't about proof because everything we think we know, even those things about which we're pretty darned certain, are always open to the possibility that they could be modified or even overturned by new evidence

So, I have to say after reading chapter one that I'm not exactly swept away by this novel! It's your basic Karate Kid premise - disaffected kid taken from big city to small town, starting new school. The only real difference so far is that the disaffected teen has both parents, and can't sleep, so her father buys her a white noise machine (think of waves breaking on the shore; there's also pink noise but let's not get into that here!). The idea is that it will help her to sleep, and it seems to be working, until she hears voices coming out of the machine and then she's wide awake! It's pretty much a rip-off of the movie White Noise which itself was a bit of a rip-off of the Poltergeist movies.

Kendal, the fem protag, finds she has all kinds of psychic powers and can communicate with ghosts and lay them to rest, but the novel really went downhill for me towards the end. So I started this off with doubts, then started getting into it, and finished it with enough doubts that while I rated it as worthy (a novel is either worthy or warty as far as I'm concerned! I don't have any truck with tacking on gold stars like it's some little kids workbook), I couldn't develop any passion at all for reading any more of this series. There's not enough sense, no skepticism, too much religion, and no real interest in what's going on for me.(less)

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Jan 10, 2013 Megan (The Book Babe) rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: received-for-review, reviewed-on-my-site

Due to copy and paste, formatting has been lost.

Honestly, I'm struggling while writing this review. I wrote out an entire one, then I decided that it didn't say what I needed it to. And I need it to say that while I enjoyed The Awakening, it's just not a book that I can see myself reading over and over. Ugh. I don't know how to write this review at all...

It's not that I didn't like The Awakening...I did to a point. But all of my thoughts on this novel totally conflict, and I can't sort through them enough to write a comprehensible review. They all demand to be spoken, so prepare for a long bout of random thoughts.

I like the way that Marley Gibson writes, because it seems so fresh and unique when you're reading it. But I don't truly understand why all of her characters are so very sweet, yet they can all cuss up a pretty good storm. I mean, no F-bombs or anything, but they really can tell you how they're feeling with a few choice words.

The ghost hunting was interesting, but a lot of the time it felt like the scenes were a bit forced. For instance, in one of the scenes near the beginning, Kendall tells someone that all the windows of the place they're investigating have been painted shut since 1970. Later in the book, they contact a spirit who's a bit fiesty...and he OPENS the windows. This is either supposed to show amazing strength on his part, or I'm supposed to forget that those windows were painted shut. Either way, I don't really get it.

Also, Kendall and Jason fall into "like like" a little too quickly for my taste. It honestly seemed like they'd just met, had an argument, then they go on a hunt and BAM. They start kissing at a completely inopportune moment. That just kills it for me. I could have lived without their little hormone/adrenaline filled moment. They were great as friends, so I don't really understand why they had to become more.

As for Kendall's other friends, I did enjoy them, but I felt like all of their interactions and fights and stuff should have been more capitalized on. They fight, then they all make up so quickly that it made my head hurt a bit. I wish that we could have seen more development on all of their parts, and maybe less simplistic relationships. Because anyone can tell you that relationships can be very trying.

The ghost hunting part WAS interesting, but I think that I was focused so much on the characters that I missed a lot of that, and I found myself skimming pages a couple times. I liked the technical points that were added to the hunting, but other than that I found it unmemorable.

All in all, I did enjoy parts of The Awakening, but it just didn't have the impact on me that it could have.(less)

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Apr 23, 2012 Jayne rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Ghost Huntress is my favorite series. I am hooked on it. I love Kendall's charactor. She is really funny, and her sarcasm is very humorous. I also like this book becauuse I am a fan of the paranormal and have found this series to be one of the most realistic books about the paranormal. I love the charactors in this book. They all are put together really well, and each have their individual personalities. I found this book really cool to because it is one of the only paranormal books out ther...more

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Mar 10, 2012 Margaret rated it 1 of 5 stars

Let me start off by saying that I'm extremly passionate about the paranormal and I have a huge fancination with the South. So, when I picked up this book and found out it's about a sixteen year old girl who moves to a small Southern town and becomes a ghost hunter, I snatched it right up.

Thank God it only cost me two dollars. -_-

Seriously. I only got through about 50 pages before I shoved it onto my bookshelf, where it shall stay. Forever.

First of all, the author is apparently a paranormal inves...more

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Jan 02, 2012 Navi rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: disappointing, historical-fiction, self-discovery-fiction, supernatural, young-adult

I really wanted to like this book, I really did. I love paranormal mysteries and the like.

Kendall, however, is one of the most annoying, unlikeable protagonists I have ever read. Sure, she gets better as the book goes on, but she's seriously just... extremely annoying. She's judgmental over the littlest things - blonde = terrible, horrible popular person - and is really confused in her morals. Now, part of being a teenager is being picky about appearance, but she's physic. Even AFTER said-blonde...more

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Aug 04, 2011 Veronica rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: no one

Please Note!
I wrote this review a couple years ago when I was younger and a lot less mature, so I was a bit harshly passionate about everything. Please don't hold this against my 14-year-old self. In fact, if you're looking for constructive criticism don't read this... I pretty much just ripped on the book.

.............

Sometimes I wonder how some things get published. Either, the publishing company must be really shitty or the author somehow tricks them into getting their book published. To be f...more

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Aug 17, 2009 Lizzy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own

It took me a while to get into this book. In fact, at first I was worried that I wasn't going to like it at all. Generally, I'm a fan of paranormal lit, as well as TV shows (I secretly love watching Ghost Hunters). So, that meant I understood most of the technical terms that were thrown around. Since the first half of the book was spent introducing characters, and ghost hunting tech, that could be a reason why it wasn't holding my interest. The first half also chronicles Kendall's discovery of h...more

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Apr 25, 2012 Carla rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was a really awesome book! I have always wanted to go ghost hunting. I think it is so fascinating! I mean really, how awesome would it be to help a spirit that is trapped here move on from this world. Well, if you are interested in it, but never had the opportunity to do it yourself, some of your questions will be answered in this truly awesome book! Ghost Huntress: The Awakening is a spine tingling story about a young girl named Kendall Morehead that has moved from the big city of Chicago...more
This was a really awesome book! I have always wanted to go ghost hunting. I think it is so fascinating! I mean really, how awesome would it be to help a spirit that is trapped here move on from this world. Well, if you are interested in it, but never had the opportunity to do it yourself, some of your questions will be answered in this truly awesome book! Ghost Huntress: The Awakening is a spine tingling story about a young girl named Kendall Morehead that has moved from the big city of Chicago and is trying find her way in a small town. It doesn't help that with her move comes sleeplessness. Its too quite in her new town of Radisson, Georgia. She misses the noise of the big city, the familiar sights and sounds, and most of all her friends. How is she ever going to get used to being so far away from her home.

In an effort to help his daughter finally get some rest, her dad buys her a white noise machine, and this is where things start to get interesting. The very first time that she turns it on, the unthinkable happens. No, I she doesn't get sleep, not even close, she hears a voice. Its says, "I'm here"!!! But that is just the beginning of strange things that begin to happen for her. She starts to feel things, what other people are feeling. She even feels a boys broken bone, like it is her own, before she ever even sees him. what the heck could be happening to her? Not to mention the dreams that she is having about totally gorgeous "Dasani - Blue - Eyed - Boy", and the vision that she has of her dad getting hurt at work. This is all so new to her, she doesn't know what this all means or how to deal with it. She had made a new friend, Celia, but how can she tell her what is going in with her? Will she think she is crazy? She accidental lets it slip about the voice that she heard inside her house and Celia is totally cool with it. She wants to go to school to study parapsychology and she is totally into paranormal phenomena. They decide that they must investigate this voice further so they set a camera up in her room to see if they can catch it on tape.

One day while exploring her new town, after having more strange occurrences she stumbles into shop called the Divining Woman. There she meets a psychic named Loreen. Loreen tries to explain to Kendall what is happening with her. She tells her that they are kindred spirits and that there is a reason that she happened into her store. She explains that she is going through her psychic awakening of sorts. She explains to Kendall that all the things that she is going through are normal ans she is starting to be able to access her gifts. She will just have to learn how to use them and control them. She even gives her a pendulum that has stones on it that will help her communicate with the spirits as well as protect her. Kendall just isn't buying into it. Not yet. This can't possibly be whats is really happening with her.

After she comes clean to her friend Celia that she thinks she might be psychic, Celia is super excited. Kendall is stunned that this girl barely knows her and yet, its ok with her that she is psychic. This combined with the ghostly figure they see on the video from Kendall's house is just what they need and the Ghost Huntress' are born! Now they just need to form the rest of their team and get the equipment that they need to do their investigations. Despite her twin brother, Jason's , reservations, they recruit Taylor Tillson as their photographer and after some obstacles end up recruiting Rebecca Asiaf as their sounds person (for EMF readings) and as real twist even recruit Justin himself as their sceptic.

After her premonition of her dad getting hurt coming true, they have their first investigation to hold. Will they be able to make contact with the entity that is causing problems at the city all? Can they help it move on from this world so that it will not hurt anyone else? Will their group even be able to last until the investigation when things get heated between them for reasons that no one could have seen coming (well except maybe Kendall). Well, I can't tell you. But I will tell you that is this an book that you absolutely must read if you are interested in parapsycology. Especially if you are like me and totally get lost in the books that you read. In your mind, you can be right there! I know this is going to be one you won't want to miss! I really loved it! BTW, what a coincidence it is that I am writing this review while watching Ghost Hunters on Syfy??? LOVE TAPS!
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Nov 30, 2011 Nicole rated it 5 of 5 stars

Though the book didn't start off as quick paced as I'm used to when it comes to paranormal/fantasy fiction, Marley Gibson didn't rush a good thing. And that's exactly what this book is; a good thing.

I normally stay to vampire novels and witch novels with the occasional novel that has a healthy mix of the paranormal world but Ghost Huntress: The Awakening was my first strictly ghost-related book. Marley Gibson went about the book is the most realistic-nature I've ever encountered. She's written...more

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Jan 23, 2010 Jessica rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Jessica by: Jia Min

Shelves: advisory-09-10

Kendall Moorehead moved from Chicago to a rural town of Radisson, Georgia where Kendall starts to have her psychic awakening due to the rich history the town had during the Civil War. As Kendall begins to cope with the issues a normal teenager would have in making new friends and adapting to the new environment, Kendall learns of her sixth sense especially through her mentor Loreen. Thinking that she would have a difficult time living in Radisson, Kendall and her psychic abilities soon allows he...more

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Jan 29, 2011 Lydia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: on-shelf

First thing I wanna say about this novel is that I was surprised at the technology part of it. I mean, I've seen those ghost hunting shows before and they have all of that fancy technical stuff goin' on... But really, I had no idea. It was still confusing when the technology was explained in The Awakening, but honestly, Gibson really obviously knows what she's talking about.

I liked Kendall's character to some extent. There were some parts where she annoyed me, and I thought she acted kind of you...more

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Mar 25, 2013 Samantha rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, supernatural, reviewed

First posted on Barnes & Noble on February 6, 2012.

Because I've always been into the supernatural I figured I'd give this series a shot. The plot was good, the characters were fun, although I felt some could have used more development, but, hey it's only the first book in a series.

One of the main things that irked me while reading this book was the author's constant need to add stupid pop culture references that didn't help at all. One of my biggest pet peeves when reading is pop culture, be...more

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Jul 30, 2011 Heather Schmidt rated it 5 of 5 stars

Quite an entertaining read, and a pretty good start to a series. The only thing that really disappointed me was the lack of another, better confrontation between Kendall and Marjorie; I would have loved Kendall to have somehow freaked Marjorie and her new best friend out in some way with her new psychic abilities. The one confrontation they did have was short and lame, not very satisfying at all. However, I must say Jason Tillson makes up for it. =) I hope that in the next book we will find out...more

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Jan 30, 2011 Kristin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, paranormal-fantasy, series, young-adult

I'm on a YA kick lately. The only thing I can say is that they're a lot better written than they were when I was a kid. I loved this book. I read it in about 24 hours. There are a lot of references to Ghost Hunters in the book which is one of my favorite shows too. I love anything about ghosts and hauntings.

This is book 1 in what is so far a 4 book series. I love Kendall and all her friends. Not too thrilled with her mother, but at least there are parents in this story. So many YA books either...more

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Jan 06, 2013 Joy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Around Halloween every year, I do some sort of assignment revolving around ghosts. Some years, students are completely engaged with the idea. Others, not so much. This year, I could see the light shining out of the eyes of one particular student who was so excited to share her knowledge of this topic. So, I decided to pick up a ghost book. She'll love this one.

When Kendall moves into a history-rich southern town, she starts to become aware of unusual things happenings. She knows things she shoul...more

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Feb 17, 2010 Danielle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult-fiction

I really liked this story, it had just that right mix of mystery, teen romance and teen angst. It was eerie in the beginning and strange that there was a 16 year old girl, Kendall, hearing voices through a white noise machine. Note to parents -- white noise machines are not appropriate gifts for children!!!
What I found strange in this story was how Kendall's girlfriends, who joined her ghost huntress group were in no way freaked out by the idea of ghosts. They were all willing to go into a ceme...more

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Nov 26, 2009 Nancy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 11-th-grade

Kendell and her family moved from Chicago to a small town of Radisson, Georgia. She couldn't sleep at all and for the first time she is hearing noises from a music box. Later she finds out that she is a physic and can see, talk to ghost. As she gathers a team of ghost hunters, she still has more mysteries on the way for her and her team to solve. Who is the lady in the white gown who is talking to Kendell? She gets help from another physic named Loreen. Loreen says since this town is more quiete...more

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Nov 14, 2009 Casey rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: royal, ghosts, teen

Interesting concept, bad writing. Some of my favorite passages (once I decided to start marking them):

1. "Jeezy-creezy." (56) Who says that???
2. "Hello, Shirley MacLaine, get Larry King on the phone! Someone's stealing your act." (57) Um, I have no idea. I couldn't even remember who Shirley MacLaine was besides an actress, are teens going to know?
3. "Return. To. Me. To who me? What does it mean? Ignoring the reference to the forgettable Minnie Driver/David Duchovny movie of the same title..." (1...more

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May 28, 2009 Emma rated it 2 of 5 stars

Sometimes, the first line of a book really does tell you everything you need to know. Such is the case for Marley Gibson's first Ghost Huntress book The Awakening (2009):

It's too freaking quiet here!

I can't sleep. Not a wink.

As the story progresses, readers learn that insomnia is the least of sixteen-year-old Kendall Moorehead's problems. After her family moves from Chicago to the middle of nowhere smalltown Radisson, Georgia, Kendall has to adjust to a new school, make new friends, figure out...more Sometimes, the first line of a book really does tell you everything you need to know. Such is the case for Marley Gibson's first Ghost Huntress book The Awakening (2009):

It's too freaking quiet here!

I can't sleep. Not a wink.

As the story progresses, readers learn that insomnia is the least of sixteen-year-old Kendall Moorehead's problems. After her family moves from Chicago to the middle of nowhere smalltown Radisson, Georgia, Kendall has to adjust to a new school, make new friends, figure out if her house is haunted. Oh, and she has to figure out what's going on with her new possibly psychic abilities.

At the risk of oversimplifying, the story is basically a behind-the-scene's expose of what goes on in those ghost hunting TV shows that are so popular of late but with teenage girls as the ghost hunters (huntresses). Even after growing up in a household skeptical of ghost hunting endeavors, the plot did sound promising. Unfortunately the writing was not equal to the task of holding this reader's attention.

The main problem in Ghost Huntress: The Awakening is that the writing is extremely erratic. The book is written in the present tense, a technique that is very popular with teen titles, but it just didn't work here. Instead of subtly making the novel more immediate, it just made it very clear that the story was written in the present tense and that Kendall was very, very talkative.

Kendall's narrative voice was also very incongruous. Other characters in the book curse, but Kendall uses words like freaking in combination with expressions that her grandmother enjoyed--it just doesn't fit with the worldly Chicago urbanite persona that Kendall is at pains to present for herself. Added to that Kendall's brand-dropping, and constant reminders of what she would be doing were she still in Chicago become grating. For those reasons, the writing simply failed to hold my attention or evoke any kind of involvement with the characters.

A lot of readers talk about "junk food" that they read. Books that are enjoyable but not particularly enriching as literature. I hate to say it, but it seems that Ghost Huntress is destined to join those ranks.(less)

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Nov 06, 2010 4fabfelines Cox rated it 5 of 5 stars

Kendall has moved to Radisson from Chicago, due to her parents move. She is lonely and cannot sleep due to the quiet. Her father buys her a white noise machine, only it turns out she hears voices though the machine. Then she starts having other strange things happening, dreams..premonitions..strange pains in her body..
what is going on with her?? Kendalls mother thinks that she is going mad, having a schizoprenic episode.. what is going on with her?
Kendall meets a interesting woman who tells her...more

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Aug 19, 2010 Eden rated it 4 of 5 stars

I thought this book was very entertaining, however in my opinion, i feel that at times the narrator or main character had a rather childish tone. i know the character is 16 and now i'm 18 but still i think at times the author was trying a tad TOO hard in order to sound up to date with teen lingo. i have no idea why i went off on that for so long b/c overall i was very intrigued by this book and found it very entertaining. perhaps i'm use to watching shows like Lost where character development is...more

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Oct 09, 2009 Jacqueline rated it 3 of 5 stars

Ok, well besides for the corny cover it's a pretty darn good book. You know the saying, Don't judge a book by its cover! Well, lesson learned. But seriously, I think it's very tacky. But moving one... I liked the story, the main chacacter was enjoyable. It was a really a good story line and it kept me entertained. So it's about a girl who moves into a small town. Where there are many ghosts because there was a Civil War and he powers "awake". She learns she is pyschic. And then later she bacomes...more

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May 13, 2011 Kyla 6th rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really like this book. It's about this girl named Kendall Moorehead who discovers she has a sixth sense. She discovers it when she moves to to this small town called Raddisson, Georgia. Kendall can't sleep, because it's to quiet for her. So to help her get some sleep her father goes and gets her a white noise machine, she ends up hearing a ghost trying to communicate with her. So she starts a ghost hunting team with some of her new friends, Celia, Taylor, Becca and her new boyfriend Jason (who...more

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Sep 11, 2012 Jan Bethel rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: a-bit-draggy, mystery-and-suspense, paranormal, so-so

uhhh... what to say about this book? Well, I can't really say that I loved it. But, I can't also say that I hate it. Yeah, I'm having a love-hate relationship with this book.

This one was lent to me by my friend. I don't really read ghost stories, you know. The writing was fine. Maybe what annoyed me was the characters. They're irritating. Kendall makes me roll my eyes every five seconds!

Oh well, maybe this book is not just for me.

People who love ghost stories and such may like this, but well, n...more

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Aug 05, 2012 emilie.❤ rated it 3 of 5 stars

Could be much better, but could be a lot worse. I thought I really liked this book, but after reading some reviews on here, I have to agree with some of the less favorable ones.

Let's see...most of the characters weren't very likable. I liked Kendall and Celia for the most part, when Kendall wasn't blabbering about movies I've never heard of, her grandmother, and her own bizarre expletives and when Celia wasn't calling everything "phenomenal." I found Taylor annoying, especially when she randoml...more Could be much better, but could be a lot worse. I thought I really liked this book, but after reading some reviews on here, I have to agree with some of the less favorable ones.

Let's see...most of the characters weren't very likable. I liked Kendall and Celia for the most part, when Kendall wasn't blabbering about movies I've never heard of, her grandmother, and her own bizarre expletives and when Celia wasn't calling everything "phenomenal." I found Taylor annoying, especially when she randomly started talking in French (like a Weeaboo would in Japanese).I was reading this book out loud with a friend, and the parts when Taylor starts speaking French were awkward and silly. It seems to me the author was trying to make Taylor all cute and bubbly, but she unintentionally came out obnoxious. Dasani-Blue-Eyed Boy (aka: Jason) got on my nerves, how he acts like he hates Kendall's guts, but within a short amount of time, he suddenly half-believes her and has a steamy make out with her on a ghost hunting mission! (I'm serious.) The characters all seem to give off the impression that the author hasn't been around teens for a really long time, and was trying way too hard to learn their "language." She even went so far as to make them speak in IM lingo in real life, such as "BRB" and "what's the four-one-one?" No self-respecting teenager would talk like that. It makes you sound very simple-minded.

The story was interesting, though. While reading, it never really crossed my mind that Kendall was getting a hang of speaking with the spirits too quickly, but after reading critical reviews that point this out, I must say I agree. But I liked how the author knew exactly what she was talking about when it came to ghost hunting. She really knows her equipment!

(view spoiler)

Overall, this was an okay read. I might read the second one just for the sake of finding out if it gets any better and if the characters are less irritating, as that was a pretty big issue for me.(less)

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Feb 17, 2012 Nicole Sanglay rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: i-own, ghosts

Ghost Huntress: The Awakening is the first of the Ghost Huntress series. It is all about how Kendall Moorehead, our protagonist, adjusts in the little town of Radisson in Georgia from sixteen years of living in New York. At first, she thought that she needed only to adjust to the people around her and to the new surroundings. Unknown to her, Radisson is a hot spot for paranormal activity. There, she learns that she also needs to adjust to another thing, a thing that was already inside of her, bu...more Ghost Huntress: The Awakening is the first of the Ghost Huntress series. It is all about how Kendall Moorehead, our protagonist, adjusts in the little town of Radisson in Georgia from sixteen years of living in New York. At first, she thought that she needed only to adjust to the people around her and to the new surroundings. Unknown to her, Radisson is a hot spot for paranormal activity. There, she learns that she also needs to adjust to another thing, a thing that was already inside of her, but was awakened by the quietness and serenity of the little town: her clairvoyance.

The story was really scary at first, because to Kendall, it was a frightening experience. I haven’t been a big fan of paranormal things myself, and to speak bluntly, I quite have a fear of them. But through this novel, I realized that perspective plays an important role in one’s fear of something. If one views it with fear, then it’s like you’re giving up to your weakness. As the story progressed by, Kendall became open to the idea of ghosts, and it became a fascinating and peculiar experience for her to have contact with them, thus helping me to ease my fear of ghosts.

Although the plot seems a bit too common when it comes to the world of fantasy and fiction, it is still an entertaining read. Especially because some of the events are unexpected. The way Marley Gibson wrote the story is very casual, as if the reader is talking to Kendall herself, which makes it very easy to read. Her casual style of writing is almost similar to James Patterson’s, because they both write in a way that feels light and casual, as if the reader is having a conversation with a good friend.

Gibson has extensive knowledge of ghost hunting, which is absolutely required in writing a novel like Ghost Huntress. Some of the equipment that they used are not known to most people, which makes the ‘hunting’ part interesting.

The novel also includes a touch of a love story in it, to make the story more interesting for the young adult readers, and also to smoothen the edges made by the suspense and horror of the story.

At some parts, the story becomes a bit dull, probably because of low paranormal activity that Kendall experiences. Another flaw that I found is that sometimes, one scene just repeats itself over again, just in another kind of wording, which might make the reader a bit impatient.

Ghost Huntress is perfectly fit for readers who want novels that are light, easy, and a little bit adventurous. It might not be as adventurous as other fantasy novels, but the way Gibson wrote about ‘ghost hunting’ will make you quicken your breath and anticipate what’s going to happen next.
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About Marley Gibson

Marley Gibson is the author of the hit young adult paranormal fiction series, "Ghost Huntress," from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s Graphia line, as well as "Radiate," which is a fictionalized version of the cancer she went through as a teenage cheerleader.

Gibson was featured on the premiere episode of The Biography Channel’s "My Ghost Story," as well as being interviewed by CNN.com for a Halloween f...more Marley Gibson is the author of the hit young adult paranormal fiction series, "Ghost Huntress," from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s Graphia line, as well as "Radiate," which is a fictionalized version of the cancer she went through as a teenage cheerleader.

Gibson was featured on the premiere episode of The Biography Channel’s "My Ghost Story," as well as being interviewed by CNN.com for a Halloween feature on ghost hunting in 2008. She appeared on the Travel Channel's "Paranormal Challenge," as we as an episode of "Ghost Adventures."

Her publishing credits include "Ghost Huntress: The Awakening," "Ghost Huntress: The Guidance," and "Ghost Huntress: The Reason," "Ghost Huntress: The Counseling," "Ghost Huntress: The Journey," and soon to come, a Christmas novella, "Ghost Huntress: The Tidings."

She has also co-authored a teen ghost hunting how-to guide entitled “The Other Side: A Teen’s Guide to Ghost Hunting and the Paranormal" with her husband, Patrick Burns, from TruTV's "Haunting Evidence," and Travel Channel's "Paranormal Challenge," and "Ghost Adventures."

Gibson is also the co-author of the wildly successful "Christmas Miracles," and it's sequel, "The Spirit of Christmas," published by St. Martin’s Press and co-written with New York Times bestselling author, Cecil Murphey.

Gibson holds a Bachelors of Arts in Communication with an emphasis in Advertising and a double minor in Political Science and Speech Communications from The University of Alabama. She has worked on several political campaigns, as a United States Congressional intern, and has been a marketing events manager in the medical, higher education, financial, and technology sectors, but is now happy being a full-time author, creating stories and characters for fans to love.

An avid SCUBA diver, closet gourmet chef, and electronic music lover, Marley and her husband, Patrick, live in the Florida Keys with their two rescue kitties, Madison and Boo, in an RV they lovely call, Midge.

She can be found online at www.marleygibson.com and www.radiatebook.com on Facebook at MarleyGibson Author and on Twitter @MarleyGison(less)

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“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.' Yeah, well, whoever wrote that was a friggin' idiot.” — 4 people liked it

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The Awakening (Ghost Huntress #1)

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