The Awakening

September 1, 2009
Gr 9 Up-When Chloe Saunders escapes from a group home for troubled teens, she has no idea that she'll be dealing with a treacherous aunt; a nascent werewolf; a prissy witch; guns, guards, and ghosts; and the harsh everyday realities of being a teen on the run. She'd come to terms with the fact that the home was obviously not your run-of-the-mill state facility, or she wouldn't have discovered her powers as a necromancer or found the witch, Tori; the warlock, Simon; and the werewolf, Derek, also in residence. Now the four of them and the ghost of the recently deceased telekinetic Liz, are trying to find the one adult who can help them. Things are complicated by Simon's diabetes, Derek's imminent transformation, and Tori, who, despite her magical powers, is best described by a different word, which rhymes with witch. Armstrong does an admirable job of walking the fine line between making things too easy for the group and putting unnecessary obstacles in their path. Separating them from the adults, she delves into character and relationships among the teens, giving this title a depth that some supernatural fare lacks. It is easy to read out of sequence, and even surpasses its predecessor, "The Summoning" (HarperCollins, 2008). If you buy it, teens will read it."Cara von Wrangel Kinsey, formerly at New York Public Library"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2009
Grades 7-10 Chloes a teenager who likes Simon, but maybe likes Derek, and definitely hates Tori, who crushes on Simon, who kind of cares for Chloe. Sounds pretty typical. Except that Chloes a necromancer, Dereks a werewolf, and Simon and Tori are sorcerers. Following The Summoning (2008), this book in the Darkest Powers series has the teens on the run from a shady organization whose murky involvement with their manifesting powers is unclear, but definitely not for their betterment. Theres nothing terribly original here, but Armstrong has some fun toying with supernatural teen thriller conventions, and the taut pacing should please fans of the exploding genre.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2009
On the run from the officials at the institution where she and her fellow "supernaturals" were imprisoned, Chloe struggles to harness her ability to talk to and raise the dead while trying to uncover the adults' endgame. The mystery is compelling but gets bogged down in copious info-dumping and an overly meta-conscious narrative voice; complex characters, however, ensure continued interest in the series.

(Copyright 2009 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)