The Awakening | by: Kelley Armstrong

The Awakening is the second installment in Kelley Armstrong's Darkest Powers book series. The debut of the series (The Summoning) was much more impressive than I expected it to be, and I hoped The Awakening would give me a smiliar feel.

Chloe knows what she is now, a necromancer, someone who can raise the dead. She also knows about the other kids that stayed with her at the Edison Group home, a place for mentally disturbed teens. But as the story unfolds, she learns more secrets about the people behind Edison Group - secrets that startle her. Chloe and her friends (a witch, a sorcerer, a werewolf) cannot afford to be too involved with Edison Group's strange studies. They're desperate to get away. That's why they have to keep running, in hope of finding safety, no matter the costs.

Just like in The Summoning, The Awakening doesn't have dull moments. Chloe and her friends are on the run, and it's hardley smooth sailing for them. There's a lot of elements for them to deal with: A missing person ad, people from Edison on guard, dealing with finances, finding places to sleep, and trying to find the one person they know they'll be safe with - who happened to disappear. To top it all off, the four of them don't get along well a lot of times. So I never lost interest.

I have mixed feeling about the actual writing in this book. Kelley Armstrong writes clearly and I understand everything she's trying to say, but there's nothing fantastic about her style. One definate good thing about Kelley Armstrong's writing style (besides writing in a way that makes us understand clearly) is that she isn't overly dramatic. She speaks soley through Chloe's point of view, and it matches Chloe's personality. However, as mentioned, this is not the best written book in the world.

Again, this series is very unique in the lack of romance, which is a good change for YA books. This leads me to characters (and relationships): In the first book, Chloe irritated me. In The Awakening, she still does, but not as much. It seems she has a tighter grip on reality, and not quite as whiney. But now I have a problem with another character: Simon. He annoys me, despite he is somehow the most likable, and I'm getting vibes that he and Chloe will have a relationship beyond friendship, but I hope I'm wrong... because I still really like Derek! If this turns into a romance thing, I want it to be different. I want Chloe to pick what some would consider to be the less attractive one. This series has proven twice to be different, why stop?

Even though this book didn't have a completely sudden stop (thank you, Kelley Armstrong, for giving me an ending where I'm hanging off a cliff), I hope to read the third installment, The Reckoning, soon!

All in all, The Awakening is unique and a lot of people will enjoy it, since it doens't follow the typical Young Adult book suit. It is a great follow-up that matches the eldest of the series, The Summoning. It does the series justice, as well as the book in itself. To my surprise, I really like this series.

4/5 stars