Date published: May 2009
ISBN: 978-0-06-166276-8
Young Adult Paranormal Suspense
Tradepaperback
Reviewed by Gina
On the heels of her escape from Lyle House, a home ostensibly for troubled teens, Chloe Saunders thought she could turn to her beloved Aunt Lauren. Aunt Lauren turns out not to be quite the guardian angel Chloe was hoping for. The nefarious staff of Lyle House shows up one by one at the secret facility Chloe learns several key facts—her friend Liz is dead and unless she can be “rehabilitated” Chloe may be joining Liz in the afterlife. With the Lyle house adults on the search for her friends Simon and Derek, Chloe does what she can to protect them while at the same time searches for a way to make her own escape. When the opportunity presents itself she goes on the run, this time with her nemesis, Tori, in tow. It takes a little time, but Chloe and Tori finally hook up with Derek and Simon and the foursome take off to find the one man who they believe will be able to help them—Andrew.
Andrew was friends with Simon and Derek’s father and with their dad missing they feel that their old family friend may be the only one to help them. Making their way out of Buffalo to Andrew’s home, the foursome discover their powers growing—werewolf Derek undergoes another partial change, necromancer Chloe raises a few more dead folks and witch Tori tests her skills casting a few spells. Simon takes the lead in planning their future and how to avoid what they now know is The Edison Group. The Edison Group, named for Thomas Edison and in honor of his attempts to contact those in life, had hoped to build a race of super-supernaturals and to that end engaged in DNA manipulation. When they reach Andrew’s place, what they find unnerves them and sends the foursome once again on the run.
The Awakening is a non-stop action, page-turner of a tale. Each of the teens in the story grows and develops throughout the telling, developing their own unique strengths and talents. Subtle changes in personality, unfold in the characters, making them true to life. In her Women of the Other World series author Kelley Armstrong shows the gritty side of life and her ability to tell it like it is but keep you reading is evident in The Awakening as well. While the teens in the story have embarked on an adventure, it is not one they would have chosen for themselves. Step by step their camaraderie grows while at the same time, shows what can happen to a teen out on the streets. Seen through a dark lens, even a sunny day has a cloud covering the characters yet there are moment of at least a glimmer of a chuckle simply because Ms. Armstrong’s own unique humor comes through. The characters are not permutations of earlier characters or of Ms. Armstrong herself, yet the reader can tell there are elements of this fabulous author in each of them. Fans of her adult series, Women of the Otherworld will smile when they see the reference to the Wolf pack in Syracuse. I admit I hoped for a glimpse of my personal hero, Clay, from that other series, but he didn't show—maybe later.
Billed as a young adult series, The Darkest Powers series is a cross-generational read that both males and females of all ages will enjoy. I look forward to the next book in this series and to see what happens to Chloe and her friends next.
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