|
 Review by
Louella Moreland
It seems that the young adult shelves are becoming crowded with books on
teens who discover that there are beings who live among us with supernatural
powers. One only has to pick up any book list to find the name Stephenie
Meyer with her "Twilight" series splashed across the page!
Although these fantasies may not be to everyone's taste, they seem to
speak to many teens and adults alike. Why? Maybe because once a reader gets
past the premise that breaks with reality, the stories are actually
well-crafted. Most of the characters are fleshed out enough for readers to
like them (or hate them, as the case may be). Since the story is based in a
real-time world, the reader does not have to imagine another world setting.
Finally, the characters -- usually teens -- are faced with some issues that
plague all of us: belonging, being different, difficult families, bullies,
etc.
So where do young readers go after getting hooked on "Twilight"? I would
recommend they try Kelley Armstrong's new "Darkest Powers" series. It begins
with "The Summoning" as Book One, followed by "The Awakening." No vampires
yet in this series.
This time the story is about Chloe. She has just turned 15 and is finally
going through puberty. Added to the usual problems of deceased mother,
absent father, many moves and feeling different, she freaks out at school
one day when she sees the ghost of a janitor who keeps asking her to help
him.
She is quickly locked up in Lyle House, a home for troubled teens, where
she is diagnosed as schizophrenic. She begins to think that maybe she truly
does have a mental disorder because she begins seeing other ghosts. Then her
roommate begins to mentally move things around the room one night, smashing
bottles of hair gel and picture frames. When the roommate is sent away and
Chloe gets a visit from her ghost, Chloe becomes very confused.
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There is also the mystery surrounding brothers Simon and Derek,
other residents of Lyle House. And is Rae really a fire-starter? Is
she really crazy or does Lyle House have a more sinister purpose? If
Simon is normal, why is he at Lyle House? Whom can she really trust?
Armstrong has developed an intriguing premise for the series.
Although I am uncertain why she begins with a prologue where Chloe
can see ghosts at a very early age and then seemingly doesn't
remember it as a teen, perhaps that matter will be cleared up as the
series progresses. While the "Twilight" series focused on only two
supernatural beings, vampires and werewolves, "Darkest Powers"
appears to widen the possibilities of characters with other powers.
You be the judge. Visit the Lincoln Public Library Annex, 725
Pekin St., to check out this new series and other books of the same
genre to see if you think they measure up to Meyer's incredible
popularity. You might want to check out my blog at
lincolnpubliclibraryupdates.blogspot.com and vote there! I would
love to hear from you.
[Text from file received from
Louella Moreland,
Lincoln Public Library District]
(Ms. Lou's blog:
lincolnpubliclibraryupdates.blogspot.com) |
