The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong

Title: The Summoning
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Price: U.S. $17.99 (Hardcover), CAN $14.95 (Paperback)
Publisher: Doubleday (Canada), Harper Teen (U.S.) and Little Brown (U.K.)
Publication Date: July 1st, 2008
Number of Pages: 390

kelleyarmstrong.com:

Chloe Saunders sees dead people. Yes, like in the films. The problem is, in real life saying you see ghosts gets you a one-way ticket to the psych ward. And at 15, all Chloe wants to do is fit in at school and maybe get a boy to notice her. But when a particularly violent ghost haunts her, she gets noticed for all the wrong reasons. Her seemingly crazed behaviour earns her a trip to Lyle House, a centre for 'disturbed teens'. At first Chloe is determined to keep her head down. But then her room mate disappears after confessing she has a poltergeist, and some of the other patients also seem to be manifesting paranormal behaviour. Could that be a coincidence? Or is Lyle House not quite what it seems...? Chloe realizes that if she doesn't uncover the truth, she could be destined for a lifetime in a psychiatric hospital. Or could her fate be even worse...? Can she trust her fellow students, and does she dare reveal her dark secret?

I'm having a hard time writing this review. I mean, hard. Have any of you book bloggers out there ever felt this frustration? I've been staring at this computer screen for at least half an hour and nothings coming, so I've decided to create a list, which always seems to help:

What I Liked About This Book:

• Even though the plot isn't 100% original, I liked the whole idea. If you're a fan of Ghost Whisperer, I have a feeling you'll like this one!
• Something I don't see often in a book is a protagonist who wants to be a movie director. Chloe's thoughts and opinions were sometimes dusted in a sparkling, strawberry-scented coat of the movie world. I definetly learned a few things about the film industry!
• I definetly didn't predict the twists and turns in this book. And the fact that there were so many of them really made this a surprising novel.
• The ending holds a lot of potential for the second book which, in other words, makes it GREAT! The Awakening, the second book in the Darkest Powers series, is definitely at the top of my TBR list!
  

What I Didn't Like:

• I don't know if this is just me, but I noticed that some sentences just didn't make sense. I would post an example, but I think the grammarical error-ified sentences are hiding from me. I'll try to find an example and I'll post it here later.
• In the beginning, it felt like someone hit the fast-forward button. I missed quite a few vital details so I had to re-read. Then, when Chloe arrived at the Lyle House, things slowed down so much that my eyes started to droop. Thankfully, things sped up again once I got to the middle of this novel.

The "In The Middle" Stuff:

• There is a scene where Chloe accidentally raises zombies from the dead which is, in my opinion, plain creepy! I got goosebumps over goosebumps! Sure, this is a sign of good writing, but it was also scary! This might not be the case for everyone however, since I seem to be a bit of a scardy cat . . .

The Bottom Line: This was a pretty good book after you got over the two faced beginning! Would be best for paranormal and movie lovers. B+.