Published:
April 10th, 2012 by Harper
Format: Audio
book
Source:
Library
Challenge(s):
Support your Library
Grade rate: B
Maya Delaney's
paw-print birthmark is the mark of what she truly is -a skin-walker. She can
run faster, climb higher, and see better than nearly everyone else.
Experiencing intense connections with the animals that roam the woods outside
her home, Maya knows it's only a matter of time before she's able to Shift and
become one of them. And she believes there may be others in her small town with
surprising talents.
Now Maya and her
friends have been forced to flee from their homes during a forest fire they
suspect was deliberately set. Then they're kidnapped, and after a chilling
helicopter crash, they find themselves in the Vancouver Island wilderness with
nothing but their extraordinary abilities to help them get back home.
My Review
The Calling is
the second installment in the Darkness Rising series, which is a spin-off of
the Darkest Powers series, which I adore.
You can find by review of The Gathering, book one of the series here.
I felt that this book was more about discovery than
anything else.
The Calling
picks up right where the previous book ended; the group of teens is evacuating
the island after the forest fire. What
comes after is a series of mishaps, chases, escapes, and other misfortunes. This book is more about the discovery of what
they are, the reasons for being raised isolated and where they come from. The most amazing part is that most of their
discovery arises from their own experiences and they little research they have
been able to do. It’s not like anyone is
getting out of their way to help them.
A lot happens to the group of teens in a very short
period of time (I think the book spans for about four days?), and it is actually
mind blowing. I won’t share with you the
details, but let me just say that they seem to ‘drop’ like flies, and at the
end only three remain to find a way to rescue the rest, to get more answers, and
hopefully someone they can actually trust. However, it seems that although a lot
happened in the book, they didn’t actually make much progress on their
situation.
I have to confess to being a bit confused about Maya and
Daniel’s relationship. They are the very
best of friends and very protective of each other, but it seems to me that
Daniel wants something more (not sure…) and that Maya’s interests lie
elsewhere. Rafe did not make a lengthy appearance
in this book, so I am still debating if I like him or not. Corey was a surprising character and I
actually like him a lot (what is he,
btw?!), Sam was forthcoming with the little information that she had and other
characters where more ‘present’ this time around.
I really love Kelley Armstrong’s writing and this book
didn’t disappoint. The plot is fast
paced and full of twists and turns, even though we already knew or suspected
some of them. The Calling didn’t end up in a cliffhanger, so I guess I will
patiently wait for book #3. (*sigh*)
The best part is that at the end, Maya and company goes
in search of our friends from the Darkest Powers series, and I do hope they
find them. I can’t wait to see how Chloe,
Derek and Simon are doing! I’m so excited
for the last book in the series, check out the cover for The
Rising, it’s really pretty.
About the cover:
I really like these covers, Maya is portrait on them and it seems like
the farther along we get in the series the ‘lighter’ the cover gets.
