Author - Kelley Armstrong
ISBN - 9780061662768
Publication Date - July 1, 2008
Plot - The Summoning is the story of Chloe Saunders, who seems to have a special knack for talking to ghosts. We are first introduced to Chloe when she is three years old and with a baby sitter who sends her down to get a soda, despite her fear of ghosts she believes to be down there. She is troubled by the ghost of a Mrs. Hobbs who seems to have it out for her.
Later we meet Chloe when she is growing up and in school. Everything seems to be going well for her as she is invited to a dance, until she ends up experiencing her first period. This period ends up causing her to have another experience with ghosts, with one particularly troubling one that seems to have their face melting off. She goes wild and attacks a teacher, landing her in the "Lyle House."
It is at the Lyle house where she is supposed to be recovering from her "illness." At this place she is introduced to several other characters, including Liz, Derek, Simon, Rae, Tori and Peter. All of these people seem to have strange occurrences surrounding them. Rae seems to have burned Tori. Derek seems to have moments of unexpected strength, and Liz seems to have been able to move things with her mind. Later, we find out that the situation is much more complicated. Rae is a demon who can produce fire from her skin, and she accidentally burned Tori in the process. Derek is actually a werewolf (which we officially learn near the end of the novel). Liz has the ability to astral project. And Chloe herself turns out to be a necromancer, someone who can bring ghosts back from beyond.
After complications they remove Liz from the house and Chloe later seems to be haunted by her, which confirms that she is dead. Things are getting worse at the house and Chloe ends up bringing a ghost who talks about this house as a place where people with power are experimented on, as she herself was a witch. Everyone decides that they need to escape and a desperate attempt to escape is hatched. While carrying it out, Derek ends up transforming into a werewolf, which Chloe helps him as he is shifting and turning back into a human. They escape and get to Chloe's aunt to bring them proof that the house is doing bad things to them, but find that Chloe's aunt is in on it with the doctor, and they are taken. At the end of the novel, Chloe summons Liz to try to help her escape her captors.
Later we meet Chloe when she is growing up and in school. Everything seems to be going well for her as she is invited to a dance, until she ends up experiencing her first period. This period ends up causing her to have another experience with ghosts, with one particularly troubling one that seems to have their face melting off. She goes wild and attacks a teacher, landing her in the "Lyle House."
It is at the Lyle house where she is supposed to be recovering from her "illness." At this place she is introduced to several other characters, including Liz, Derek, Simon, Rae, Tori and Peter. All of these people seem to have strange occurrences surrounding them. Rae seems to have burned Tori. Derek seems to have moments of unexpected strength, and Liz seems to have been able to move things with her mind. Later, we find out that the situation is much more complicated. Rae is a demon who can produce fire from her skin, and she accidentally burned Tori in the process. Derek is actually a werewolf (which we officially learn near the end of the novel). Liz has the ability to astral project. And Chloe herself turns out to be a necromancer, someone who can bring ghosts back from beyond.
After complications they remove Liz from the house and Chloe later seems to be haunted by her, which confirms that she is dead. Things are getting worse at the house and Chloe ends up bringing a ghost who talks about this house as a place where people with power are experimented on, as she herself was a witch. Everyone decides that they need to escape and a desperate attempt to escape is hatched. While carrying it out, Derek ends up transforming into a werewolf, which Chloe helps him as he is shifting and turning back into a human. They escape and get to Chloe's aunt to bring them proof that the house is doing bad things to them, but find that Chloe's aunt is in on it with the doctor, and they are taken. At the end of the novel, Chloe summons Liz to try to help her escape her captors.
Critical Review- A creditable beginning to a series of novels by Kelly Armstrong, as she needs to introduce all of the different characters who are going to be important to the series, and all of the powers that they have. Each of the characters and their personalities are drawn out including much of their likes and dislikes. Each of the characters is engaging, and the Lyle House is aptly shrouded in a lot of mystery. One is never certain of what their ultimate aims are. The hardest thing about the novel is that there are a series of questions that need to be answered, and leaving the hero in a bad predicament, especially after only one novel, can drive one to distraction. Of course this works well when another novel or two are on the way, which is the case with this novel as another one was to come out only a year later.
Reader's Annotation- What if Ghosts were all around you and you didn't know what to do about it? Well, if you are a necromancer, as Chloe Saunder's is, you should. Find out what Chloe does about the Ghosts in her basement and of the basement of the Lyle House.
About the Author- Kelly Armstrong was the middle of three children born to a middle class family in Ontario Canada. She began in college and got a degree in Psychology, and then when she was finished she started to pursue studies in computer programming, ostensibly so that she would have more time to write.
She has a great deal of fascination with otherworldly things, which is why most of the characters in her writing seem to have some sort of power that they are dealing with. Ever since she was a child, she seemed to have a fascination with the dark and mysterious. And her current writings reflect this fascination.
She has a great deal of fascination with otherworldly things, which is why most of the characters in her writing seem to have some sort of power that they are dealing with. Ever since she was a child, she seemed to have a fascination with the dark and mysterious. And her current writings reflect this fascination.
Genre- Horror
Curriculum Ties - Compare and Contrast The Summoning to classic horror novels. - Literature
Booktalking Ideas - Discuss what it would be like to find out one day that you had a power. What would you do? Would you share it with friends? Would you hide it for fear of being experimented on?
Reading Level/Interest Age - Grade 10+
Challenge Issues - Demonic people and people who can raise the undead might be ripe for religious people who might want to have it removed, especially in school libraries where it might be hard to find an educational reason for maintaining in the collection.
Overcoming challenges - Have items on the nature of experiments done on animals. Compare and contrast how these people doing tests on people is different than animals. Make the parents understand that this is a good point to begin talking about animal experimentation and whether or not this is something society should allow.
Overcoming challenges - Have items on the nature of experiments done on animals. Compare and contrast how these people doing tests on people is different than animals. Make the parents understand that this is a good point to begin talking about animal experimentation and whether or not this is something society should allow.
Why Included - People at my work are always talking about ghosts and whether and how they exist. This novel seemed to explore that concept.
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