The Awakening (Darkest Powers)
Grade 9 Up—When Chloe Saunders escapes from a group home for troubled teens, she has no idea that she'll be dealing with a treacherous aunt; a nascent werewolf; a prissy witch; guns, guards, and ghosts; and the harsh everyday realities of being a teen on the run. She'd come to terms with the fact that the home was obviously not your run-of-the-mill state facility, or she wouldn't have discovered her powers as a necromancer or found the witch, Tori; the warlock, Simon; and the werewolf, Derek, also in residence. Now the four of them and the ghost of the recently deceased telekinetic Liz, are trying to find the one adult who can help them. Things are complicated by Simon's diabetes, Derek's imminent transformation, and Tori, who, despite her magical powers, is best described by a different word, which rhymes with witch. Armstrong does an admirable job of walking the fine line between making things too easy for the group and putting unnecessary obstacles in their path. Separating them from the adults, she delves into character and relationships among the teens, giving this title a depth that some supernatural fare lacks. It is easy to read out of sequence, and even surpasses its predecessor,The Summoning(HarperCollins, 2008). If you buy it, teens will read it.—Cara von Wrangel Kinsey, formerly at New York Public LibraryEND--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.