YA Review: The Calling (Darkness Rising) [Hardcover]

I've finished "The Calling" the 2nd book in her Darkness Rising series by Kelley Armstrong.

Product Description

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.

In The Calling, the sizzling second book in the Darkness Rising trilogy, New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong pumps up the romance, danger, and suspense that left readers of The Gathering clamoring for more.

About the Author

Kelley Armstrong is the bestselling author of the Other-world series; the first book in the Darkness Rising trilogy, The Gathering; and the New York Times bestselling Darkest Powers trilogy, which includes The Summoning, The Awakening, And The Reckoning.

Kelley's earliest written efforts were disastrous. If asked for a story about girls and dolls, hers would invariably feature undead girls and evil dolls, much to her teachers' dismay. Today, she continues to spin tales of ghosts and demons and werewolves while safely locked away in her basement writing-dungeon. 

Product Details
Reading level: Ages 13 and up
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins (April 10, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0061797057
ISBN-13: 978-0061797057

My Review:

Maya, Daniel, Rafe and the rest of their friends just barely escaped a suspicious forest fire that is threatening to destroy their island.  They find themselves in more danger when their plane crashes and they are left to survive and get away from their pursers in the wilderness.

 

This book deals with Maya and her friends surviving in the wilderness trying to find their way back home.  They can't trust anyone and Maya is trying to keep a secret that she is a skin-walker. 

 

In The Calling we finally find out what really happened to Maya's best friend and why.  We also learn some secrets of the other kids and Maya finally meets her father and why he wants her.

 

3/5

The Gathering (Darkness Rising, Book 1) [Hardcover]

I've finished "The Gathering" the 1st book in her Darkness Rising series by Kelley Armstrong.

Product Description

The setting for the Gathering is a small medical-research town called Salmon Creek on the island of Vancouver Island. Salmon Creek was built by St. Cloud Corporation, the owners of the town and surrounding park. It was built for their employees. Maya, the main character, is the adopted daughter of the park ranger. The events actually start a year before with death of Maya's friend, Serena. She, Maya, and Serena's boyfriend, Daniel, were swimming in a lake. Serena, captain of Salmon Creek High swim team, drowned in the lake, and Maya is guilt ridden for not being able to save her friend.

A year later, Maya is getting ready to celebrate her sweet 16. She wants to tattoo her birthmark -- a paw-print shape on her hip. She doesn't want it altered in any way, though; she just wants to make it more noticable. However, she doesn't get it because the tattoo artist's aunt insults her by calling her a witch in Navajo. Later, she invites Rafe, a new bad-boy at school, to her birthday party at Daniel's house. At the party, the teens have a competition on Maya's new rock wall: if she can beat all the guys, they have to add more footholds, but if she loses to even one guy, she has to kiss him.

After she defeats all the contestants, Rafe shows up. He challenges Maya individually, and beats her. He doesn't kiss her, though, promising to claim his prize without prying eyes. Maya and Rafe start going out. One day, when Maya was going over to his house for dinner with him and his childish older sister, Annie, she is attacked by someone looking for Rafe. She sees Annie transform from a cougar into herself.
Rafe tells her about skinwalkers and how their mothers were in an experiment to bring them back through their children, but Maya's biological mother seemly learned the truth about it and abandoned her when she was baby and Maya learns she may have a twin brother out in the world somewhere. Rafe explains more about the calling and how Annie fell a victim to it and describes the warning signs which Maya realized she being going though and is scared to do so after hearing what Annie went through. She dumps Rafe after feeling used and not feeling he's trustworthy anymore. The forest is set on fire by people who wanted break into ST.Clouds labs and the book then with the group escaping expect Annie who's out there somewhere.

Product Details
Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins (April 12, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0061797022
ISBN-13: 978-0061797026

My Review:

I highly recommend reading this series if you like a snarky heroine and well written characters with different personalities and a great storyline.

Maya is a great heroine and I loved the snarky comments that she says for example:

Maya: "Have you met the tattoo artist?  Is he hot?"
Mom: "He's a she."
Maya: "Is she hot?  Cause I'm still young, you know.  My sexual identity isn't fully formed."

She has balls and she tells you like it is and doesn't pussyfoot around and she really cares for her family and friends.  She's attracted to Rafe but she doesn't quite trust him and besides he has a reputation of being a ladies man.  He enjoys the chase but once he has them he loses interest.  I really enjoy reading how she loves animals and they seem to be attracted to her too (they don't want to hurt her but protect her).  She has a German Shepard Kenjii as a companion.

I felt really sorry for Daniel after reading about his childhood and that his dad blames him for his mom leaving when he was 13 yrs. old.  He used to beat Daniel up until he was bigger and stronger and could take care of himself.  I really like how he's very protective of Maya his best friend and even more since Serena's drowning last year.  He's very popular because he's a sensible and fair leader and people like to be around him.  He's starting to get feelings about things and it's not the good kind.  Maya is learning to trust his instincts.

Rafe is the American Teen Rebel because of the way he dresses and he acts so cool.  He pretends to smoke cigarettes and he's something of a ladies man.  I didn't really like learning he only dated Maya briefly to see if she's a Skinwalker like him.  But everyone can sense he really does like Maya including me.

4.5/5

Thanks Authors on the Web and HarperCollins for sending me this book to review, greatly appreciated!