The Calling

***NOTE MY REVIEWS OFTEN CONTAIN SPOILERS***Maya Delaney and her friends may have escaped the forest fire in her little island town, but she and her friends aren't out of danger just yet. When they realize the pilot of their helicopter is not who he seems the altercation between them and their captor leads to their helicopter crashing leaving them stranded on an island just north of their own. Worse, when the helicopter started to lose balance Rafe fell out and she's certain he's gone before she ever had the chance to forgive him or make things right for them. Even though the pilot is gone as well Maya and Daniel know it's only a matter of time before someone else comes to capture them, but can six sheltered teens survive on their own in the wilderness without provisions while they're being hunted by trained assault teams?This story picks up right where the first one left off. We enter into action from the very first page, however before I got into this action packed plot I feel the need to mention that the book trailer for this novel was very misleading about what type of action can be found in this book. Yes the book does open with a helicopter crash, however they aren't stuck on the island where they crashed, they quickly swim back to the island they left in the first place. Additionally while Maya does have one rescue scene it's not as a human and she doesn't go hunting the people who are hunting her. The trailer makes Maya out to be this badass but while Maya is strong willed and independent that's not her character at all. I definitely enjoyed this book. It was a page turner from beginning to end, however I did feel it had some issues. The first of which is they swim back to the island they were evacuated from yet while Maya replays some memory of the forest fire at the end of The Gathering it's not evidenced at all in the setting of this book. There are no scorched trees or any other evidence of a forest fire that caused their whole town to evacuate. So basically the forest fire and all related damaged healed in at most three days which is highly unlikely. Secondly in The Gathering it's made out that for the most part Maya's town is the only one on the island I mean no I don't exactly remember if Armstrong says that in the first novel but she makes a big deal about how remote the island and the town are. Other than a few summer tourists they don't see people unless they drive an hour to the city. However in this novel there are multiple town and businesses on the Island so either poor description of the area was offered in the first book or the setting somehow changed in the second. Armstrong also had another obvious contradiction that I guess isn't really important to the plot but irritated me nonetheless. Haley's cheating thing with Maya occurred in seventh grade in The Gathering but in fifth grade in The Calling so either Haley does a whole lot of cheating or the information offered has been changed which is one of my book pet peeves. Another change that bothered me was between the Darkest Powers Trilogy and this series. The members of The Nast Cabal keep referring to bringing in the Enright witch, you know Victoria's mom who's part of the St. Cloud cabal and Edison Group who by the way DIED in the first trilogy. A dead witch who worked for their competitors is unlikely to be much help in locating the teens in the woods. My final issue with the book is the semi love triangle. It's just in my opinion poorly done. First Maya's only attracted to Rafe whose character gets very little play in this novel. You can see a lot of physical attraction between them in the few scenes they do have but so far in this series they really don't know each other not to the point that would justify Maya's obsession with him. Also while his reasons behind some of his actions make sense I guess his methods don't really make him all that appealing as a love interest. Then there's Daniel who Maya thinks of as a sibling and who might or might not be interested in her as more. At time you think maybe he's interested and Sam clearly thinks he is but others it seems like he thinks about her the same way she thinks about him. If you're going to make a love triangle shouldn't the top of the triangle be somewhat attracted to both options? As far as personality traits go Daniel is clearly a better choice than Rafe for Maya, but without actual attraction between them at least on her part he's not really a good choice for Maya either. If this one follows with the similarities to The Darkest Powers trilogy on the love story angle as well Maya will end up romantically involved with one of them by the end of the trilogy but while Rafe is exciting and Daniel's dependable neither seems like a wise romantic decision for Maya. Like I mentioned this series does bear a striking resemblance to the first trilogy, they're experiment subjects who don't at first know they're special who escape the experiment and are tracked by rival groups and the protagonist telling the story is at the center of a love triangle. However while Chloe's story of being hunted was in a more urban environment, Maya's is in a wilderness environment.Having given voice to all my issues with the book above I now I feel the need to say I really loved this book despite its issues. For me it was an engrossing page turner from beginning to end. I couldn't put it down or read it fast enough. Learning more about Daniel's and Maya's abilities was extremely interesting especially as they're not common paranormal characters. However I didn't like the vague reference to whatever Cory, Haley and Nicole are. The names offered for their species weren't anything I recognized and there's no one there to offer information on what they really are. One thing I thought was interesting about this novel is how even though it wasn't, it had an almost dystopian feel to it. The setting was filled with abandon houses and they didn't encounter hardly anyone that wasn't hunting them. Armstrong managed to give this book an apocalyptic end of the world feel because for her character it kind of is. Their entire world, everything they knew and understood is ripped from under them in this novel and I liked how the setting reflected that. The twists Armstrong took with Nicole's character were also an interesting and unexpected twist. The first person narrative was and exciting read despite my other issues with it and I enjoyed taking that journey with Maya.Armstrong offers some well developed characters in this novel as well. Maya is strong and independent. She's intelligent and resourceful but she's quick to judge and often wrong. She's got her share of flaws as well as strength. However I will say I don't find her as easy to relate to as a character as Armstrong first series trilogy heroine Chloe. She definitely a very different character than Chloe, as people look to her to lead them, rather than trying to jump to protect her as they did Chloe. For me though it was easier to connect to how Chloe looked and the world and thought of thing rather than how Maya does. Her character is interesting but I just don't find her entirely easy to relate to. Daniel is also a well developed and interesting character but because of the first person point of view we don't really get a chance to know what he's thinking. While Maya seems concerned about her group she's also a very self focused character and since we're looking at the world through her eyes you can't tell for sure if Daniel's really interested or Sam's really trustworthy. The secondary characters in this novel are distinctive and original yes, they don't in any way blend together with each other, but we're seeing the whole story through the eyes of someone who basically sees the forest and knows what needs to be done with it but doesn't take time to focus on the individual trees. What I mean by this is she's so caught up in her own feelings and needs that we don't get a good handle on what the other characters in the story are really thinking and feeling. Chloe was a lot more aware of the people around her than Maya is so we had a better idea of her companions than we do Maya's. Maya is focused on the goal and in a sense she sort of categorizes people. She has expectations of their behavior and doesn't look beyond that and because of that the other characters in the series aren't getting as much development as I'd like to see in them.One final note before I give my overall opinion, Armstrong hints that the next task of our heroine and her friends is to find the Genesis experiments escapes, meaning Chloe and her companions and while I'd love to see Chloe again in the last novel of this trilogy I'm hoping that the series isn't resolved completely in Maya's point of view. Maya's a stronger leader and that does make her point of view interesting but Chloe pays more attention to the feelings and actions of those around her so she gives a much better idea of the other characters in the novel. I'm hoping that after the upcoming novel in this trilogy we're offered another with maybe multiple first person view points, a novel that offers us some of Chloe and Maya as well as Derek and Daniel. I'd say Rafe but even though he's offered as a love interest he just isn't as much of a major character in this series as Daniel is. Rafe may be the more exciting of the two love interests offered here but Daniel's character has shown more depth at this point in the series. And I know this paragraph really isn't about The Calling or how it was written but it was just a thought I felt the need to include.Overall despite my issues with the book I'd definitely recommend it. It's an enjoyable and exciting read from beginning to end. Young adult and adult readers alike will most likely enjoy experiencing this journey with Maya, however I don't recommend reading it without first reading The Gathering since the book kind of begins in the middle of a scene which the previous book left off on.

This was an action packed story. When it begins, Mayor Tillson, Maya, her dog Kenjii, Sam, Daniel, Corey, Rafe, Nicole and Hayley are on a helicopter supposedly being taken to join their parents and get away from the fires that are threatening Salmon Creek. But the helicopter pilot is going the wrong direction and Mayor Tillson collapses. The pilot is knocked out leaving the kids to pilot the helicopter with limited success. Rafe falls out of the helicopter and, even though Maya tries to save him, he falls. The helicopter ends up crashing into the water near the northern part of Vancouver Island. The pilot and Mayor Tillson are dead but the kids manage to swim back to the island.When "rescuers" come, some of the kids are suspicious but Nicole goes to them and is shot. That sends the rest of the kids running and a wild three day adventure happens as they try to elude the people sent to capture them and find a way back to civilization. Along the way Maya makes her first shift into cougar and Daniel comes to realize that the things he can do make him a supernatural creature too.The kids don't know who they can trust and don't really understand what is happening. They have a few clues about the bigger picture which includes a conflict between St. Cloud and the Nasts but none of them really know what is happening. All they know is that they want to get to their parents because they feel they can trust them. One of their pursuers claims to be Maya's biological father but nothing he does inclines Maya to trust him at all.The story was exciting. The kids learn more about their powers. But this is very much a middle book in a trilogy. The larger issues, including the kids' safety, are left unresolved. I can't wait to read the concluding volume to find out what happens next for Maya, Daniel and their friends.

I was actually updating my Library Thing collection and was putting in this series and I couldn't remember the first name of the book and checked on WIki. Crazy coincidence that it happened to be the same exact day The Calling was released. I immediately downloaded it to my Kindle and was about to read it when I stopped and searched for my copy of The Gathering. I'm glad I did because I have a horrible memory and it was like reading it for the first time. So I finished it last night and started The Calling this morning and just now finished it, phew!Like Armstrong's other YA novels, this is a very easy read. The action pace was awesome but not enough for me to bite my fingernails. I almost found it...predictable. With the first trilogy I sensed danger and that Chloe and the gang could be killed any moment when deemed too problematic. I felt different with this...more like they were being herded but were never really in danger. There are a couple of character twists that caught me by surprise and I appreciated that. I like Maya and Daniel well enough but it seems kind of like with Bella from Twilight. Angsty, 2-dimensional, very flat character yet loved by all? I was disappointed in Armstrong for not really trying with Maya. I don't really care about the other characters. This sounds horrible but I was actually only worried about her dog Kenjii, bracing myself for her to be wounded or killed off. I love that dog! So that kind of tells you how deep the other characters are.I hate cliffhangers, I really do but how else would she rope readers in for the final installment? Unfortunately, if she continues in the same release pattern we won't find out what happens until next April. :/I still recommend you read it if you're following along with the series. Who cares about the other stuff? We're not reading Chaucer here, I like the light and fun and action paced style.

Achtung! Enthält Spoiler für Band 1!Maya und ihre Freunde sind auf der Flucht. Nachdem Maya und Daniel herausgefunden haben, dass das Feuer, das Salmon Creek bedroht, kein Unfall war, sind sie mit ihren Freunden und dem Bürgermeister als letzte der Stadt in einem Helikopter auf dem Weg in Sicherheit. Doch der Pilot schlägt eine andere Richtung ein und der Bürgermeister verliert das Bewusstsein. Bald erkennen die Jugendlichen, dass der Pilot nicht ihr Freund ist. Und nicht nur das: Rafe, der bewusstlos im Helikopter lag, wacht gerade noch rechtzeitig auf, als er aus dem Helikopter stürzt. Zwar versuchen Maya und Daniel noch, ihn zu retten, doch als die beiden drohen, mit ihm zu stürzen, lässt Rafe Mayas Hand los und opfert sich für seine Freunde.Doch auch die anderen teilen bald sein Schicksal: Der Helikopter stürzt ab, der Bürgermeister und der Pilot sterben, doch die Jugendlichen überleben. Nun müssen sie sich allein durch die Wildnis schlagen, stets von den Menschen gejagt, die auch das Feuer gelegt haben und sich immer häufiger fragend, wem in ihrer Gruppe sie überhaupt noch trauen können.Die Jugendlichen müssen mit einigen erschreckenden Neuigkeiten zurecht kommen, die ihr ganzes Leben auf den Kopf stellen. Und Maya erhält Besuch aus ihrer Vergangenheit, auf den sie gerne hätte verzichten können ...Ich hatte zu Beginn Schwierigkeiten, mich wieder an alle Personen zu erinnern, was wohl zum Teil meine eigene Schuld ist, was warte ich auch ein Jahr nach Erscheinen, um es endlich zu lesen ... Na ja, die Probleme wurden recht schnell durch kurze Hinweise behoben und ich war wieder mitten in der Geschichte. Und das war auch gut so. "The Calling" ist die Mitte einer weiteren, spannenden Trilogie. Von Anfang an ist die Gefahr greifbar, derer sich Maya und ihre Begleiter ausgesetzt sehen und sie nimmt zu keiner Zeit ab. Selbst dann, wenn sich die Jugendlichen für einen Moment sicher glauben, ahnt man als Leser, das wird nicht lange anhalten - und man behält recht. Das führt dazu, dass man "The Calling" zügig durchliest. Man will schließlich wissen, wie es weitergeht. Und hier zeigt es sich, dass es gut von mir war, zu warten, denn da ich "The Rising" auch hier liegen habe, kann ich die Trilogie bald abschließen.Kelley Armstrongs Schreibstil packte mich direkt wieder von der ersten Seite. Ich meine, nicht umsonst ist The Darkest Power nach wie vor eine meiner liebsten Trilogien und ich habe mir ihr neuestes Buch "Omens" (kein Jugendbuch) bereits vorbestellt. Die Sprache ist angenehm zu lesen, die Figuren sehr schön gezeichnet. Es gab einige Überraschungen, mit denen ich nicht gerechnet hätte und ich will wirklich unbedingt wissen, wie es weitergeht. Kurzzeitig war ich schon in Versuchung, meine Leseplanung über den Haufen zu werfen und "The Rising" direkt im Anschluss zu lesen. Das habe ich zwar nicht, aber es liegt auf meinem Julistapel und wartet sehnsüchtig auf mich. Auch wenn ich ein wenig mit Wehmut an das Ende denke. Seit Ende 2009 verfolge ich nun diese Jugendbuchreihe und möchte eigentlich noch gar nicht, dass sie zu Ende geht, sondern würde gerne noch die Geschichten des ein oder anderen Projektes lesen.Wie ihr euch also denken könnt, gibt es von mir für "The Calling" die volle Punktzahl.

The Calling is the second book in the Darkness Rising trilogy and therefore this review will contain spoilers for the first book, The Gathering.After fleeing the forest fire, Maya and her friends start to suspect their helicopter pilot doesn't have their best interests at heart. When a scuffle breaks out, they lose control and crash land on the shore of Vancouver Island. Miles away from civilisation, they must find their way back to their parents without getting caught. But Maya has only just discovered what she is; a skin-walker. Can she trust her friends with the truth and will they even believe her?After putting The Calling off for months, I ended up liking it a lot more than the first book in the trilogy. It somehow seems more like a Kelley Armstrong book, perhaps the presence of the cabals is the cause or the concept of supernaturals trying to get to grips with their powers, which is common in her work. For a moment, I thought she was going to make the mistake of teenagers being able to fly a helicopter (really, computer games do not prepare you) but it's fine, they crashed. I know, I sound cruel, but the resulting trek across Vancouver Island makes for a surprisingly gripping story.There's bickering, misunderstandings and jealousy. Everything you'd expect when a bunch of hormonal teens ended up stuck together in the woods, even without taking their supernatural situation into account. I found the bits about Rafe a bit predictable but that doesn't mean I didn't want to keep on reading just to make sure! The ending at least felt a little bit more like an ending this time too.

First of all I loved the first book in the series and read as soon as it was released, so the year wait for this book was agonizing!It started directly where the last book finished, which was a total cliffhanger, so I was really pleased that I didn't have to wait to find out what happened. You know how these authors like to tease you with flashbacks etc sometimes!!The story progressed really well and threw in lots of twists and turns and really had you rooting for the kids.I have two negatives, although they aren't really negatives when I look at them. I just wish more had happened, I wanted answers and for them to get some revenge/closure before the next round of rubbish they had to deal with got dumped on them! The second part is I want the next book to be released soon so I dont have to wait too long but unfortunately that's not happeningOverall fab book and series def worth a read. Oh and I think its more beneficial to read the Darkest Powers trilogy before this as that is referenced a fair bit! I didn't and read Darkest powers between book one and two and I picked up on the references to the other group of kids covered in the Darkest Powers trilogy that I had previously missed!

This is the second book in Kelley Armstrong's 'Darkness Rising' YA series which also links to her previous YA series 'Darkest Power' series. The second book picks up where the first book ended in the heart of the action on board the helicopter.It is a fast-paced book with lots of action happening, although sometimes to the point of being unbelievable, as whatever plan they have constantly goes wrong! The characters are developed further in this book and there are some interesting twists with the characters, such as more about what happened to Serena and the group start to discover who/what they are with their supernatural powers. The relationship between Maya and Daniel I particularly liked and I am definitely rooting for Daniel over Rafe.Kelley Armstrong has written another exciting instalment and I am excited for book three, particularly to see where she takes it with the links to the Darkest Power series and I am really hoping that she will bring some of the characters back (I loved Derek in the previous series).If you liked the previous books and series you will love this book and it is definitely worth reading.

True to form Kelley Armstrong has written an amazing sequel to book 1 The Gathering. Kelley is able to develop her characters in amazing ways and its great to see the flaws of characters not be shied away from.The story itself continues following Maya's discovery of what she is and the truth behind her home at Salmon Creek. Maya and her friends escape from the forest fire is just the beginning of their adventures as they try to come to terms with the knowledge they have found.Ofcourse in true 2nd book of a trilogy style, The Calling does create more questions than it answers, like what are the races of corey, nicole and hayley? and more importantly will Maya find the escapees from project genesis? and can they together get the help and the freedom they all need?I would definately recommend this book and series to anyone who enjoys a good book. Although you could read this series by itself I would say read the Darkest Powers Trilogy first it does provide a few details that would help you understand what ahs been going on behind the scenes. And for those adult readers out there kelley's Women of the Otherworld series provides a much more detailed view of the world kelley has created.