The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong

My name is Chloe Saunders and my life will never be the same again.

All I wanted was to make friends, meet boys, and keep on being ordinary. I don't even know what that means anymore. It all started on the day that I saw my first ghost—and the ghost saw me.

Now there are ghosts everywhere and they won't leave me alone. To top it all off, I somehow got myself locked up in Lyle House, a "special home" for troubled teens. Yet the home isn't what it seems. Don't tell anyone, but I think there might be more to my housemates than meets the eye. The question is, whose side are they on? It's up to me to figure out...

I loved this book. Period. I loved it so much that, even though it freaked me out, and even though it was REALLY late when I finished it, I immediately started reading book two. Let me tell you why I loved it...

First off, for some unknown reason, I love books that scare the crap out of me. I don't know why--
I don't pretend to understand it. I just know that when I am can't-get-out-of-bed-because-something-is-going-to-reach-out-and-make-me-pee-my-pants terrified, I STILL can't put them down. This was that kind of book for me. Not the whole book, but parts of it were just....creepy. Very creepy. I must have some weird glitch in my brain. Seriously-- who likes being scared?

I also loved Chloe. I have had some major issues with the female characters in many books lately, but Chloe was just so...real. I felt for her. She grows up without a mom, with an unattentive, uninterested father who is always on business trips. If that wasn't sucky enough, she also sees dead people. Nice way to add insult to injury, huh?

So, one day at school, she sees a ghost-- a charred janitor that's missing clumps of flesh-- and he knows she can see him. When he tries talking to her, she FREAKS (normal reaction, HELLO!?!?) and ends up getting doped up and shipped off to a home for "troubled" teens. That's when things get weird-- as if seeing ghosts isn't weird enough, right?

Crazy stuff starts happening-- we're talking people raised from the dead, poltergeists, werewolves, sorcerers...you get the idea.

This book was amazing. I loved the storyline and there was not a single second that I was bored as I read it. I would whole-heartedly recommend this book to anyone with a little guts... and a strong stomach. :)

Happy reading!! (Watch for my review of Book 2: The Awakening, coming soon!)