The Gathering

February 7, 2011
Armstrong follows her bestselling Darkest Powers trilogy with the first book in the intriguing new Darkness Rising trilogy, set in the same world of supernaturals with manipulated DNA. Weird things are happening to 16-year-old Maya Delaney, who lives with her adoptive parents in a privately owned medical research town on Vancouver
Island. She's good with animals—her mother found her playing fetch with a cougar when she was five—but the big cats are hanging around more than usual. Maya's attempt to get her paw print–shaped birthmark highlighted with a tattoo ends up with a Native woman calling her a witch and chasing her off. A nosy reporter's questions are less about the nearby research facility and more about which kids weren't born in town. And newly arrived bad boy Rafe suddenly starts sharing his secret past, a past sure to cause trouble for Maya. Comfortably mixing science, myth, and mystery, Armstrong creates a vivid world highlighted by appealing characters. Fans and newcomers alike will be eager for more after Armstrong's story drives to its pulse-pounding climax. Ages 12–up.

October 1, 2011
Gr 7 Up—-Adopted as an infant, the only clues Maya holds to her Native identity are an unusually strong affinity with animals—particularly cougars—and a birthmark in the shape of a cat's paw. Just days after her 16th birthday, Maya discovers that she is a Skin-Walker, an ancient being who can shift into animal shapes. Skin-Walkers supposedly became extinct centuries ago, but were recently resurrected by scientists in a secret genetic experiment. Now the teens whose Skin-Walker gene was activated are reverting back to animal nature. Could this experiment be the reason for the secrecy surrounding Salmon Creek? And is there a connection between the experiment and a string of mysterious local deaths? What other secrets are buried beneath the façade of this tranquil Canadian community? Maya must quickly decide who she can trust because time is running out. The first volume (HarperCollins, 2011) in Kelley Armstrong's gripping trilogy will hook listeners, and the cliffhanger ending will leave them eagerly awaiting the next installment. The introduction of Skin-Walkers into the paranormal fiction genre is a welcome reprieve from the recent proliferation of vampire and werewolf stories. Narrator Jennifer Ikeda expertly embodies Maya, perfectly capturing the teen's outspoken, curious nature and wry humor. However, she is less convincing in voicing male characters. Overlong pauses between tracks are slightly distracting, . Fans of Maggie Stiefvater's "Shiver" trilogy will especially like this one.—"Alissa LeMerise, Oxford Public Library, MI"

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