Review: The Gathering

The Gathering

Kelley Armstrong

Publisher: April 12, 2011

Release Date: Harper (HarperCollins)

Sixteen-year-old Maya is just an ordinary teen in an ordinary town. Sure, she doesn't know much about her background - the only thing she really has to cling to is an odd paw-print birthmark on her hip - but she never really put much thought into who her parents were or how she ended up with her adopted parents in this tiny medical-research community on Vancouver Island.

Until now.


Strange things have been happening in this claustrophobic town - from the mountain lions that have been approaching Maya to her best friend's hidden talent for "feeling" out people and situations, to the sexy new bad boy who makes Maya feel . . . . different. Combine that with a few unexplained deaths and a mystery involving Maya's biological parents and it's easy to suspect that this town might have more than its share of skeletons in its closet.

Oh, how I love Kelley Armstrong. The Darkest Powers Trilogy is one of my favorites. I'm also in the midst of her Otherworld series. Armstrong has created a wonderful world, and The Gathering gives a great new peak into it.


The characters in this series are very unique compared to the other young adult books. I really grew to like Maya. She was very strong. I also liked the other characters, such as Daniel, Rafe, Nicole, and even Maya's parents.

One thing I liked about his book was how Armstrong included Native American culture in this book. There wasn't a ton of it, but some of the characters, including Maya, were Native. I didn't realize it until this book but there is very little of it in YA.

Since I've read Armstrong's series, there were some things I already knew. You don't have to read the other series before this, but there were a few little tidbits in there. A little less mystery.

I was hoping that I wouldn't have to wait until the third book for the romance to come in; I didn't. I liked Rafe a lot. Of course he had his flaws, but overall he was a good guy. I can sense a potential love triangle here. I'm hoping it will be done well because if you ask me love triangles are overplayed.

I loved The Gathering as the first book in a series. I hated the ending because it was a huge cliffhanger and now I have to wait a year for the next!