Book II in the Darkest Powers trilogy takes us deeper into a world where the supernatural intrudes on the everyday with riveting effect.

If you had met me a few weeks ago, you probably would have described me as an average teenage girl – someone normal. Now my life has changed forever and I’m as far away from normal as it gets. A living science experiment – not only can I see ghosts, but I was genetically altered by a group of people who call themselves The Edison Group. What does that mean? For starters, I’m a teenage necromancer whose powers are out of control: I raise the dead without even trying. Trust me, that is not a power you want to have. Ever.

I’m running for my life with three of my supernatural friends – a charming sorcerer, a cynical werewolf, and a disgruntled witch – and we have to find someone who can help us gain our freedom back before The Edison Group finds us first. Or die trying.

From the Trade Paperback edition.

Grade 9 Up—When Chloe Saunders escapes from a group home for troubled teens, she has no idea that she'll be dealing with a treacherous aunt; a nascent werewolf; a prissy witch; guns, guards, and ghosts; and the harsh everyday realities of being a teen on the run. She'd come to terms with the fact that the home was obviously not your run-of-the-mill state facility, or she wouldn't have discovered her powers as a necromancer or found the witch, Tori; the warlock, Simon; and the werewolf, Derek, also in residence. Now the four of them and the ghost of the recently deceased telekinetic Liz, are trying to find the one adult who can help them. Things are complicated by Simon's diabetes, Derek's imminent transformation, and Tori, who, despite her magical powers, is best described by a different word, which rhymes with witch. Armstrong does an admirable job of walking the fine line between making things too easy for the group and putting unnecessary obstacles in their path. Separating them from the adults, she delves into character and relationships among the teens, giving this title a depth that some supernatural fare lacks. It is easy to read out of sequence, and even surpasses its predecessor, The Summoning (HarperCollins, 2008). If you buy it, teens will read it.—Cara von Wrangel Kinsey, formerly at New York Public Library END

Chloe’s a teenager who likes Simon, but maybe likes Derek, and definitely hates Tori, who crushes on Simon, who kind of cares for Chloe. Sounds pretty typical. Except that Chloe’s a necromancer, Derek’s a werewolf, and Simon and Tori are sorcerers. Following The Summoning (2008), this book in the Darkest Powers series has the teens on the run from a shady organization whose murky involvement with their manifesting powers is unclear, but definitely not for their betterment. There’s nothing terribly original here, but Armstrong has some fun toying with supernatural teen thriller conventions, and the taut pacing should please fans of the exploding genre. Grades 7-10. --Ian Chipman