A teenager who starts seeing ghosts is sent to a group home, where she finds that the other residents have secrets of their own
Seeing what others cannot
Chloe Saunders is fifteen, loves films and wants to be a director. Then, one day at school, she sees a ghost, a terrifying figure only she can perceive, and reacts so dramatically that she ends up at Lyle House, a group home for troubled teenagers. The staff believe she needs treatment. Chloe would like to believe that too, because the alternative, that the ghosts are real, is far more frightening.
Who will enjoy it
Readers aged about thirteen and up who enjoy spooky, fast-moving supernatural mysteries with a determined heroine.
What you will get
A gripping, spooky supernatural mystery in which a teenage girl discovers she can see the dead and that her new home is hiding dangerous secrets.
The Summoning Facts: Pages, Genre and Setting
Genre
Young Adult · Ghosts · Hidden powers · Mystery
Length
390 pages · ≈ 11 h
More about this book
The other residents of Lyle House are a mixed group. There is Tori, a sharp-tongued rival; Rae, warm and friendly; Simon, charming and easygoing; and his brother Derek, huge, gruff and unnervingly clever, who seems to know more about Chloe than she does. As the ghosts keep appearing, Chloe starts to investigate, and she uncovers clues that the house and the people running it are not what they seem.
Armstrong, best known for her adult fantasy, writes a brisk, suspenseful story with short chapters and plenty of creepy set pieces, including a midnight visit to a crawl space that is genuinely frightening. Chloe is an appealing narrator, practical and funny, who uses her knowledge of horror films to figure out what is happening. The book handles the question of mental illness lightly but respectfully. It ends on a cliffhanger.
Spooky without being gory, it is followed by The Awakening and The Reckoning. Fans who want more will find connections to the author's other series. Readers who like their ghost stories with a puzzle at the centre will find it hard to put down. About 390 pages in the HarperCollins hardcover.
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