The Gathering

General Analysis

Book Title:  The Gathering

Author: Kelley Armstrong

Publish Date: April 12, 2011

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance

Similar Author/Books:  I think that the writing style is very similar to Neal Shusterman in the way that the author, Kelley Armstrong, leaves a lot of suspense to the main story line.  As the story progresses, you learn more about the main plot of the story and as soon as you think you have figured out the plot, Armstrong throws in a new bit of information that makes the story even more action packed and thought provoking.

Plot:  Maya, age sixteen, has grown up in a small town on Vancouver Island.  The town is a medical research community where even the residents do not know what exactly is being researched.  Maya takes care of injured animals that she finds in the forests around the medical town, but it seems when she is around they heal quite quickly.  Things seem strange even for this small town, when the number of cougars in the area seems to be increasing and they all seem to be attracted to Maya.

Why I Read this Book:  One of the challenges that I am doing on GoodReads was to read a book by a Canadian author.  This is the first one that I found that I was interested in.

Overall Thoughts:  This book was amazing.  The plot was engaging and thought provoking.  The book was very action packed.

In Depth Analysis

Characters: The characters in this book are very complex and the reader gets to know them bit by bit throughout the novel.  By the end of the novel, I felt really connected to a lot of the characters.  I do not think there was any way the author could have improved her character development.

Writing Style:  The writing style is perfect.  There is just enough suspense and things that the reader does not know about the plot to keep the reader interested.  The knowledge of the characters’ traits was perfectly placed throughout the book.

Likes:  I liked 98% of the characteristics of this book, including characters, plot development, suspense, and overall creativeness of the plot.

Dislikes: There were a few cuss words (less than 5), mention of alcohol (although just a very minor part of the book), and a few sexual innuendos (less than 5).

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age: I would recommend the reader to be at least 16.  This, of course, depends on the maturity of the reader.  There were a few cuss words, some characters drank a few beers, and there were also a few sexual innuendos.

Overall Rating: I think that this book deserves a 5/5.  Although there were cuss words, alcohol, and sexual innuendos mentioned, the overall quality of the book out ways these things.

Future Reviews and Reads

I am still reading the two books by Max Lucado that I have mentioned before.  Don’t worry though; I will finish them soon.  Those are the kinds of inspirational books that you can only take in a little at a time or you feel overwhelmed.  I am still really enjoying them though.

I finished reading The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han.  I will post a review on that soon.

As for the books that I am going to start reading soon, I have checked out a good bit of books from my local library, but I am not sure which one I will start next.  I may start The 5^th Wave by Rick Yancey although I am not sure if I am ready for another YA Fantasy novel just yet after reading such a great book as The Gathering.  I may begin to read Sarah Dessen’s latest novel, The Moon and More, or I may read Stolen: A Letter to My Captor by Lucy Christopher which seems to be a really good YA thriller.