The Gathering (Armstrong novel)
Cover of The Gathering
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| Author | Kelley Armstrong |
|---|---|
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
| Series | Darkness Rising |
| Genre |
Paranormal Horror Urban Fantasy |
| Publisher | HarperTeen |
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Publication date
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April 12, 2011 |
| Pages | 359 pp |
| ISBN | |
| Preceded by | The Reckoning |
| Followed by | The Calling |
The Gathering is a novel by Kelley Armstrong. It was released April 12, 2011 by HarperTeen. The Gathering is the first book in Armstrong's Darkness Rising trilogy. Darkness Rising is the second trilogy in the Darkest Powers series. Darkness Rising follows a new set of kids. According to the author, Kelley Armstrong, she plans to bring the original group into the picture, but it will not be any time soon. At least not until the third book in this trilogy. The Darkness Rising trilogy follows a sixteen-year-old girl named Maya Delaney.
The setting for The Gathering is a small medical-research town called Salmon Creek on Vancouver Island. Salmon Creek was built by St. Cloud Corporation, the owners of the town and surrounding park. It was built for their employees. Maya, the main character, is the adopted daughter of the park ranger. The events actually start a year before with the death of Maya's friend, Serena (who is a water paranormal). She and Maya were swimming in a lake. Serena, captain of Salmon Creek High swim team, drowned in the lake, and Maya is guiltridden for not being able to save her friend.
A year later, Maya is getting ready to celebrate her sweet 16. She wants to tattoo her birthmark—a paw-print shape on her hip. She doesn't want it altered in any way, though; she just wants to make it more noticeable. However, she doesn't get it because the tattoo artist's aunt insults her by calling her a witch in Navajo. Later, she invites Rafe, a new bad-boy at school, to her birthday party at Daniel's house. At the party, the teens have a competition on Maya's new rock wall: if she can beat all the guys, they have to add more footholds, but if she loses to even one guy, she has to kiss him.
After she defeats all the contestants, Rafe shows up. He challenges Maya individually, and beats her. He doesn't kiss her, though, promising to claim his prize without prying eyes. Maya and Rafe then start going out. One day, when Maya was going over to his house for dinner with him and his childish older sister, Annie, she is attacked by someone looking for Rafe. She sees Annie transform from a cougar into herself.
Rafe tells that skinwalkers are people with special abilities including being able to shift into mountain lions or bears, and the ability to heal and communicate with other animals. He says that Rafe, Maya, and Annie are skinwalkers and that they carry their animal traits with them even in human form. This explains Maya's enhanced hearing and night vision as well as her amazing skill of rehabilitating injured and sick animals. Maya makes the connection between her paw-shaped birthmark and the fact that she is skinwalker. Rafe confirms this idea, saying that paw-print birthmarks indicate skinwalkers and that her and Annie both have them.
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