Customer Reviews

Ghost Huntress Book 1: The Awakening

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ghost Huntress: The Awakening, is the first entry into a new series that follows sixteen year old Kendall Moorehead as she moves from her home in Chicago to a rural town in Georgia. Not long after she moves into her new home, she begins to realize something odd is going on, not just around her but also within; she can sense other people's thoughts and pains, and she's beginning to hear odd sounds in her room. A chance meeting with a local New Age businesswoman helps Kendall to understand that she's experiencing an awakening of her psychic abilities, so Kendall can now add extrasensory perception/sensing the dead to her list of things to worry about, along with making new friends and fitting in at her new high school.

Kendall, while perplexed at the odd things happening to her, embraces her newfound gift with gusto and decides she must confront the ghost currently living in her house, as well as the one menacing her father's workplace. It isn't long before she conveniently finds some new friends who are interested in the paranormal, and together the four girls form the Ghost Huntresses. With Jason, twin of Ghost Huntress Taylor, the group acquires expensive equipment through the wallet of wealthy Celia and proceed to find and kick ectoplasmic butt.

Ms. Gibson has done her homework, that's for sure; she has her teen paranormal investigators using the correct equipment and following standard debunking procedures. As a person with some interest in paranormal investigation, I really appreciated that the author was giving out accurate information. The references to popular television shows that feature ghost hunters are accurate as well, and the characters are realistically written teenagers who battle not only the not-crossed-over but hormones, too. It was a little convenient to have Kendall luck out with the friends and the money aspect, but this is tempered by her mother's very mom-like response to having a daughter who suddenly claims to have psychic abilities. Though the title is Ghost Huntress, this is actually a mesh of Ghost Hunters, Medium, and Ghost Whisperer; the amount of activity experienced by the group is just too good to be true for amateurs, but it does hold your interest well. There's also a lot of New Age/crystals/protection going on, which does make it seem a little scattered in focus. But this is a fast read that sets out to entertain and that it does quite well. I'll be looking for the second book, The Guidance, when it appears later this year.

I am interested in the paranormal and bought the book for my teen daughter. I thought I would give it a quick read on a long drive home from Kentucky after having Marley sign the book for my daughter. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I have a teen daughter and she got the part of Kendall right on. It was an easy and fun read and not just for the young reader.

THis is the story of a teenager who moves with her family from a large city to a small southern town. Once there she realizes the house they've moved into seems to have a spirit in it, and what's more, she seems to have some psychic abilities herself. Along with some new friends who also believe in the paranormal, a ghost hunting group is formed, and the adventure begins!

I have to say, I was really surprised by this book- it was far better than I thought it would be. If you have a teen who is into the show "Ghost Hunters" then I can't recommend this enough- Jason and Grant are even mentioned in the book. If you follow the paranormal, you'll soon realize that the author is very up on the current trends and theories in paranormal investigation.

As a side story, the mother in the story is very religious and struggling with her daughter's potential psychic abilities, and I have to say that the religious aspect is handled very well, indeed.

Highly, highly recommended. I'll be looking for the next installment!

If you're looking for a great read for your teen this summer give this one a try. It's like watching one of those Ghost programs on Discover, TLC or the History Channel. The story brings together teens who are alone and lonely because of not quite fitting in with the norm and giving them a purpose to interact.

Do I think ghosts are real? Yes but everyone has their own opinions. This book tells the story while getting techinal with equipment and phrases. It's a great way for teens to know they are not alone in what they believe and they should not be consider crazy because they go against the grain of society.

The first of a projected trilogy, the story of Kendall Moorehead, displaced from Chicago teen psychic, and her new small town in Georgia friends Jason and Taylor Tillson, Celia Nichols, and Becca Asiaf, is fast-paced, with a lot of interesting technical information related to paranormal research, and a dash of history for fillip.
The characters are well-drawn, if a bit stereotyped, and young readers will be able to relate to all of them. The action is both familiar and unusual; the daily drama of life in high school and dealing with parents and siblings, including personal hopes, fears, insecurities and misunderstanding, contrasted with the drama of restless spirits with needs of their own! For anyone worried about their kids being exposed to the "dark side" of spirit dealings, the author has really strived to allay fears and shed a different light by invoking the blessing of an Episcopal priest, and fairly constant appeals for God's protection.
Why did I give the first Ghost Huntress only 3 stars? I vacillated here, and again, found myself wishing I had the option of 3.5. While there is one plot line which is quite predictable and obvious, young readers may not all see where it's heading, and the other plot played out in both interesting and politically correct fashion. This is not a bad story; it just fell short of its potential, and largely for one reason which could be remedied. While I think the book was fairly well-written, and will find an audience, there was WAY too much reliance on product placement, which is annoying to me as an adult, but I feel will drastically date the book for audiences decades down the road. It's one thing to use a truly universal product to set the stage and time - say, Coke, or 45rpm records, but to depend on (literally) dozens of references such as "Dasani-blue-eyed boy", Ugly Betty, Crocs, Central Perk, Halo 3, to make a connection with a particular audience both limits the audience, and dates the story. The more action Ms. Gibson wrote, the less of the name-dropping product placement there was, and it still 'worked'.

I loved this book! I'm a huge fan of the paranormal and watch all the shows on TV. Well, to be honest, I'm ONE of those TV ghost hunters! In fact, I wrote the forward for this title! =) None the less, the bar was raised pretty high for my expectations.

A lot of times when you read a book, the author doesn't do their homework and gets it all wrong. Marley is not one of them - she really did her research and I'm proud to have my name associated with Marley and this series! If only all authors were this thorough and informed when they write a book!

I let my 10 year old son read the book and he couldn't put it down. He said, and I quote - "this is the best book EVER dad!" At 10 years old, hes a few years behind the core teen audience for this series, but he was totally absorbed by Marleys storyline and says he cant wait to read the rest of the series!

A new town - new part of the country - hard to go to completely different surroundings when you're a teen.
Kendall uses a white noise machine to help her insomnia and discovers she can hear voices.
Then she can see folks who are dead.
Luckily for her, there is a cool metaphysical bookstore in town and Loren, the owner, and Kendall arrange a group of others - together they can see if these people from the Other Side need some closure, or solve why they may have been killed, etc.
It is a clever start to a series that is not only believable, but relatable to people who are interested in the metaphysical and understand that folks can help those from the Other Side who have unfinished business and need help via those who they can finally contact.
An excellent start to an excellent series.

I am not a YA reader but I thought that this Ghost Huntress would interest my two teen paranormal fans, so I gave it a shot. It takes a few chapters to get past settling the lead Kendall in her new home in a small southern town - which ends up to be ghost central - and for Kendall to figure out that she's gaining a whole slew of new psychic powers.

Once the story is established, Kendall is a likeable heroine as she decides to use her new found powers 'for good' and she gathers together an interesting 'crew' for her ghost hunter team - the rich science geek, the French spouting preppy photographer, the Goth tough chick audio person and the hunky guy who is both skeptic and love interest.

The thing that I like about Kendall is that she is straightforward and deals with the problems that crop up `straight on' even though honesty with her religious mom threatens to end up with Kendall medicated for her `psychosis'. This is definitely a fantasy story though, Kendall's powers are accepted easily by all her new peers and earn her respect, rather than the ostracism that being at all different would actually befall a highschooler in reality. Still, over all I liked the first Ghosthuntress book and recommend it for teens looking for paranormal stories beyond Twilight and my two teens second - and third - my endorsement.

Kendall Moorehead is used to the noisy city life of Chicago. When her family moves to Radisson, Georgia, Kendall finds it too quiet. The lack of city noise makes it impossible for her to sleep. Her parents place a white noise machine in the room and Kendall is actually beginning to fall asleep when she begins hearing voices coming through the machine.

Kendall begins her first day at high school. She makes friends with Celia Nichols who also happens to be her neighbor. The pair share an interest in Shakespeare and begin to open up to each other. Kendall explains the odd voices in her room and about the strange happenings at school. (Such as being able to actually feel the discomforts and pains of the other students.) Celia, who is incredibly intelligent, explains that the town is a hotbed of paranormal activity and that Kendall's historic home has its share of ghosts. The two decide to do a bit of ghost hunting. Celia knows a lot on the subject already and has deep pockets. Any ghost hunting equipment she does not already have, she can get fast.

In the meantime, Kendall's psychic abilities begin to grow. Being sensitive means having to learn control and how to protect herself from the more insistent spirits. Ghosts and spirits begin popping up everywhere as her abilities awaken. The girls need more team members to help with their ghost hunting. While Kendall makes more friends and the ghost huntress team grows, her mother becomes worried about Kendall's mental health. But when a mad spirit physically attacks her dad at his work, the ghost huntresses step in to do what they do best.

***** This is the first of a new paranormal series that is destined to sweep teens off their feet. Readers cannot help but learn about the scientific equipment that real ghost hunters use today. There are many shows about the ghost hunting topic, as well as many groups (online and off). The teens in this story are easy to relate with. All the main and secondary characters are well developed. The lesser characters have potential for use in future stories. The writing style is easy to follow and the story flows smoothly. I was surprised at how fast time seemed to fly as I read. I got so caught up in the story that I ended up reading the entire thing in one sitting. All-in-all, this is one amazing story and I can hardly wait for the second book. *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

Kendall Moorehead just moved with her family from Chicago to Radisson, Georgia. When Kendall is hit with a hard case of insomnia, her father buys her a white noise machine and strange things happening become stranger! With the help of a few new friends, Kendall realizes she is a psychic medium and begins helping lost souls cross over to the other side.
This book was written for teens with a passion for the mystic. My 12-year old daughter loved it. She admitted the book was a bit scary in places (but in a good way), and that some iffy words were used, but nothing worse than what you hear in school or on a PG-13 program.

Anything that gets my daughter reading has my support and I plan on watching for more books in this series by Marley Gibson.