Customer Reviews

The Initiation (The Secret Circle, Vol. 1) (No. 1)

5 star:		(78)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Fans of L. J. Smith know what to expect from her before they open the books, and "The Secret Circle" trilogy is no exception. A young woman blossoming into adulthood, a handsome "knightly" love interest (often seeming too good to be true), a darker, more mysterious bad-boy to balance the 'good boy' that the protagonist is equally attracted to, an angelic best friend, and a beautiful, sensual female villain. In terms of storylines, a supernatural mystery will be mingled in with the usual troubles of adolescence, with a hefty dose of the coming of age narrative, a forbidden romance, a series of murders and other little subplots thrown in for good measure.

Yet as repetitive as Smith's books sometimes appear, their popularity and appeal cannot be denied. The author has a good ear for human connections and emotions, and can keep a story rolling along nicely, dropping clues to the mystery as she goes and juggling several threads of narrative without letting any fall to the way side or having any become un-neccessary or boring. And in terms of keeping her regular formula fresh, "The Secret Circle" is probably the trilogy that does so most effectively: managing to pull together many different plots and ideas into a coherent, interesting whole.

Cassie Blake is holidaying with her mother in Cape Cod, putting up with Portia Bainbridge and having a remarkable experience with a young man who she rescues from some local thugs, when her mother breaks her some drastic news: they are not going back home at the end of break, but returning to her mother's hometown New Salem, to live with Cassie's ailing and estranged grandmother. Life in the small town is not to Cassie's advantage: the other students do not simply ignore her, but *avoid* her, nasty surprises are left in her locker, and even the teachers seem to treat her with suspicion. To top it all off, a strange group of teenagers led by the beautiful Faye Chamberlain seem to have it in for our Cassie.

Yet it seems that Cassie is somehow linked to this odd club - they all live on the same road, and she is eventually befriended by the benevolent, lovely Diana Meade, cousin to Faye and leader of the group. From here she soon discovers that there are two opposing factions in town: the ordinary, often hostile 'out-siders', and the Club: a group of young witches who are the descendants of the real witches at Salem.

And of course, it is here that things get really complicated for young Cassie, with the advent of three major catalysts: the return of Diana's beloved boyfriend, who just happens to be the boy Cassie saved at Cape Cod and has fallen in love with; the discovery of a crystal skull that she suspects holds some evil power, and the death of one of the soon-to-be initiated witches, that leaves a place open in the coven for Cassie...

It's hardly strenuous reading, but Smith's myriad of plots and details come together in her most worth-while series of books. Though the main characters are hardly realistic (Faye in particular is a bit over-the-top - see her little performance in English class), they are *interesting*, as are their relationships to each other. Or should I say their *conflicts* with each other, as the struggles between opposing factions of the coven, the coven with the out-siders, the members of the love-triangle, and the entire cast with the malevolent black force are compulsive reading.

It does slip a few times, usually when Smith gets too caught up in her own cleverness, for instance, she seems to be very proud of the phrase "devastatingly witty remark" as she uses it no less than four times! Furthermore, it was painful to read the truly awful poems that Smith describes as "good". No self respecting author would ever blow their own trumpet over lines such as "But you'll die smiling/Then you'll be part of the fire too". And as always, her love scenes are just plain silly - are we really supposed to believe that Cassie is in love with Adam after just one meeting?!

So basically, Smith's books do have an expiry date for older readers - anyone over the age of fifteen will probably find them silly, but if you're gift-searching for book-loving female "tweens", then L. J. Smith is a good choice, and "The Secret Circle: "The Initiation" her most entertaining read - including of course "The Captive" and "The Power".

The Initiation is just the first installment in an absoulutely compelling and exciting trilogy. It's just too good to describe and it gets even better in the second and third book! The characters are great and well developed. Unlike LJ Smith's other books, you will fall in love with BOTH the main male characters, Adam and Nick. You will fall in love with Adam in this book particularly, but when Nick's character starts to really develop in the second book onwards, you feel torn between the two, just like Cassie, the main character, is. Cassie is a great female lead, you feel like you're her. The love triangle between Cassie, the honest and strong-willed Adam and the sexy and brooding Nick is great. And although Adam is good, unlike other good guys in LJ Smith books, he's more...strong-minded, he's a leader but he's also mysterious and enigmatic, particularly in the beginning. All the rest of the characters in the coven are great, they all develop as the story goes on and you almost wish they were your own friends: biker-girl Deborah, ditzy Suzan, wise Melanie, friendly Laurel, sly Sean, wild Doug and Chris(the Henderson twins)and of course fiesty Faye and gentle Diana. My one complaint is Diana, you will find that she is such a dumb, wussy goody-goody! But maybe I just think that cos' I'm a lot like Faye. Anyway, this book and the other two in the trilogy are super! I'm a huuuuge LJ fan and I've got all her stuff, and before reading this trilogy I didn't think she could come with anything even better than her other books, but boy was I proven wrong! The Secret Circle is so good, that you'll be really upset when you reach the very last page of the very last book, you'll want more! I do, I want to find out what happens afterwards, with Adam and Cassie, and everything else. I hope there's gonna be a fourth book! You just have to read this trilogy, even if you're not into LJ Smith's stuff, you'll still love this. You'll get so drawn into the story that you'll actually feel like you're Cassie and that you actually talk to and meet the other characters and that you are in the actual place, New salem! THE ABSOLUTE BEST! Anyone who wants to talk about this and other LJ Smith books e-mail me, Candy, at: vampireraven@chickmail.com! I'd love to hear from you!

The Secret Circle carries LJS's mark all the way. You've got the strong female lead ... the beautiful (and wicked) enchantress ... the equally beautiful "good fairy" type ... the dark, brooding bad boy (the highlight of every LJS book). You just can't get enough of the woman's work - even if some of it sounds awfully similar to her other books.

In The Initiation, it is exactly as the title suggests: Cassie is initiated into the Secret Circle, a coven of witches in New Salem, after many trials. Then she realizes that the guy she'd been obsessing over for the entire summer it seems like is her new best friend's boyfriend. Worse, the real "witch" of the witches - Faye, reminiscent of Blaise and Maya - finds out that Cassie's messed with her almost-sister's guy - and she starts to blackmail her. Meanwhile, an old evil has been released...

For some good old-fashioned LJS delight, read this!

I first read this book about 8 years ago when I was in late middle school or early high school. I was really impressed by the plot of this book. I loved mysteries and horror stories and for my hungry young mind I really found this book to be a satisfying meal. I looked this book up on a search engine hoping to rediscover some novels from my younger days and was pleasantly surprised when I found it on this site. I think that L.J. Smith's juvenile horrors are a bit more sophisticated than say, R.L. Stine's Fear Street novels. While I think both authors write excellent novels that young teens will enjoy, L.J. Smith's stories might better appeal to today's teens, who seem to be more mature and 'worldly'(if I can use that term) than teens were even 8 years ago. However, I think parents will be comfortable with the knoweledge that the Secret Circle and other books by L.J. Smith don't bombard teens with inappropriate sexual content or language.

Cassie Blake moved with her mother to New Salem. Her mother said they were moving in with Cassie's grandmother, at #12 Crowhaven Road, to take care of her. However, Cassie quickly learned that her mother and grandmother brought Cassie to New Salem for a different reason.

Everyone, adult or student, feared the eleven people who belonged to The Club, aka The Circle. All members of the Circle lived on Crowhaven Road. Some members were nice. Some members were almost evil. Kori was suppose to join the Circle on her fifteenth birthday. Instead, she died. Currently there were eleven members, but a Circle was worthless without 7 girls and 5 boys. One more female was needed, Cassie.

Cassie had no idea how dangerous being initiated into the Circle would be. Or how the evil ones in the Circle would snare her in a web of deceit and betrayal!

***** A stunning beginning to the trilogy! Down right enthralling! *****

I read this book many years ago and just loved it. The story was compelling with a touch of romance. I loved the main character so much I named my dog after her! The plot was wonderful and I loved the mystic theme. A great first book in an even better series.

I have just finished this book and I could not put it down from the time I started it to the time I finished. The book was incredible and L.J. Smith did and amazing job. I was so drawn into the story and I felt so emotional towards what the character, Cassie, was feeling. I can't wait to read The Captive and The Power! I have also read The Awakening and I loved that as well. I'm going to contiue to finish The Secret Circle saga as well as The Vampire Diaries. EVERYONE should read books by L.J. Smith!

If I was to ever become stranded on a deserted island then this is the book I'd wish to be stranded with, along with the other two books that finish the trilogy, of course. A friend of mine gave me the first book, "The Initiation" a couple of years ago and I didn't know what I was getting myself into when I took it and read it. I wasn't able to get the other books right away, and I was like a mad-woman searching high and low for these books. I finally got them and they delivered just as much entertainment as the first one.

Cassie has just moved from sunny California to the an east coast city (perhaps 'city' is a stretch) called New Salem. She soon realizes that the people who live on her street and form a clique called 'The Circle' in her school are more than just a bullying gang, they are witches (yes, even the guys are witches)! Now as a member of this powerful Circle she begins to see life, nature, and love in a whole new aspect. But come to intrude upon her awakening is a dark force which has come back from the past. A past which is closer than any of the Circle could possibly imagine.

I highly recommend any and all of these books to anyone who loves a great story with very well developed characters. 'The Initiation' is a great start to a wonderful set of books!

I decided to read L.J. Smith's The Secret Circle series when heard it was being produced as a TV series this year. I read her Vampire Diaries series before watching the show and found I enjoyed her writing much more than I did the television version of the story. After having read the first book in The Secret Circle series, The Initiation, I found myself less than impressed and hoping the producers take some liberties with the story line in this book.

The Initiation doesn't do much to endear the reader to Cassie, the series main character. Throughout the book, she's annoying. She obnoxious about not wanting to be on summer vacation on the east coast and not liking the "friends" she's made. Honestly, why hang out with them then? If these people are so awful, why not just spend time alone or attempt to make new friends? When the grandmother she's never met needs help, she whines about wanting to home, rather than move to New Salem and help the old woman. For a brief moment, she allows that the new environment will allow her to redefine herself and admits it could be a positive thing, but them quickly falls into the role of victim - it's not her fault no one likes her, blah blah blah. Cassie finally makes a friend and it's platonic insta-love. They're sisters now, or whatever, therefore Cassie will follow her blindly and wants to join a "club" the new friend belongs to, even though the "mean girls" also belong. And of course, there's a guy, but their love is forbidden and is obviously leading to a super awkward love triangle.

The Initiation does have a strong resemblance to one of my favorite movies, The Craft, with teens using witchcraft and not always for good. While I don't expect the series to be much like the movie (especially since the movie was made after the book came out), the possibility for The Secret Circle to have witchcraft used for both good and evil motives delights me. I enjoyed all of the magical aspects of the book, especially the fact that it goes detail about the use of both herbs and crystals as opposed to depending on spells alone.

The Secret Circle series has potential, but The Initiation didn't quite wow me. Cassie is grating, much like Elena in The Vampire Diaries is. Smith's female protagonists are all too often weak and sort of stupid when it comes to both common sense and romantic entanglements. Hopefully Cassie faults will be toned down in the rest of the series as not to distract from the magical story line.

After reading the first two books of L.J. Smith's The Vampire Diaries, I wanted a break to read one of her other series before read getting back. I didn't have much knowledge of this series other than it was about a coven of witches.

In this first book, Cassie Blake and her mother move in with her grandmother in this rundown New England home. Cassie has no idea she comes from the bloodline of real witches. This doesn't become apparent until one of them is murdered and Cassie is enlisted to complete the circle so they can unleash the magic that will lead them to the murder.

L. J. Smith's writing style is the same as with The Vampire Diaries, but I found it lacking on action. Could be it wasn't supposed to be as action packed. Either way, I prefer a little faster pace for me little A.D.D. brain. Even though I couldn't get into the story and its characters, I'd still recommend this to fans of YA paranormal fiction.