February 05, 2026

The Gathering

The Gathering
by Kelley Armstrong
 
Book: Darkness Rising #1
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pub Date: April 12, 2011
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal
Format: Print
Source: Bought
Book Links: Goodreads  Amazon  Bookshop
 
Sixteen-year-old Maya is just an ordinary teen in an ordinary town. Sure, she doesn't know much about her background - the only thing she really has to cling to is an odd paw-print birthmark on her hip - but she never really put much thought into who her parents were or how she ended up with her adopted parents in this tiny medical-research community on Vancouver Island.

Until now.

Strange things have been happening in this claustrophobic town - from the mountain lions that have been approaching Maya to her best friend's hidden talent for "feeling" out people and situations, to the sexy new bad boy who makes Maya feel...different. Combine that with a few unexplained deaths and a mystery involving Maya's biological parents and it's easy to suspect that this town might have more than its share of skeletons in its closet.
 
My Review: Maya is your average teenager. She just happens to live in a small town, constantly dealing with the wildlife and goes to school where everyone attends in one building. Yes, the town is that small that all grades fit in one school building. 

Her birthday is coming up and her main request is getting a tattoo. She just wants to better fill out her birthmark, the only thing connecting her to where and who she came from. 

A simple birthday tattoo becomes this big massive thing. An older woman says so many things that they had to leave. But what if this woman wasn't wrong, what if her tribe's story and legends are true? 

As the first book in the series, it's a good start into this new world. It could've been a bit faster paced for me. Some things dragged out a little bit too long, but overall I'm excited for this series. This series also might have come off better if I had read it when I first got it instead of leaving it on my TBR for so long. Now that I'm older, YA books aren't my main age group anymore. 

My Rating:
✪✪✪✪