The awakening

Where do I begin... I guess maybe saying that I ❤'d this book! Not many people would because not everyone is into the idea of “ghosts” (quoting in loose terms for the moment).

Now on to the book itself. Marley Gibson created a very interesting character named Kendall Moorehead, who grew up in south side Chicago. Home of deep dish pizza, the cubs, and the infamous windy city! But her dad gets a job and relocates the entire family to a small town an hour away from Atlanta called, Radisson. There you have a small main street, even a cafe oddly named ‘Central Perk' (lol even the show is referenced in the book).

Through out the book, Kendall is tested by her old beliefs and the new ones she encounters. Her mother is a devout Episcopalian and a Registered Nurse, so you can guess how the news of her oldest daughter believing in ghosts goes over well. Anyway, she is also tested in waking life by the unseen and forces beyond her control. The one character that helps her learn how to deal with it all is a woman named Loreen who is a new-age type of person.

The one issue I did have was the dialogue. It was too much like how kids talk and think today, BUT I felt certain slang terms could of been used instead of point blank ones of like ‘b**h' or ‘sht' (using symbols to cover up the words a bit). I know it was written two years ago, but I would have loved to seen more slang terms that kids in chicago use in the inner city, especially the south side. That would have given Kendall a more authentic feel.

I do on the other side of this coin, love the phrases that she says. It all goes back to how Kendall's grandmother had all these sayings and now she uses them and also explains who and why or what they mean too (kind of makes you want to use them in places you normally say something similar to it).

Here are some interesting quotes from the book:

“It's so quiet you can hear the dead thinking.”
“I am totally up shit's creek without a paddle.”

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, more than I've enjoyed over time. I think it's because I live in an over 200 year old house and in an area in NY state where it's so old, even points to the river, the Hudson River, that George Washington use to ride in on (that famous painting of him in winter on that boat, yeah that's him on the same river i'm mentioning!). Not to mention the actual location that inspired the original tale of “Sleepy Hollow”. All of that and it could make anyone think about “ghosts”.

Anyway, I'd probably recommend this book to anyone that LOVES the show “Ghost Hunters”, “Paranormal State”, and “Ghost Adventures”, because not only is about ghosts, but about the real aspects how ghost hunting is really done. There is an excerpt in the beginning of the book from Marley's fiance Patrick Burns (now by tomorrow officially her Husband!), who is a famous ghost hunting and such from TruTV's “Haunting Evidence”. It goes on to explain a lot about it before you dive into the book about the world of ghost hunting and the book itself stays true to the technical aspects of it.

Also... I'm ready for the next book and to see what happens with Kendell and her Ghost Hunting team in Radisson, GA!