The Gathering

Let's start with the pros:

The setting:
I loved the setting of the book, an isolated town in rural Canada (Canada's Pacific Coast more precisely). There's just something about it that gets to me, every time.

Enjoyable, normal romances:
None of that obsessive, angsty, borderline creepy romance that's frequently portrayed in YA. No brooding, abusive, stalkers for love interests here.

The characters:
I really enjoyed Maya's and her friendships. She starts out a little judgmental but there is character growth and she becomes better throughout the book. I also appreciated that rest of the characters had all a distinctive voice and none of them bothered me which has not been the case with YAs for a good while. I also enjoyed her relationship with her parents, I just wish it there was more of it.

I also liked that the the supernatural element was based on Native Canadian mythology but it would've been great if it had been explored even further.

The only thing I was not overly sold on was the plot, not exactly where I thought it was going.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book.