Review : The Six by K.B. Hoyle (YA)

Goodreads

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Book Blurb

Darcy Pennington hates her life. She is an insufferably average teenager with no real friends, crushing social anxiety, and an indescribable sense of being out of place in the world around her. When Darcy is forced to attend Cedar Cove Family Camp for an entire week, she once again finds herself on the outside of an already existent social circle of teenagers. It is only when she unwittingly stumbles upon a gateway to a new world that Darcy begins to realize that there might be a higher purpose for her life. She suddenly finds herself the default leader of the small group of teens in the world called Alitheia, and in the end their lives, and the lives of countless others, will hinge on the decisions she makes. Will Darcy have what it takes to fulfill her mysterious purpose? Or will she fall prey to a deadly foe and her own personal failings?

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Toot's Review by Stacy Sabala

Darcy is not thrilled to be going to Michigan to this family camp this summer instead of the horse riding camp she usually goes to. Since her dad decided to open his own business, money is tight. So things are a little different from now on. Darcy dreads going. Her neighbor Sam is going with her family and she won’t leave Darcy alone now that her family is going too.

Darcy drags her feet and basically refuses to have a good time or give anything a chance. She meets new people, but is never comfortable when hanging out with them. She feels awkward and unsure of herself. After awhile she wants to be left alone. She lies to Sam just to have some time alone. Of course she is caught and gets into trouble with her parents.

Her uncertainty grows as she feels strange and notices odd happenings at the camp. She saw a big bear walking through the woods. No one really believes her. She also feels a tingle when she walks across the sand. Then she follows a gnome into another world. She is shocked and in awe. At first she thinks she has lost her mind, but begins to see that this is really happening. In fact she has to talk her “friends” into coming back with her. They could be the chosen six that have been prophesized to fight against the Shadow. Getting them to believe her is going to be a big challenge, since they don’t really like her at the moment.

With Sam’s help, Darcy gets the others to come with her and they enter into the new world. A world full of magic that is dependent of these six teens to save them. Now they must train and plan what comes next. Their lives have changed completely and they are now a part of something bigger than themselves.

This was a great YA adventure. It is the first in the series. Darcy behaved in a typical thirteen year old girl fashion and I liked how the author captured her personality. I felt sorry for her as I remember what it is like to be alone in a group of people, not really relating to others. Many readers will relate to one of the main characters. I like how in this book they meet and discover they are to help with the war against the Shadow, but they have no idea what they are to do. In fact the grown ups and the alchemist doesn’t really know what role they will play either. So you travel the journey and learn things just as the characters do. The author pulls the reader in with this idea. I really like this as it makes you feel like you are there experiencing it all yourself.

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 I give it a 4 out of 5