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Lily Dale #1
Awakening
Calla thought that her boyfriend breaking up with her in a text message was the worst thing that could ever happen to her. But just two weeks later, her mother died in a freak accident, and life as she knew it was completely over. With her father heading to California for a new job, they decide that Calla should spend a few weeks with the grandmother she barely knows while he gets them set up.
To Calla's shock, her mother's hometown of Lily Dale is a town full of psychics―including her grandmother. Suddenly, the fact that her mother never talked about her past takes on more mysterious overtones. The longer she stays in town, the stranger things become, as Calla starts to experience unusual and unsettling events that lead her to wonder whether she has inherited her grandmother's unique gift. Is it this gift that is making her suspect that her mother's death was more than an accident, or is it just an overactive imagination? Staying in Lily Dale is the only way to uncover the truth. But will Calla be able to deal with what she learns about her mother's past and her own future?
To Calla's shock, her mother's hometown of Lily Dale is a town full of psychics―including her grandmother. Suddenly, the fact that her mother never talked about her past takes on more mysterious overtones. The longer she stays in town, the stranger things become, as Calla starts to experience unusual and unsettling events that lead her to wonder whether she has inherited her grandmother's unique gift. Is it this gift that is making her suspect that her mother's death was more than an accident, or is it just an overactive imagination? Staying in Lily Dale is the only way to uncover the truth. But will Calla be able to deal with what she learns about her mother's past and her own future?
240 pages, Hardcover
First published August 21, 2009
125 people are currently reading
2740 people want to read
About the author
Wendy Corsi Staub
82 books1,900 followersNew York Times bestseller Wendy Corsi Staub is the award-winning author of more than ninety novels, best known for the single title psychological suspense novels she writes under her own name. Those books and the women’s fiction written under the pseudonym Wendy Markham have also appeared on the USA Today, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Bookscan bestseller lists.
Her current standalone suspense novel, THE OTHER FAMILY, is about a picture-perfect family that that moves into a picture-perfect house. But not everything is as it seems, and the page-turner concludes “with a wallop of a twist,” according to #1 New York Times bestselling author Harlan Coben.
Her critically acclaimed Lily Dale traditional mystery series centers around a widowed single mom—and skeptic—who moves to a town populated by spiritualists who talk to the dead. Titles include NINE LIVES; SOMETHING BURIED, SOMETHING BLUE; DEAD OF WINTER; and PROSE AND CONS, with a fifth book under contract.
Wendy has written five suspense trilogies for HarperCollins/William Morrow. The most recent, The Foundlings (LITTLE GIRL LOST, DEAD SILENCE, and THE BUTCHER’S DAUGHTER), spans fifty years in the life of a woman left as a newborn in a Harlem church, now an investigative genealogist helping others uncover their biological roots while still searching for her own.
Written as Wendy Markham, Wendy’s novel HELLO, IT’S ME was a recent Hallmark television movie starring Kellie Martin. Her short story “Cat Got Your Tongue” appeared in R.L. Stine’s MWA middle grade anthology SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN and her short story “The Elephant in the Room” is included in the Anthony Award-nominated inaugural anthology SHATTERING GLASS.
A three-time finalist for the Simon and Schuster Mary Higgins Clark Award, she’s won an RWA Rita Award, an RT Award for Career Achievement in Suspense, the 2007 RWA-NYC Golden Apple Award for Lifetime Achievement, and five WLA Washington Irving Prizes for Fiction.
She previously published a dozen adult suspense novels with Kensington Books and the critically-acclaimed young adult paranormal series “Lily Dale” (Walker/Bloomsbury). Earlier in her career, she published a broad range of genres under her own name and pseudonyms, and was a co-author/ghostwriter for several celebrities.
Raised in Dunkirk, NY, Wendy graduated from SUNY Fredonia and launched a publishing career in New York City. She was Associate Editor at Silhouette Books before selling her first novel in 1992. Married with two sons, she lives in the NYC suburbs. An active supporter of the American Cancer Society, she was a featured speaker at Northern Westchester’s 2015 Relay for Life and 2012 National Spokesperson for the Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation. She has fostered for various animal rescue organizations.
Her current standalone suspense novel, THE OTHER FAMILY, is about a picture-perfect family that that moves into a picture-perfect house. But not everything is as it seems, and the page-turner concludes “with a wallop of a twist,” according to #1 New York Times bestselling author Harlan Coben.
Her critically acclaimed Lily Dale traditional mystery series centers around a widowed single mom—and skeptic—who moves to a town populated by spiritualists who talk to the dead. Titles include NINE LIVES; SOMETHING BURIED, SOMETHING BLUE; DEAD OF WINTER; and PROSE AND CONS, with a fifth book under contract.
Wendy has written five suspense trilogies for HarperCollins/William Morrow. The most recent, The Foundlings (LITTLE GIRL LOST, DEAD SILENCE, and THE BUTCHER’S DAUGHTER), spans fifty years in the life of a woman left as a newborn in a Harlem church, now an investigative genealogist helping others uncover their biological roots while still searching for her own.
Written as Wendy Markham, Wendy’s novel HELLO, IT’S ME was a recent Hallmark television movie starring Kellie Martin. Her short story “Cat Got Your Tongue” appeared in R.L. Stine’s MWA middle grade anthology SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN and her short story “The Elephant in the Room” is included in the Anthony Award-nominated inaugural anthology SHATTERING GLASS.
A three-time finalist for the Simon and Schuster Mary Higgins Clark Award, she’s won an RWA Rita Award, an RT Award for Career Achievement in Suspense, the 2007 RWA-NYC Golden Apple Award for Lifetime Achievement, and five WLA Washington Irving Prizes for Fiction.
She previously published a dozen adult suspense novels with Kensington Books and the critically-acclaimed young adult paranormal series “Lily Dale” (Walker/Bloomsbury). Earlier in her career, she published a broad range of genres under her own name and pseudonyms, and was a co-author/ghostwriter for several celebrities.
Raised in Dunkirk, NY, Wendy graduated from SUNY Fredonia and launched a publishing career in New York City. She was Associate Editor at Silhouette Books before selling her first novel in 1992. Married with two sons, she lives in the NYC suburbs. An active supporter of the American Cancer Society, she was a featured speaker at Northern Westchester’s 2015 Relay for Life and 2012 National Spokesperson for the Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation. She has fostered for various animal rescue organizations.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 212 reviews
May 26, 2010
I enjoyed this young adult paranormal and look forward to the following stories in the series. I found the characters interesting, though since they lived in a psychic community where ghosts were aplenty, I found myself in a bit of Sixth Sense mode in that I wondered if the main character was talking with dead people all the time. That took away from the story a bit, but that was my fault to get that preconceived idea. Interesting setting for the story, too. Apparently based on a real community of mediums.
April 23, 2022
I felt like this story was interesting but I got hooked more so towards the end and it ended on a cliffhanger. I will have to read the next book in the series at some point.
March 24, 2012
I picked this book up because I live about an hour from Lily Dale and visit it as often as possible.
Staub definitely captures Lily Dale as I know and love it. It's such a quaint town as if you literally stepped back into the 1800's. Its not spooky or eerie there, but you can feel the energy of spirits.
This story is wonderful. At first I was a little put off by the narrative, I found the 3rd person narrative she uses to be a bit odd...but that's nothing that would detract from the story at all.
Calla is a wonderful character. She's strong, but flawed. She makes mistakes but Odelia - Gammy - loves her no matter what.
At first I was a little irritated with Calla's character because she was almost bratty. But then you stop and think why she's acting that way and realize all that she's gone through:
-She lost her mother in a brutal murder
-Her father moved clear across the country to CA
-She's living with a grandmother she doesn't know who happens to be a medium.
-She's starting a new school for her senior year.
-She's 16--which is tough enough without all of that other stuff thrown in there.
It gets a bit annoying how she's wishy washy about Blue & Jacy--which unfortunately follows into the next 2 books, but finally gets resolved in the 3rd book--as do other things...but that's for the review of that book not this one!
I really enjoyed this book, and while I wouldn't say I loved it or that I'd recommend it to any and everyone, I really liked it and the story continues to get better.
Staub definitely captures Lily Dale as I know and love it. It's such a quaint town as if you literally stepped back into the 1800's. Its not spooky or eerie there, but you can feel the energy of spirits.
This story is wonderful. At first I was a little put off by the narrative, I found the 3rd person narrative she uses to be a bit odd...but that's nothing that would detract from the story at all.
Calla is a wonderful character. She's strong, but flawed. She makes mistakes but Odelia - Gammy - loves her no matter what.
At first I was a little irritated with Calla's character because she was almost bratty. But then you stop and think why she's acting that way and realize all that she's gone through:
-She lost her mother in a brutal murder
-Her father moved clear across the country to CA
-She's living with a grandmother she doesn't know who happens to be a medium.
-She's starting a new school for her senior year.
-She's 16--which is tough enough without all of that other stuff thrown in there.
It gets a bit annoying how she's wishy washy about Blue & Jacy--which unfortunately follows into the next 2 books, but finally gets resolved in the 3rd book--as do other things...but that's for the review of that book not this one!
I really enjoyed this book, and while I wouldn't say I loved it or that I'd recommend it to any and everyone, I really liked it and the story continues to get better.
September 9, 2016
Calla thought her boyfriend dumping her through text was the worst thing that could happen but, boy, was she she wrong. Two weeks after her breakup, she found her mother lying on the floor of her house, dead. Calla was then sent to live with her eccentric grandmother in her mother's hometown of Lily Dale. Shockingly, it turns out to be full of psychics (even her grandmother is one of them), and after that discovery, things get strange. Calla starts to get weird visions and starts to suspect that she may have her grandmother's gift.
When I started Lily Dale: Awakening, I honestly had really low expectations for it because first, I hate books about psychics, they're just really awkward. Second, the cover was literally just a close up of a girl's face. I ended up really, really loving the plot, characters, and even the small town of Lily Dale. The mystery scenes in this book were truly written so well and with so much suspense.
To me, the only thing I disliked about the book and found frustrating is that it ended on a cliffhanger. It was literally the. Worst. Cliffhanger. Ever. Since I don't exactly have immediate access to the rest of the books in the series, I'm just trying to figure out what could possibly happen next.
Lily Dale: Awakening is definitely unlike any other book I've read, but in a good way. This book would be good for any teen or older reader.
When I started Lily Dale: Awakening, I honestly had really low expectations for it because first, I hate books about psychics, they're just really awkward. Second, the cover was literally just a close up of a girl's face. I ended up really, really loving the plot, characters, and even the small town of Lily Dale. The mystery scenes in this book were truly written so well and with so much suspense.
To me, the only thing I disliked about the book and found frustrating is that it ended on a cliffhanger. It was literally the. Worst. Cliffhanger. Ever. Since I don't exactly have immediate access to the rest of the books in the series, I'm just trying to figure out what could possibly happen next.
Lily Dale: Awakening is definitely unlike any other book I've read, but in a good way. This book would be good for any teen or older reader.
October 22, 2012
Although I live in Western New York I have never been to Lily Dale so I found the descriptions of it interesting.
However, the rest of the book was very repetitious. I mean how many ghosts do you have to see before you admit that you're psychic? How many times does Calla have to tell us she misses Kevin? In the end, I just didn't care.
However, the rest of the book was very repetitious. I mean how many ghosts do you have to see before you admit that you're psychic? How many times does Calla have to tell us she misses Kevin? In the end, I just didn't care.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 3, 2010
The novel begins with the death of the protagonist’s mother. Calla Delaney’s mother dies in a freak accident in which she falls down the stairs and breaks her neck when she lands on the ceramic tile floor below. Calla has difficulty accepting her mother’s death because she claims that her mother was the most coordinated, graceful, sedate person on earth.
Only mouths before her mother’s death, Kevin, Calla’s boyfriend, sent her a text message ending their relationship.
After being dumped by her boyfriend and the death of her mother, Calla’s life begins to change. At the funeral, she notices a person standing a bit distant from the rest of the group. Within seconds, this person was gone.
Because Calla’s father is going off to California for a sabbatical, Calla needs to find a place to stay. She refuses to stay with her uncle because of his chaotic household and refuses to stay with her friend Lisa who happens to be Kevin’s sister. Talk about awkward.
Eventually, Calla convinces her father to let her stay in Lily Dale with her grandmother, Odelia. Stephanie, Calla’s mother, and Odelia were estranged and therefore Calla does not know much about her grandmother; in fact, she is a complete stranger.
Odelia is quite strange. She is wildly creative and is a physic and a medium. She is able to communicate with the dead, which Calla is skeptical to believe. However, Odelia is not the only medium in town. In fact, Lily Dale is a town almost entirely populated by spiritualists who can communicate with the dead.
Calla stays in her mother’s old room and on the first night she sees and feels something in the room. Calla is unsure if she had seen something or if it was just a figment of her imagination. Her mother taught her to look for the evidence and Calla sees no evidence of a ghost or some other supernatural being.
She is unsure if she should remain in Lily Dale. Calla feels guilty that she kept her grandmother’s abilities a secret from her dad. However, Calla knows that she does not want to leave Lily Dale and telling her dad about her grandmother would buy her a plane ticket back home, wherever that would be. Calla wants to learn about her mother’s past which Stephanie kept secret. Stephanie did not like to talk about her past nor did she like to talk about her relationship or lack of a relationship with her mother because they never got along. Calla is curious to know more about Lily Dale because her mother grew up there and because she is intrigued by the idea of a town filled with physic mediums.
Because Calla saw a figure in the cemetery, one in the mirror and Miriam, Odelia’s spirit friend, before she figured out that the town is inhabited by physic mediums, she begins to question if she has the “gift.” Even so, Calla continues to doubt that ghosts exist and that people can communicate with the dead because her mother would tell her to use her common sense. And her common sense tells her that there’s no such thing as ghosts and that you cannot communicate with the dead. Later on, Calla begins to think that she is a physic medium.
Throughout Calla’s stay in Lily Dale, she has a reoccurring dream about her mother and grandmother getting into a fight. In their fight, Stephanie says that they must dredge the lake to find out the truth. Of course, Calla does not know if this dream is real or made up. If it’s real, what does it mean and what is the truth? Further into the novel, Calla has a conversation with Odelia in which Odelia commands Calla to never go into the lake. In addition, Calla begins to ask herself more questions: Am I a physic? Was my mother’s death an accident or a murder? What does her dream mean? What does her mother mean by dredging the lake? You will only be able to find the answers to these questions if you read this novel and the subsequent novels.
Of all the characters, I predictably liked Calla the most. Although she did not narrate the entire novel, the parts that she narrated were incredibly natural. I was able to relate to her and felt myself saying, Wow, I would definitely think something like that or react the way she did if I were in her shoes.
The book does appeal to me on in an emotional way. How could it not? The protagonist deals with the death of her mother and because of how well written the novel is, I really related to what she was going through. Even though, I have fortunately not dealt with the death my mother or father, I felt Calla’s pain as she cried and felt the emotions she was feeling.
One moment in the novel really stuck out. Calla is talking to Odelia about the clock and how it mysteriously got set. She asks Odelia if she came into her room in the middle of the night and set the clock, which frequently got reset due to the power outages. When Calla figures out that Odelia did not come into her room during the middle of the night, she feels afraid and confused. I was able to feel how scared she was and I felt my body tingle thinking if this were to happen to me.
Lily Dale: Awakening by Wendy Corsi Staub is actually the first paranormal suspense novel I have ever read. I remember going to a bookstore in Monterey with my cousins and buying this book, thinking this could be interesting to read. Although I was a bit skeptical at first, I ended up loving this book. Every page kept me wanting to read more and I was always on my toes.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a real page-turner however cliché that sounds. This book made me think about the “supernatural” world and if ghosts really do exist. It reminded me of our Humanitas class and how people believe that our souls are always with us even when that person passes away.
Of course, I have to mention that I am a huge fraidy cat and hate anything scary. Why I chose this book I have no idea. But, I am definitely glad I did.
Only mouths before her mother’s death, Kevin, Calla’s boyfriend, sent her a text message ending their relationship.
After being dumped by her boyfriend and the death of her mother, Calla’s life begins to change. At the funeral, she notices a person standing a bit distant from the rest of the group. Within seconds, this person was gone.
Because Calla’s father is going off to California for a sabbatical, Calla needs to find a place to stay. She refuses to stay with her uncle because of his chaotic household and refuses to stay with her friend Lisa who happens to be Kevin’s sister. Talk about awkward.
Eventually, Calla convinces her father to let her stay in Lily Dale with her grandmother, Odelia. Stephanie, Calla’s mother, and Odelia were estranged and therefore Calla does not know much about her grandmother; in fact, she is a complete stranger.
Odelia is quite strange. She is wildly creative and is a physic and a medium. She is able to communicate with the dead, which Calla is skeptical to believe. However, Odelia is not the only medium in town. In fact, Lily Dale is a town almost entirely populated by spiritualists who can communicate with the dead.
Calla stays in her mother’s old room and on the first night she sees and feels something in the room. Calla is unsure if she had seen something or if it was just a figment of her imagination. Her mother taught her to look for the evidence and Calla sees no evidence of a ghost or some other supernatural being.
She is unsure if she should remain in Lily Dale. Calla feels guilty that she kept her grandmother’s abilities a secret from her dad. However, Calla knows that she does not want to leave Lily Dale and telling her dad about her grandmother would buy her a plane ticket back home, wherever that would be. Calla wants to learn about her mother’s past which Stephanie kept secret. Stephanie did not like to talk about her past nor did she like to talk about her relationship or lack of a relationship with her mother because they never got along. Calla is curious to know more about Lily Dale because her mother grew up there and because she is intrigued by the idea of a town filled with physic mediums.
Because Calla saw a figure in the cemetery, one in the mirror and Miriam, Odelia’s spirit friend, before she figured out that the town is inhabited by physic mediums, she begins to question if she has the “gift.” Even so, Calla continues to doubt that ghosts exist and that people can communicate with the dead because her mother would tell her to use her common sense. And her common sense tells her that there’s no such thing as ghosts and that you cannot communicate with the dead. Later on, Calla begins to think that she is a physic medium.
Throughout Calla’s stay in Lily Dale, she has a reoccurring dream about her mother and grandmother getting into a fight. In their fight, Stephanie says that they must dredge the lake to find out the truth. Of course, Calla does not know if this dream is real or made up. If it’s real, what does it mean and what is the truth? Further into the novel, Calla has a conversation with Odelia in which Odelia commands Calla to never go into the lake. In addition, Calla begins to ask herself more questions: Am I a physic? Was my mother’s death an accident or a murder? What does her dream mean? What does her mother mean by dredging the lake? You will only be able to find the answers to these questions if you read this novel and the subsequent novels.
Of all the characters, I predictably liked Calla the most. Although she did not narrate the entire novel, the parts that she narrated were incredibly natural. I was able to relate to her and felt myself saying, Wow, I would definitely think something like that or react the way she did if I were in her shoes.
The book does appeal to me on in an emotional way. How could it not? The protagonist deals with the death of her mother and because of how well written the novel is, I really related to what she was going through. Even though, I have fortunately not dealt with the death my mother or father, I felt Calla’s pain as she cried and felt the emotions she was feeling.
One moment in the novel really stuck out. Calla is talking to Odelia about the clock and how it mysteriously got set. She asks Odelia if she came into her room in the middle of the night and set the clock, which frequently got reset due to the power outages. When Calla figures out that Odelia did not come into her room during the middle of the night, she feels afraid and confused. I was able to feel how scared she was and I felt my body tingle thinking if this were to happen to me.
Lily Dale: Awakening by Wendy Corsi Staub is actually the first paranormal suspense novel I have ever read. I remember going to a bookstore in Monterey with my cousins and buying this book, thinking this could be interesting to read. Although I was a bit skeptical at first, I ended up loving this book. Every page kept me wanting to read more and I was always on my toes.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a real page-turner however cliché that sounds. This book made me think about the “supernatural” world and if ghosts really do exist. It reminded me of our Humanitas class and how people believe that our souls are always with us even when that person passes away.
Of course, I have to mention that I am a huge fraidy cat and hate anything scary. Why I chose this book I have no idea. But, I am definitely glad I did.
March 30, 2023
This book was just okay to me. I know Wendi has 2 other books to continue the series, but I just wish I had more answers in this book alone. It was still an intriguing read, but I just didn’t get the “BAM” I needed with a supernatural/ghost/thriller vibe of a book.
December 16, 2011
I've always been curious about the paranormal, so much now that I'm not even scared of so called ghosts. Friday nights at home were all about ghost stories and shows, so when I first read the blurb having to do with this story it caught my attention and piqued my interest immediately and kept it throughout the story.
Lily Dale Awkwakening is written by New York Times bestseller Wendy Corsi Staub. She is an award-winning author who has over seventy published novels and who has sold more than three million books worldwide. Wendy achieved New York Times bestselling status with her psychological suspense novels which have also appeared on the USA Today, Barnes and Noble Top Ten, and Bookscan bestseller lists.
This story tells about a girl named Calla Delaney, who can be described as a vulnerable, broken, teenage girl, whose life has been turned upside down ever since her mother’s unfortunate death. Now, months later, trying to move on with her life, her dad has decided to move them from Florida to California. Not being able to handle the pressure, Calla ultimately decides to spend her summer alone with her grandmother Odelia in Lily Dale, New York while her father searches to find them a new home.
Being not what she expected, Calla was at first disappointed with her new town, but as time goes on she begins to notice strange and rather curious things such as that the majority of the residents in Lily Dale are registered mediums; Odelia being one of them. Calla doesn’t know whether or not to believe in her grandmother’s gift, that’s until she begins encountering the strange phenomena herself.
From there she begins to uncover secrets, to which she’s afraid, but since her curiosity and presence won’t make the spirits go away, decides to make an attempt to understand and reveal her mother’s past as well as making her future in this place a little clearer.
Throughout the story Calla begins to change, going from broken, to having a stronger more curious perception on things due to her eyes being opened by her Lily Dale experiences. The people she meets such as Evangeline, and Jacy and Blue all help her through the awkward stages of being the new kid in an unknown place as well as help her understand her gift. Odelia, being one of the more significant characters, also helps her unravel her gift and help her through the process by answering her questions and taking her to town meetings where they all discuss and communicate through to the spirits who have passed on.
Lily Dale Awakening had its up’s and down’s. I really enjoyed reading this book but the ending was rather frustrating. I won’t put it into detail, but it does build suspense. Other than that the story kept me wanting to read more and I could see things start to develop through Calla’s eyes. The story shows her struggles leading to her strengths, which is ultimately rewarding because we all face tough times and have to move on from them.
Lily Dale Awkwakening is written by New York Times bestseller Wendy Corsi Staub. She is an award-winning author who has over seventy published novels and who has sold more than three million books worldwide. Wendy achieved New York Times bestselling status with her psychological suspense novels which have also appeared on the USA Today, Barnes and Noble Top Ten, and Bookscan bestseller lists.
This story tells about a girl named Calla Delaney, who can be described as a vulnerable, broken, teenage girl, whose life has been turned upside down ever since her mother’s unfortunate death. Now, months later, trying to move on with her life, her dad has decided to move them from Florida to California. Not being able to handle the pressure, Calla ultimately decides to spend her summer alone with her grandmother Odelia in Lily Dale, New York while her father searches to find them a new home.
Being not what she expected, Calla was at first disappointed with her new town, but as time goes on she begins to notice strange and rather curious things such as that the majority of the residents in Lily Dale are registered mediums; Odelia being one of them. Calla doesn’t know whether or not to believe in her grandmother’s gift, that’s until she begins encountering the strange phenomena herself.
From there she begins to uncover secrets, to which she’s afraid, but since her curiosity and presence won’t make the spirits go away, decides to make an attempt to understand and reveal her mother’s past as well as making her future in this place a little clearer.
Throughout the story Calla begins to change, going from broken, to having a stronger more curious perception on things due to her eyes being opened by her Lily Dale experiences. The people she meets such as Evangeline, and Jacy and Blue all help her through the awkward stages of being the new kid in an unknown place as well as help her understand her gift. Odelia, being one of the more significant characters, also helps her unravel her gift and help her through the process by answering her questions and taking her to town meetings where they all discuss and communicate through to the spirits who have passed on.
Lily Dale Awakening had its up’s and down’s. I really enjoyed reading this book but the ending was rather frustrating. I won’t put it into detail, but it does build suspense. Other than that the story kept me wanting to read more and I could see things start to develop through Calla’s eyes. The story shows her struggles leading to her strengths, which is ultimately rewarding because we all face tough times and have to move on from them.
August 11, 2011
When I saw this book at a library sale, I thought the cover was kind of eerie and the summary sounded great. I haven't read any books by Wendy Corsi Staub, so this was a new to me author. I was pleasantly surprised by the book. The author had a writing style that was easy flowing and kept me interested until the end.
When Calla's Mother passes away, she starts seeing unusual things. Ghost are appearing to her, but she refuses to believe in them. After her Father moves to California for a job offer, Calla decides to stay the summer with her Grandmother Odelia. Reluctantly, her Father agrees to it for the summer while he finds them a place to settle into in California. Calla has not spent much time with her 'Gammy' and doesn't even know what Odelia does for a living. She quickly realizes though, her Gammy is a Medium. She speaks with the dead. While Calla adjusts to Odelia's lifestyle and community of Mediums, she starts to discover she might have inherited it as well.
I loved Calla and Odelia in this book. Odelia was a riot with the way the author describes her personality and dress attire. I also loved how Calla found new friends who seemed to genuinely want to be close to her. I didn't like the whole ex-boyfriend storyline, but I am assuming it will develop into a planned plot in the future books or maybe just be a hint at why Calla is having a hard time choosing between two other boys in town. I wasn't a fan of Blue. Now my feelings on him might change as I read more of the series, but in this book he seemed a little snobby. I wanted Calla to explore more of a relationship with Jacy instead. So for now, I am Team Jacy in the love triangle.
Overall this was a great book to a new series for me. I can't wait to see what unfolds in the next book with the cliffhanger ending this one leaves the reader with. Mysteries will unravel and I am anxious to know if Calla is finally going to embrace her psychic ability.
When Calla's Mother passes away, she starts seeing unusual things. Ghost are appearing to her, but she refuses to believe in them. After her Father moves to California for a job offer, Calla decides to stay the summer with her Grandmother Odelia. Reluctantly, her Father agrees to it for the summer while he finds them a place to settle into in California. Calla has not spent much time with her 'Gammy' and doesn't even know what Odelia does for a living. She quickly realizes though, her Gammy is a Medium. She speaks with the dead. While Calla adjusts to Odelia's lifestyle and community of Mediums, she starts to discover she might have inherited it as well.
I loved Calla and Odelia in this book. Odelia was a riot with the way the author describes her personality and dress attire. I also loved how Calla found new friends who seemed to genuinely want to be close to her. I didn't like the whole ex-boyfriend storyline, but I am assuming it will develop into a planned plot in the future books or maybe just be a hint at why Calla is having a hard time choosing between two other boys in town. I wasn't a fan of Blue. Now my feelings on him might change as I read more of the series, but in this book he seemed a little snobby. I wanted Calla to explore more of a relationship with Jacy instead. So for now, I am Team Jacy in the love triangle.
Overall this was a great book to a new series for me. I can't wait to see what unfolds in the next book with the cliffhanger ending this one leaves the reader with. Mysteries will unravel and I am anxious to know if Calla is finally going to embrace her psychic ability.
September 3, 2018
I debated in writing this review tell the really good part first or the really bad? I opted to go with the positive. A teen paranormal suspense series does not sound like my kind of title. However, I was engrossed by the story and the writing- even staying up late to finish (and regretting it the next day at work). The book takes place primarily in Lily Dale, a real place in upstate NY that is the home of spiritualism. After Calla’s mother dies, she ends up in Lily Dale with her grandmother while her father finds them a place to live. Calla finds out that in this place her grandmother’s clairvoyant gifts (which she never knew about before) are accepted, in fact are quite common among the residents. She at first rejects the paranormal incidents but over time recognizes that she shares them. There is a fair bit of teen angst in the “does he like me?” or “why doesn’t he like me” vein. Some of the plot turnings are predictable, but the author handles the plot like a pro striptease- showing a little leg, pulling back, then a shoulder, then covering up. Keeps the reader engaged.
Now for the bad- this is half of a book. That stinks. I understand that this is the beginning of a series but it is unfair that there is no real resolution of the primary mystery/story line. Sure we know that Calla wants to make contact with her Mom, the author can delay that to another book. But whether her mother was murdered and why her mother and grandmother became estranged deserves to be resolved. If I had read this when I was younger I would boycott the rest of the series because of the lack of resolution for critical story arcs. Even in Harry Potter, the primary crisis is addressed in each book (except maybe 6 and 7). The negative makes me hesitant to recommend what is otherwise a very good early teen read.
Now for the bad- this is half of a book. That stinks. I understand that this is the beginning of a series but it is unfair that there is no real resolution of the primary mystery/story line. Sure we know that Calla wants to make contact with her Mom, the author can delay that to another book. But whether her mother was murdered and why her mother and grandmother became estranged deserves to be resolved. If I had read this when I was younger I would boycott the rest of the series because of the lack of resolution for critical story arcs. Even in Harry Potter, the primary crisis is addressed in each book (except maybe 6 and 7). The negative makes me hesitant to recommend what is otherwise a very good early teen read.
April 10, 2009
Execellent novel!!!
From dust jacket:
"Can Calla's newfound gift unlock her mother's hidden past in Lily Dale?
Calla thought that her boyfriend breaking up with her in a text message was the worst thing that could ever happen to her. But just two weeks later, her mother died in a freak accident, and life as she knew it was completely over. Suddenly, Calla is spending the end of the summer with the grandmother she barely knows in her mother's hometown of Lily Dale.
To her shock, the town is full of psychics - including her grandmother. The longer she stays in Lily Dale, the stranger things become. Calla starts to experience unusual visions and unsettling events that lead her to wonder whether she has inherited her grandmother's unique gift - and to question just who her mother really was. Staying in Lily Dale is the only way to uncover her family's secrets. But will Calla be able to deal with what she learns about her mother's past and her own future?
Follow bestselling author Wendy Corsi Staub to Lily Dale for a romantic, exciting new paranormal suspense series."
From dust jacket:
"Can Calla's newfound gift unlock her mother's hidden past in Lily Dale?
Calla thought that her boyfriend breaking up with her in a text message was the worst thing that could ever happen to her. But just two weeks later, her mother died in a freak accident, and life as she knew it was completely over. Suddenly, Calla is spending the end of the summer with the grandmother she barely knows in her mother's hometown of Lily Dale.
To her shock, the town is full of psychics - including her grandmother. The longer she stays in Lily Dale, the stranger things become. Calla starts to experience unusual visions and unsettling events that lead her to wonder whether she has inherited her grandmother's unique gift - and to question just who her mother really was. Staying in Lily Dale is the only way to uncover her family's secrets. But will Calla be able to deal with what she learns about her mother's past and her own future?
Follow bestselling author Wendy Corsi Staub to Lily Dale for a romantic, exciting new paranormal suspense series."
October 23, 2010
I need the next book. I knew as I was getting closer to the end of this one that I was going to desperately want the next one because so much is still unfinished. I can see this going on for a while, which Im glad about. Calla needs to just get over Kevin and go for Jacy, but obvisously wait a little until Evagaline is over him. Blue is just a hot shot jerk that needs to find someone else to want. Calla better realize that soon, even though I know he thinks he's super hot. I had a feeling that the Tom/Todd gut was going to be Darrin, but we still have no idea what is in the lake and why her mom needed to find her, also we still don't know what talent Darrin had and if that could have had something to do with how he killed her mom. Her dad is just clueless at this point, but part of me thinks that he knows more than he letting on. There's no way that he married Stephaine and had absolutely no clue about her childhood or where she grew up. I guess I just have to wait until the next book to see if Im right.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 28, 2009
When I first started to read this book I found the tense used in the book to be difficult to concentrate on and I mentally corrected every sentence in my mind. But then I became accustomed to it and got intrigued by the story line. Psychic stories always intrigue me and Lily Dale is a real place in upstate New York- a center for spiritualism. The story involves Calla, a teenage girl whose mother dies in a freak accident that leaves Calla wondering how it could ever have happened. Then she goes to Lily Dale to stay with her grandmother, a medium. Slowly Calla begins to realize that she has some of her grandmother's psychic abilities. Even if I disliked this book (which I didn't!) the ending alone would ensure that I buy the next title in the series. It ended with a real cliff hanger!
July 24, 2010
I had read this book before, but I reread it because there is now more books in the series and at the moment I have all four of them. I enjoyed the book and the setting very much. The community of Lily Dale I find fascinating. I saw a documentary about the community earlier this summer. The thing I didn't like about the book is that it ends on the major climax of the book so that you have to read the next book. I think this is a shameless ploy of authors so that you have to read the next book. I don't like that. J.K. Rowling never did that. Yes, I know that the big battle with Voldermort didn't come to until the 7th book, but all the other books did come with some kind of closure.
May 31, 2009
So this book was really interesting. It wasn't very long and seems like more of an introduction to the main character Calla. A lot of info and not a lot of action but it leaves you wanting more.In a good way. The characters relationships are gripping right of the bat.I can't wait to read the next one.
March 1, 2014
i really tried to read this. i wanted to enjoy it since i like paranormal stories. but i found this so boring that every time i put it down, it took effort to read more later. finally i gave up.
it was as if the main character was downright stupid. it took her forever to figure things out, to the point that i wanted to scream at her, "your grandmother is psychic, you dope!"
it was as if the main character was downright stupid. it took her forever to figure things out, to the point that i wanted to scream at her, "your grandmother is psychic, you dope!"
Read
September 21, 2015The main Characters Calla, her dad, her mom, her grandmother, and her friends. It about her mom pasting away and she has to go to her grandmas house for the rest of the summer. There she finds out that she has special ability's. I liked it because it is a horror story and you just couldn't wait till you found out what happened next.
March 17, 2009
picked this up at work to see if i should get the second two in the series. the main character is so bland i could hardly even identify her as a teenager. yawn yawn yawn.
February 24, 2013
This book was so boring and weird that I just had to stop reading it. Enough said.
April 26, 2015
I loved this book. It kept me intrigued the whole time I was reading it. I can't wait to read the rest of the books in this series!
December 23, 2017
I'd like to start off by saying I did like this book, but the way I write reviews is usually me listing all the things i didn't like, so sorry if it doesn't seem like it but I do like it and I will be reading the next in the series.
Things I didn't like
1. Missing, dead, or absent parent cliche. "No one is really dead." (but it seems like most authors find it necessary to have a main character loose a parent for a coming of age story.)
2. I didn't like how it seems like shes playing the guys. I know none of them are officially dating but if you think you like one of them go out with that one. if you can't decide then wait weigh your options then decide. (but I'm team Jacy and Calla.)
3. I don't like Blue Slayton. She knows he is a player and she just went through a break up. Why would she want to get attached to someone then have her heart broken all over again. (but I did like the style of his house.)
4. I don't like how even after Kevin dumped her via text she still has feelings for him. I know if I were her I would not be crying there as she was I would have driven all the way up there and punched him square in the nose, but that is just me.
5. I kind of want to see how her and Lisa's weekend went. I know it probably wouldn't be convenient to the plot, but it would be good for character building. I don't really feel like they are Best Friends. We basically never see her and calla communicate and when they do it was mainly via text and was either about Kevin, how sorry she was about Calla's mom or Lisa criticizing Odelia. For me I don't care how long I've been friends with someone. (mainly because I have no friends.) If they start talking bad about my family especially after I'd lost someone I'd go off on them.
6. The book seemed really fast paced. it could be because most books I read I try to read to the end of a chapter or scene or topic. It could be because it has fifteen chapters and most books I read have twenty or more but, I think the deciding factor is the number of scene changes per chapter. prologue has one, chapter one has one, chapter fifteen has five in 18 pages I get that she was trying to wrap up the book but still.
7. I didn't actually check what grade level this is for but I got if from the teen section at my library. The writing style seemed more middle school style but it doesn't bother me. (I'm seventeen by the way)
8. I honestly think Kevin should have brought up what happen in Wal-Mart before the shamrock thing broke.
Thing I did like.
1. The lack of swear words. The only one used as far as I remember is penis, and that was in a correct context when talking about and unborn/soon-to-be-born baby's gender and not as a derogatory slur against someone as is now common among teens.
2. I usually dislike cliff hangers but this one I liked. I don't know why.
3. I liked how her grandmother seemed to have a normal reaction after Elaine Riggs showed up at the end and about the lake. I guess most of the other scenes it's not that she doesn't care about Calla's well-being it just wasn't expressed I guess because there was no need to until those point's.
4. I liked the reveal that Tom was Darrin. That to me at least was unexpected. I may be because I've been watching a lot of movies lately and in movies you kind of already know everything either because of visual 'subtlety' or scene changes between character perspective.
5. I also like how this book has one character perspective in the prologue then the author kills off that character and changes perspective.
6. I also liked how she had a normal reaction to seeing ghosts.
7. I did think the Aiyana thing was interesting. Like how they could talk to each other in their heads.
8. Since I live in a small town near buffalo even though they are referencing my city by brains still like "hey you kind of recognize me."
Theories on what happens in the next book.
1. Aiyana and Jacy are related.
2. Either Odelia or Stephanie had another child who drown in the lake.
3. Aiyana drown in the lake.
4. Tom/Darrin is Calla's biological father.
5. Stephanie was born in a hospital when Odelia was drugged so maybe she had twins one born in a caul one not and Aiyana is the other baby who the government took to experiment on in the MK ultra experiments of the cold war. Only they switched the babies and Stephanie was the one born in the caul and when the realized they made Tom/Darrin become a secret agent to spy on his girlfriend then Aiyana escaped and found her real family cause twin power. but then the government found her and drown her in the lake.
Things I didn't like
1. Missing, dead, or absent parent cliche. "No one is really dead." (but it seems like most authors find it necessary to have a main character loose a parent for a coming of age story.)
2. I didn't like how it seems like shes playing the guys. I know none of them are officially dating but if you think you like one of them go out with that one. if you can't decide then wait weigh your options then decide. (but I'm team Jacy and Calla.)
3. I don't like Blue Slayton. She knows he is a player and she just went through a break up. Why would she want to get attached to someone then have her heart broken all over again. (but I did like the style of his house.)
4. I don't like how even after Kevin dumped her via text she still has feelings for him. I know if I were her I would not be crying there as she was I would have driven all the way up there and punched him square in the nose, but that is just me.
5. I kind of want to see how her and Lisa's weekend went. I know it probably wouldn't be convenient to the plot, but it would be good for character building. I don't really feel like they are Best Friends. We basically never see her and calla communicate and when they do it was mainly via text and was either about Kevin, how sorry she was about Calla's mom or Lisa criticizing Odelia. For me I don't care how long I've been friends with someone. (mainly because I have no friends.) If they start talking bad about my family especially after I'd lost someone I'd go off on them.
6. The book seemed really fast paced. it could be because most books I read I try to read to the end of a chapter or scene or topic. It could be because it has fifteen chapters and most books I read have twenty or more but, I think the deciding factor is the number of scene changes per chapter. prologue has one, chapter one has one, chapter fifteen has five in 18 pages I get that she was trying to wrap up the book but still.
7. I didn't actually check what grade level this is for but I got if from the teen section at my library. The writing style seemed more middle school style but it doesn't bother me. (I'm seventeen by the way)
8. I honestly think Kevin should have brought up what happen in Wal-Mart before the shamrock thing broke.
Thing I did like.
1. The lack of swear words. The only one used as far as I remember is penis, and that was in a correct context when talking about and unborn/soon-to-be-born baby's gender and not as a derogatory slur against someone as is now common among teens.
2. I usually dislike cliff hangers but this one I liked. I don't know why.
3. I liked how her grandmother seemed to have a normal reaction after Elaine Riggs showed up at the end and about the lake. I guess most of the other scenes it's not that she doesn't care about Calla's well-being it just wasn't expressed I guess because there was no need to until those point's.
4. I liked the reveal that Tom was Darrin. That to me at least was unexpected. I may be because I've been watching a lot of movies lately and in movies you kind of already know everything either because of visual 'subtlety' or scene changes between character perspective.
5. I also like how this book has one character perspective in the prologue then the author kills off that character and changes perspective.
6. I also liked how she had a normal reaction to seeing ghosts.
7. I did think the Aiyana thing was interesting. Like how they could talk to each other in their heads.
8. Since I live in a small town near buffalo even though they are referencing my city by brains still like "hey you kind of recognize me."
Theories on what happens in the next book.
1. Aiyana and Jacy are related.
2. Either Odelia or Stephanie had another child who drown in the lake.
3. Aiyana drown in the lake.
4. Tom/Darrin is Calla's biological father.
5. Stephanie was born in a hospital when Odelia was drugged so maybe she had twins one born in a caul one not and Aiyana is the other baby who the government took to experiment on in the MK ultra experiments of the cold war. Only they switched the babies and Stephanie was the one born in the caul and when the realized they made Tom/Darrin become a secret agent to spy on his girlfriend then Aiyana escaped and found her real family cause twin power. but then the government found her and drown her in the lake.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 23, 2017
I enjoyed reading this book once I sat down and decided to just read it. Since it is the first book of a series I won't say what I didn't like about it because the rest might reveal itself in future books. It was definitely neat reading about Lily Dale, New York. I have visited there and could almost imagine every scene. Lily Dale has a calming feel about it, very spiritual. Because it is a small town, I know how it is to know everyone in town and know just about everyone's phone number. I grew up in a small town.
I also feel for Calla learning that she has a new gift. I would never say I was psychic but I'm highly intuitive. I know from experience that telling people things that you experienced makes them think you are weird or even crazy. I completely understand why Calla didn't share that she has a gift with her best friend and her ex boyfriend and even her Grandmother. If I were Calla, I would probably have also shared that I knew something about the lady's daughter, but unlike Calla, I would have really been afraid to say anything because of all the reasons her Grandmother told her in the end of the book.
I think this is a good book for the start of the series. I am already reading the next book!
I also feel for Calla learning that she has a new gift. I would never say I was psychic but I'm highly intuitive. I know from experience that telling people things that you experienced makes them think you are weird or even crazy. I completely understand why Calla didn't share that she has a gift with her best friend and her ex boyfriend and even her Grandmother. If I were Calla, I would probably have also shared that I knew something about the lady's daughter, but unlike Calla, I would have really been afraid to say anything because of all the reasons her Grandmother told her in the end of the book.
I think this is a good book for the start of the series. I am already reading the next book!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 4, 2018
When Calla's mother dies, she goes to live with her grandmother in the town of Lily Dale. Calla doesn't understand the strange people who inhabit Lily Dale until her grandmother confesses that Lily Dale is the home of psychics and other mystics and that she is one of them. Calla thinks her grandmother has gone off the deep end until strange things begin to happen. Calla starts to wonder if she might be psychic just like her grandmother. She begins to question the life she lived with her mother and consider that her mother may have lied to her about much of her past. This is the first book of the Lily Dale series. I picked this book up in the clearance section of at Half Price Books and quickly realized what a bargain I had gotten. This is a wonderful book with a little bit of danger, romance, and adventure all rolled into one exciting book.
April 28, 2022
Awakening is the first of four books in the Lily Dale series. I enjoyed these YA books very much and now want to visit the actual town in western New York! It's my opinion that the story should have been condensed into 1 book, instead of being divided into a series. None of the books can stand alone so much time and text is spent on refreshing the reader on characters and events from previous books... and I got weary of the repetition. I enjoyed learning about psychic mediums, I enjoyed the characters (although Calla does lie too often to the adults in her life), and the writing kept me interested and wanting to read more (minus the repeated reminders) so I give the series a solid 4 stars.
July 13, 2017
Very interesting to read about Lily Dale--a real place, unlike, let's say, Forks, WA. Speaking of Forks, here there also is a passive heroine, Calla (close enough to Bella), with two allegedly hot and enigmatic guys of interest. One is even Native American. The other could totally be a vampire. He's very rich and drives a BMW. (Didn't Edward drive a convertible?)
The book didn't feel like a cliffhanger, it just felt unfinished. I have to remind myself I'm on a different book now, that this one actually ended. It's not a waste when it's from the library. I may pick up the next, just because mediums are interesting and Lily Dale is a real place.
The book didn't feel like a cliffhanger, it just felt unfinished. I have to remind myself I'm on a different book now, that this one actually ended. It's not a waste when it's from the library. I may pick up the next, just because mediums are interesting and Lily Dale is a real place.
Read
May 1, 2020Call thought her boyfriend breaking up with her in a text message was the worst thing that could ever happen to her. But just two weeks later, her mother died in a freak accident, and life as she knew it was completely over. Suddenly Calla is spending the end of the summer with the grandmother she barely knows in her mother's hometown of Lily Dale.
To her shock, the town is full of psychics, including her grandmother.
Read p. 6: "Do you think it will snow while I am here…"
Just is shocking is the fact that, the longer Calls stays in Lily Dale, the stronger are her unusual visions and unsettling intuitions. Did she inherit her grandmother's special powers? And just who was Calla's mother?
To her shock, the town is full of psychics, including her grandmother.
Read p. 6: "Do you think it will snow while I am here…"
Just is shocking is the fact that, the longer Calls stays in Lily Dale, the stronger are her unusual visions and unsettling intuitions. Did she inherit her grandmother's special powers? And just who was Calla's mother?
November 2, 2020
On their way from the beach, Madame Ratignolle asks Robert to keep away from Mrs. Pontellier, who, she says, might take his attentions too seriously. Robert brushes her off. They watch the lovers and the lady in black walk by. He says a courteous goodbye, after giving the “sickly” woman some soup, and goes to his own cottage. He reads as his mother sews. She asks him to pass along a French book to Mrs. Pontellier. Robert calls down to the street to his impetuous younger brother Victor, who rides away without responding. Madame Lebrun tells Robert that a friend of hers invited Robert to stay with him in Vera Cruz—news Robert receives enthusiastically.
April 11, 2021
I couldn’t get enough of Lily Dale after reading the series for adults that starts with Nine Lives. There were references to Calla, the main character of the youth novels and I was curious to learn more. I just loved all of these books. And I loaned them to a friend who felt the same. It wasn’t just typical teenage drama. There was so much more going on. The books have subplots along with the main mystery that isn’t resolved until you read all four. Well worth your time. Awakening introduces the reader to the town and gives you just enough information about Calla to want to see what happens next in her life.
October 27, 2025
I have heard of Lily Dale since I was a kid, so when I saw this on the clearance rack, I thought I would try it. I can say it is a young adult book for sure and has some cute sweet character teens and I pretty normal Grandmother who can read people (i know people like her and this author shows that well). The story starts out very strong, but for me by chapter 9, I was thinking this is going to be a rush finished book. And sadly, it was and that disappointed me. Though it did finish that way, it was a good book if you are into Lily Dale and the spiritual medium world. I will read this series to see where it goes.
September 15, 2018
3 1/2. An interesting view of a real town filled with psychics and the writer deftly creates a good paranormal suspense novel for young adults. This is a slow build and while not a real cliff hanger it is obvious that this story line is not finished.
Calla's emotional ups and downs are realistic for a young woman who has recently lost her mother, is separated from her dad, and confronting an ability that would throw anyone's life for a loop. The author's polish as a writer is obvious from the flow of the novel.
I am interesting in reading the rest of the series.
Calla's emotional ups and downs are realistic for a young woman who has recently lost her mother, is separated from her dad, and confronting an ability that would throw anyone's life for a loop. The author's polish as a writer is obvious from the flow of the novel.
I am interesting in reading the rest of the series.
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