About the Author

When librarians finally granted Kelley Armstrong an adult card, she made straight for the epic fantasy and horror shelves. She spent the rest of her childhood and teen years happily roaming fantastical and terrible worlds, and vowed that someday she'd write a story combining swords, sorcery, and the ravenous undead. That story began with the New York Times bestselling Sea of Shadows and continues with Empire of Night.

Armstrong's first works for teens were the New York Times bestselling Darkest Powers and Darkness Rising trilogies. She lives in rural Ontario with her husband, three children, and far too many pets.

Reviews

"Comfortably mixing science, myth, and mystery, Armstrong creates a vivid world highlighted by appealing characters. Fans and newcomers alike will be eager for more after Armstrong's story drives to its pulse-pounding climax. " -- Publishers Weekly"Armstrong begins her new series with a swift-paced start, creating memorable characters and interesting premises." -- Booklist

Gr 7 Up-Adopted as an infant, the only clues Maya holds to her Native identity are an unusually strong affinity with animals-particularly cougars-and a birthmark in the shape of a cat's paw. Just days after her 16th birthday, Maya discovers that she is a Skin-Walker, an ancient being who can shift into animal shapes. Skin-Walkers supposedly became extinct centuries ago, but were recently resurrected by scientists in a secret genetic experiment. Now the teens whose Skin-Walker gene was activated are reverting back to animal nature. Could this experiment be the reason for the secrecy surrounding Salmon Creek? And is there a connection between the experiment and a string of mysterious local deaths? What other secrets are buried beneath the facade of this tranquil Canadian community? Maya must quickly decide who she can trust because time is running out. The first volume (HarperCollins, 2011) in Kelley Armstrong's gripping trilogy will hook listeners, and the cliffhanger ending will leave them eagerly awaiting the next installment. The introduction of Skin-Walkers into the paranormal fiction genre is a welcome reprieve from the recent proliferation of vampire and werewolf stories. Narrator Jennifer Ikeda expertly embodies Maya, perfectly capturing the teen's outspoken, curious nature and wry humor. However, she is less convincing in voicing male characters. Overlong pauses between tracks are slightly distracting,. Fans of Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver trilogy will especially like this one.-Alissa LeMerise, Oxford Public Library, MI (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.