The Initiation

I admit, I picked this up to see if the writing was as bad as the WB TV series I tried to watch. To be honest, I am not real sure which came out worse.

*shudder* I'd swear the main character was a guy based on the descriptions. Or maybe a closet lesbian. Everyone is attractive to this main character. Not a single ugly person. And a lot of the descriptions are things guys might focus on. Curves, hair, eyes. Either way, just horrid.

There's also the overall attitude. If this girl is supposed to be 16-17, why is she being written like she's 11-13? Temper Tantrums, shy but not introvert shy, and general whining preteen angst.

I officially declare this book a dud. So bad, so SO bad. Why did I push to the half way point again?

It’s a little difficult to rate this trilogy when there’s so much nostalgia built in to my rereading. I read these in real time in the fall of 1992 as they came out one by one (& you had to go to the bookstore to get them). I can still see 15 year old me reading one as I babysat on a Saturday night after the kids (ages 4, 2, and 1) were in bed. I loved everything about these books including the magic and romance and friendship. This was pre-internet searching, and for years I wondered what a chalcedony rose was. Along with some sacred Christopher Pike’s, this trilogy remains on my bookshelf as a toast to teenage me.

I read this trilogy so many times as a teen that I had to buy a whole new set of books since they were so worn out. And then I pretty much wore those out too. I think the novels definitely qualify as guilty pleasures. I hadn't touched the books in years but when I was moving, I happened to come across my tattered copy and decided to open it up again. To my surprise, I tore through them in about a day and a half! At the age of 25, after having read these books about a dozen times, I found myself staying awake waaaay past my bed time to get that "one last chapter." I think that should say it all.

I had heard good things about L.J. Smith, and heard that this was going to be a TV show on the CW. I thought that since I already owned the books, I might as well read them. This reminded me a lot of Christopher Pike with familiar elements like a group of supernatural teenagers and a mysterious past, but that's where the similarities ended. It's more like Mean Girls meets The Craft meets Charmed, but there are boys in this coven, which is weird. The magic isn't very fleshed out and the drama is more focused on the jealousies, romances and power struggles of the members than the actual mystery. The central plot seems like it could be resolved with some good old fashioned honesty and trust in your friendships, but that stuff never comes show more easily to teenagers, so at least it's realistic in that sense. It wasn't a struggle to read, although actual Young Adults may find it more entertaining than this middle-aged cynical one. show less

Mostly a 'set-up' book that introduces the characters, setting, and the Secret Circle world for readers, written in a clean and simple, bordering on juvenile, style. Still, it was thoroughly engaging and although parts of it seemed a bit overly dramatic, I thought it fit with Cassie's narration as a dreamy teenage girl.

I decided to read L.J. Smith's The Secret Circle series when heard it was being produced as a TV series this year. I read her Vampire Diaries series before watching the show and found I enjoyed her writing much more than I did the television version of the story. After having read the first book in The Secret Circle series, The Initiation, I found myself less than impressed and hoping the producers take some liberties with the story line in this book.

The Initiation doesn't do much to endear the reader to Cassie, the series main character. Throughout the book, she's annoying. She obnoxious about not wanting to be on summer vacation on the east coast and not liking the "friends" she's made. Honestly, why hang out with them then? If these show more people are so awful, why not just spend time alone or attempt to make new friends? When the grandmother she's never met needs help, she whines about wanting to home, rather than move to New Salem and help the old woman. For a brief moment, she allows that the new environment will allow her to redefine herself and admits it could be a positive thing, but them quickly falls into the role of victim - it's not her fault no one likes her, blah blah blah. Cassie finally makes a friend and it's platonic insta-love. They're sisters now, or whatever, therefore Cassie will follow her blindly and wants to join a "club" the new friend belongs to, even though the "mean girls" also belong. And of course, there's a guy, but their love is forbidden and is obviously leading to a super awkward love triangle.

The Initiation does have a strong resemblance to one of my favorite movies, The Craft, with teens using witchcraft and not always for good. While I don't expect the series to be much like the movie (especially since the movie was made after the book came out), the possibility for The Secret Circle to have witchcraft used for both good and evil motives delights me. I enjoyed all of the magical aspects of the book, especially the fact that it goes detail about the use of both herbs and crystals as opposed to depending on spells alone.

The Secret Circle series has potential, but The Initiation didn't quite wow me. Cassie is grating, much like Elena in The Vampire Diaries is. Smith's female protagonists are all too often weak and sort of stupid when it comes to both common sense and romantic entanglements. Hopefully Cassie faults will be toned down in the rest of the series as not to distract from the magical story line. show less

I was very sceptical at first about The Secret Circle, but dark and twisty magic intrigues me. Not very much of that in The Initiation, but it is still a very good introduction to the story. If only some of the teenage drama would feel more real-life... YA authors shoud really dial down on the stupidity of 16-year-olds; like feeling that a guy girl met for 3 seconds is her soulmate or having a very inappropriate feelings for a girl she does not know. And introduction to characters seemed very rushed - plus, there are too many of them to form a legit opinion. Except for, like, 4 of them. Oh, but the magic stuff I always love - I'm with Faye on this one: let's explore mysterious old magic!