So here Cassie is, chillin’ and grillin’ at Cape Cod on a vacation with her mom. She meets some hottie dude on the beach (Adam) and saves his arse from people who are trying to kill him. (witch hunters, but Cassie doesn’t know that). THEN, after all this excitement, she has to go to her grandmom’s in New Salem, who she’s never met, for a visit. To her utter dismay, it’s a pretty permanent visit. Okay, this is the point where the story really begins to take off. We get to meet all of the characters pretty much concecutively. I don’t have room for a completel list…so go “here” for the character run-down. After many, many tears of anger of having to stay in New Salem, she finally gets used to the idea. But, just when she thinks that the worst is all over, the crap hits the fan. As the old saying goes…it has to get worse before it can get better. Or however it goes. The first threer members of the coven just HAD to be the meanest three members of the coven. And to make matters worse, people are treating her like she has leprosy, and she can’t understand why.

Well, after a series of terrible events, Cassie gets inducted into the coven. But this doesn’t solve her problems like you think it would. No, now Cassie must deal with the fact that not only is she not a full breed witch (or so they believe), she must deal with her beach hottie being the long time girlfriend of the coven’s leader, nicest person in the world, Diana Meade. Man, the teenage years are hell, let me tell you!

Favorite Scenes

-I love the scene where Cassie feels the pull of the earth for the first time. She knows in her souls that earth equals energy and power. (p. 14)

-when Faye reads the poem about fire…she’s so wicked. (p. 72)

-When Cassie gets inducted into the “circle”. Such an adrenaline part! (172)

Favorite Quotes

-“Sky and sea keep harm from me, earth and fire bring my desire.” -Cassie to herself (15)

-“I know you’re not the Mickey Mouse Club.”-Cassie to the coven(195)

-“I know you use rocks for spot remover.”-Cassie to Diana (196) this one cracks me up every time!

Final Notes

When I first read The Initiation, I was 13 year old. Now, at 20, when I go back to look them over, I notice how much of a whiny brat Cassie was. She cries, pouts, and stamps her feet all over the place. Man, she needs to be a little more appreciative of all the things she has. I hate it when people feel sorry for themselves. Over all though, GOOD, GOOD book. See, if I were Cassie…I would NEVER, EVER, take the stuff from Faye. Man, she just let herself fall into her trap!