Book Review: Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Paranormalcy, by Kiersten White
Release Date: August 31, 2010
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 335
Received: Library book
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars 
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Amazon Page 
Goodreads Page

 Summary

As a teen working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, Evie spends her days catching and tagging all sorts of paranormal baddies. Never questioning her duties, Evie goes along with the agency’s activities until the arrival of a completely new paranormal changes her world. Calling into question everything she thought she knew, Lend, the hot new paranormal, challenges Evie to reconsider her actions. He also comes with devastating news: Someone has been systematically murdering paranormals, and Evie and her friends could be next.

Review

I loved, loved, loved this book. Loved it. Why? In large part because of Evie. She’s such a super sweet character and so well developed. I could easily see myself hanging out with her. She’s hilarious (really, I was laughing so hard throughout this book), but she’s also sensitive. The story is told in the first person with Evie narrating, so we get to know her really well. She’s light and bubbly, but she also has depth. She’s been raised in a pretty cold environment without ever really having anyone to love her for herself.

At first blush she may seem a little too stereotypical teenager with her love of shopping, teen drama television shows, and pink fashion (all things I think are actually kind of fun). Going deeper, though, you really get a sense of her separation from all these normal teenage things and so her interest in them seems less superficial and more sad. She seems to try so hard to create normality and love around her because the reality of her life lacks all of that. My heart breaks for her, especially as she uncovers the secrets and prophesies throughout the book.

Evie isn’t the only thing I loved about this book. I mentioned the humor, but I really need to reiterate this. I was so darn happy reading this book. I kept smiling and giggling and smirking. I dare anyone to read the first page and not, at the very least, crack a smile. Go on, I’m serious. I dare you. Look, I’ll even give you a link.

Ok, did you read it? Well, did you smile? I read that first page in the library, closed the book, and walked straight to the checkout line. I knew I was going to love the book based on that first page alone, and I was right. Kiersten White’s writing style is so fluid and fun, but she also really knows how to keep suspense high. There was this one scene (don’t worry I’m not going to give anything away) where Evie encountered the big bad of the story and I was all prepared to start screaming myself. It was tense! But also so much fun! I don’t know how White manages to combine the two, but as a reader I am so glad she did.  

But those aren’t the only reasons I loved this book. Yeah, there’s more. There’s all those other characters. Evie is great, but so is pretty much everyone else. Evie’s best friend (a mermaid!) is so sweet and such a fun character. She speaks through a voice translating computer, all monotone and with any curses bleeped over. She was hilarious. I was so glad Evie had a friend like her. Then there’s Lend. He’s a good guy and his paranormal ability is really very cool. I hope we get to see it used more in the sequel. That’s all I’m going to say about him. Don’t want to spoil anything for you. And the big bad? Jeez, I can’t say anything about that one without giving stuff away, so I’ll just say that I LOVE what White did with this character.

And I’m still not finished explaining all the reasons I loved this book. I’m a, how should I say this, I’m a “throw it all in the pot” kind of girl. When I eat rice, for example, I don’t want just plain rice. I want my rice to have a ton of stuff in it. Cranberries, mushrooms, onions, chicken, whatever. Throw it all in and I’m happy.

 I’m finding I also like my books like that. Not with food (then I’m just super hungry every time I read), but with paranormals. I love that publishers are printing so many different paranormal stories: we’ve got werewolves, vampires, mermaids, fairies, and so on. It’s great. Only thing is, they’re each neatly sectioned off into their own little books. Kiersten White took all those major players, threw them together, and even added a bunch more of her own. I loved it! Even better, it all worked. It didn’t feel jumbled or awkward at all.

I especially liked how White made her fairies. They were mysterious and dangerous, seriously dangerous. I liked that so much more than the delicate sparkly fairies of a lot of other series. How am I supposed to swoon over a fairy guy if he resembles body glitter? I love glitter. Don’t get me wrong, I’m actually kind of obsessed with glitter and anything sparkly (put it on a pretty cover and I could stare at it all day stroking the cover with a dazed expression mumbling “Pretty….” Think a sparkle zombie).

But on a hot guy? I may be kind of old school here, but I want my men to be described with words like “rugged” not “disco ball.” Likewise, if you'd use a word to describe a ballerina, then I don't want that word used to describe the guy I'm supposed to find attractive. Reth, the second love interest and a fairy, might have been gorgeous (and I’m so not complaining about that), but he was in no way, shape, or form delicate. Um, can you tell I liked this character? I hope and suspect we’ll see a lot more of him in the second book (Sorry Team Lend girls, I loved Lend, but I’ve got a thing for the bad boys).

Finally, the last thing I loved about this book is the mystery. We’re fed little bits and pieces as the story progresses. A hint here, a cryptic statement there. I know Reth was bad news for Evie and she was right to try to avoid him, but I really just wanted her to tase him until he spilled the beans…in clear and complete sentences! He was such a tease with all of his little sly statements. Jerk! (I loved him.) Eventually most of these tid bits add up to an interesting conclusion that I really wasn’t expecting at all. Actually, there were a number of curve balls thrown here that I didn't see coming. I can’t wait to see how this is developed in the sequel.

 I still have a ton of questions I’m hoping will be answered in the sequel (Supernaturally, coming out much too far away in September 2011), but this first book did wrap things up well. I hate it when I’m left hanging right in the middle of a storyline with zero answers. Paranormalcy didn’t do that. We get closure in a lot of areas, but significant parts of the storyline are still left open. Fans of Lee Nichols’ Deception (my review) will love Paranormalcy (and if Paranormalcy sounds good to you, then be sure to check out Deception if you haven’t already read it!)

 Explanation of rating system: Star Rating Key 


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Another review of Paranormalcy posted today by Mizz Yasmin

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