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Saturday, April 16, 2011

Book Review: Paranormalcy

Author: Kiersten White
Release Date: August 31, 2010
Pages: 352
Read it in: 3 days

The Hook: I see things you can't see. I find things that hunt you. I am your protector. But even I can't protect you now.

Summary: Weird as it is working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, Evie's always thought of herself as normal. Sure, her best friend is a mermaid, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she's falling for a shape-shifter, and she's the only person who can see through paranormals' glamours, but still. Normal.

Only now paranormals are dying, and Evie's dreams are filled with haunting voices and mysterious prophesies. She soon realizes that there may be a link between her abilities and the sudden rash of deaths. Not only that, but she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophesy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures. 

So much for normal.

LC's Take: 

Oh wow, I really liked this book! I am one of those readers who has to read everything word-for-word in my head in order to follow the story (definitely not a speed reader!) so it takes me longer to get through a book, but even I whipped through Paranormalcy in about 3 days (and that was on top of work, grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, etc.). Not too shabby! Paranormalcy kept me interested the whole way through-- the writing style was smart, witty and made me laugh to myself on almost every page.

The main character is Evie, a normal teenage girl despite her ability to see paranormals, and the story is told through her point of view. I swear it was scary how much Evie and I think alike! She is intelligent and ditzy at the same time, which I can totally relate to-- she has a head on her shoulders but she struggles with all the insecurities and embarrassments that go along with being a 16-year old. And for Evie it's even tougher because, you know, her job is to "bag-and-tag" paranormals like vampires, werewolves and hags with a pink taser and bring them back to headquarters for containment. I loved Evie and I'm really glad Kiersten told the story though her eyes-- her sense of humor and ability to make fun of herself were a welcome change from the angsty, emo-types that seem so prevalent in a lot of YA.

The supporting characters added to the lighthearted feel of the book-- Lend is the shape-shifting hottie Evie has a crush on and who really cares about her. Reth is Evie's ex-boyfriend who is also a faerie and takes on the possessive, won't-take-no-for-an-answer stalker-type role. Lish is Evie's best friend (and a mermaid) who works for IPCA and continually gets censored for swearing though the computer that translates her "Mermish" language (hard to explain but it's pretty darn funny).

My opinion? Definitely check this book out! The plot was clever and fast-paced with lots of action. Evie's sense of humor balances the darker parts of the story, and besides she is an awesome kick-butt kind of heroine. There were only two issues I had with this book: one was the secondary characters. They weren't quite as fleshed-out as I would've liked, and Evie's relationships with them were kind of wishy-washy, so it was hard to feel emotional when something happened to them. The other is that I found the cover/back description to be kind of misleading-- if you think this is some dark, Gothic read with lots of serious writing, it's not-- quite the opposite, it's goofy/campy-- in a good way. Other than that, I thought this was a fun and entertaining read. I really haven't seen a bad review for this book yet and am happy to add on with another happy-reader review!

LC's Rating:
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A fast-paced, fun read that combines all of your fave paranormal creatures into one clever and creative story-- you won't regret reading this one!!
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11 comments:

  1. Oh, great review! I've actually never really been teased enough too feel interested in this one, but you definitely succeeded. I'm pretty sure you've gotten my to-read list to grow; now I have to check this book out! Lol.

    Thanks for sharing. :D

    Rebecca @ kindle fever

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  2. I am practically drooling over this book! Thanks for the awesome review. It just reminded me how much I covet Paranormalcy;)

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  3. Love your review! I've always wanted to read this book. I've heard plenty of raving reviews :) I love the sound of Evie, she's the type of heroine I would end up really really liking! :) I so need to get this book. Thanks for your review!

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  4. Great review! I wasn't really that interested in this book until i read your review but now I think I will have to buy it so thanks!

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  5. I love your review! I just want to take Evie out of the book and make her my new best friend. You mentioned all the reasons why I like her so much. I think you're going to love Supernaturally!

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  6. Bex~ Isn't it great when you have 20+ books on your TBR and then read a review and have to add another one? Haha, my list keeps growing too!

    Deb~ I know, it was so much different than a lot of other YA paranormal novels, which I found refreshing-- the humor made it really stand out :)

    Justine~ Evie's character really made this book, and I loved how she gave a fun, lighthearted feel to the story. Definitely a likable heroine!

    Cait~ The great thing about this book was that it was almost like a spoof on all things paranormal. The fact that it made me laugh throughout the whole thing made it worth reading, but there was also a more serious/dark side to it as well, so it satisfies a lot of reader styles.

    Small~ I agree, Evie would make a good friend :) Definitely looking forward to the sequel!

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  7. LOL, yeah! Although my to-read list is seriously +500! At least if you count entire series. Sigh! How on earth will I get to them all? ;)

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  8. Hi Lea, great review! I just started reading it yesterday and am really enjoying it so far :)

    New follower!
    http://sweetunrest-yaseena.blogspot.com/

    btw your blog is really pretty!

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  9. I am reading it right now and love it!

    Angie

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  10. I'm really glad i picked this one up when i did because i was so ready to get out of the vampire world it's crazy how many vampire books i read. But reading this one was so refreshing! Great review!!

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  11. I LOVE the Paranormalcy series! It wasn't what I was expecting at all either but I constantly embarassed myself on public transport whilst reading this due to how much I'd laugh!

    I can definitely relate to you- I related to Evie as well! (Apart from the whole paranormal thing). I loved her sense of humour and how relaxed the overall feel of the book was!

    Excellent review Lea :)
    <3

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