ParanormalcyBy Kiersten White
Self-Purchased Sept. 4, 2010 from Amazon
Read 9/4 and 9/5
Kindle Edition: 783 KB
Print length: 320 pages
Harper Collins Publishing/Harper Teen
Pub. Date: 8/31/2010
I did not receive any compensation for this review.
The Short Version
Hard lessons are learned with grace as a young woman learns that her life, and her are not what they seem. Young love blooms with innocence.
Writing - excellent
World-Building - tight
Characters - well developed, even supporting characters are developed to a degree.
Story - Intriguing, sad, scary, dangerous
Themes: Growing up, betrayal, Life turned upside down, resiliancy, love, grief
Genre: YA crossing towards UF or PNR
Paranormalcy Book Trailer
http://kierstenwhite.com
Book Description from http://kierstenwhite.com
Evie’s always thought of herself as a normal teenager, even though she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, 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 Evie’s about to realize that she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.
So much for normal.
Sixteen-year-old Evie's job is bagging and tagging paranormals. Possessing the strange ability to see through their glamours, she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency. But when someone--or something--starts taking out the vamps, werewolves, and other odd beasties she's worked hard to help become productive members of society, she's got to figure it out before they all disappear and the world becomes utterly normal.
Normal is so overrated.
The Long Version:
Lately, I have had the good fortune to read new books with new ideas and unique premises. And, several of them have been very good. Some have needed a bit of editing but I am not sure how much of that publishing houses are doing in this economy.
Paranormalcy, however, does not need additional editing. I did not see anything that sang out to me that it needed correction and the voices always rang true. Word choices were used in the correct context. Ms. White constructs a very tight world with very tight prose.
When we come into the book Evie, a sixteen year-old is finishing up a "bag and tag" of a vampire for the IPCA (see above). We learn she is of a ward of the director of the IPCA center where she lives and works as an agent who captures and tags supernatural beings to neutralize their harmful behaviors. She has been doing this and living there since she was eight and rescued from foster care. The center feels very sci-fi; I imagined it a bit like the space station in the film 2001 a Space Odyssey; all soft white and hushed noises. Or it could be more steam punk and gritty like Hell-Boy or even Sanctuary. She lives there she thinks, because she is a human who can do a psychic thing, whereas the other creatures housed there are vampires, were creatures, gremlins and a new comer, Lend. He is about the same age as Evie. He can take on any appearance he wants. In the description of his true form, I am reminded some of scenes in Hollow Man were Kevin Bacon looks transparent, or the silver surfer — All molten silver, but more transparent like water.
During the course of the story, Evie, who looks human and whose only paranormal ability is that she can see past glamour to the creature below sees that Lend, who is more different from humanity than Evie, lives a normal life, something the state has not allowed her. She has to come to grips with the fact that people around her do love her but that they knew the state considered her different. So, she feels loved but betrayed. Soon she understands Lend and their feelings for each other grow.
Evie and Lend are two likable, fun kids faced with terribly serious situations. While there is no overt sexuality in the book, there are scenes which allude to sex. But the kids are very responsible and only engage in some normal making out. There are some scary times and some serious losses. Evie reminds me a bit of MacKayla in the Fae Fever series — she is blond and loves pink but feels deeply and is good at hiding that. She grew up in the Center and has thus been shielded from the pitfalls and joys of "normal life" But, she has been constantly exposed to danger.
Lish, described as Evie's best friend, is a centuries old mermaid who lives in a glass tank and runs control center. I didn't think that in her world it is any stranger to have a mermaid as a close friend and more than it is for two people of different faiths to be friends. But, what I see in the story is a more casual relationship that doesn't really reach that best friend level and wouldn't unless you had spent your entire life in this institution with no other people your age. Her defacto Mother, Raquel, is warm until she catches herself and turns back into the center director.
There is a lot of involvement with faeries, mostly bad. I felt their role was a bit less concretely explained than I would have liked. There are two who are Evie's transports. She dated one but does not wish to "be his." Everyone is trying to solve the supes killings and a riddle comes to light that must be used to understand.
The supporting characters: Lend's parents, Raquel (Evie's guardian and boss) are developed mostly through Evie or Lend's understanding and the fairies Reth and Denfehlath (Fehl). Raquel sighs a lot and Evie can understand the timbre of each and knows what it is about. The locations are great, Lend's home and school are just what Evie thought they would be like. His Mom, well that is an interesting tale. And the ending is satisfying and heartbreaking.
This is a wonderful book for older teens and people like me - old. I was glued to it and enjoyed the read. I would give a 4.5 supernatural stars out of five if I used a rating system.
So much for normal.
Sixteen-year-old Evie's job is bagging and tagging paranormals. Possessing the strange ability to see through their glamours, she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency. But when someone--or something--starts taking out the vamps, werewolves, and other odd beasties she's worked hard to help become productive members of society, she's got to figure it out before they all disappear and the world becomes utterly normal.
Normal is so overrated.
The Long Version:
Lately, I have had the good fortune to read new books with new ideas and unique premises. And, several of them have been very good. Some have needed a bit of editing but I am not sure how much of that publishing houses are doing in this economy.
Paranormalcy, however, does not need additional editing. I did not see anything that sang out to me that it needed correction and the voices always rang true. Word choices were used in the correct context. Ms. White constructs a very tight world with very tight prose.
When we come into the book Evie, a sixteen year-old is finishing up a "bag and tag" of a vampire for the IPCA (see above). We learn she is of a ward of the director of the IPCA center where she lives and works as an agent who captures and tags supernatural beings to neutralize their harmful behaviors. She has been doing this and living there since she was eight and rescued from foster care. The center feels very sci-fi; I imagined it a bit like the space station in the film 2001 a Space Odyssey; all soft white and hushed noises. Or it could be more steam punk and gritty like Hell-Boy or even Sanctuary. She lives there she thinks, because she is a human who can do a psychic thing, whereas the other creatures housed there are vampires, were creatures, gremlins and a new comer, Lend. He is about the same age as Evie. He can take on any appearance he wants. In the description of his true form, I am reminded some of scenes in Hollow Man were Kevin Bacon looks transparent, or the silver surfer — All molten silver, but more transparent like water.
 |
| http://www.flickscribe.com/2007/04/12/fantastic-four-movie-what-is-a-herald-of-galactus/ |
During the course of the story, Evie, who looks human and whose only paranormal ability is that she can see past glamour to the creature below sees that Lend, who is more different from humanity than Evie, lives a normal life, something the state has not allowed her. She has to come to grips with the fact that people around her do love her but that they knew the state considered her different. So, she feels loved but betrayed. Soon she understands Lend and their feelings for each other grow.
Evie and Lend are two likable, fun kids faced with terribly serious situations. While there is no overt sexuality in the book, there are scenes which allude to sex. But the kids are very responsible and only engage in some normal making out. There are some scary times and some serious losses. Evie reminds me a bit of MacKayla in the Fae Fever series — she is blond and loves pink but feels deeply and is good at hiding that. She grew up in the Center and has thus been shielded from the pitfalls and joys of "normal life" But, she has been constantly exposed to danger.
Lish, described as Evie's best friend, is a centuries old mermaid who lives in a glass tank and runs control center. I didn't think that in her world it is any stranger to have a mermaid as a close friend and more than it is for two people of different faiths to be friends. But, what I see in the story is a more casual relationship that doesn't really reach that best friend level and wouldn't unless you had spent your entire life in this institution with no other people your age. Her defacto Mother, Raquel, is warm until she catches herself and turns back into the center director.
There is a lot of involvement with faeries, mostly bad. I felt their role was a bit less concretely explained than I would have liked. There are two who are Evie's transports. She dated one but does not wish to "be his." Everyone is trying to solve the supes killings and a riddle comes to light that must be used to understand.
The supporting characters: Lend's parents, Raquel (Evie's guardian and boss) are developed mostly through Evie or Lend's understanding and the fairies Reth and Denfehlath (Fehl). Raquel sighs a lot and Evie can understand the timbre of each and knows what it is about. The locations are great, Lend's home and school are just what Evie thought they would be like. His Mom, well that is an interesting tale. And the ending is satisfying and heartbreaking.
This is a wonderful book for older teens and people like me - old. I was glued to it and enjoyed the read. I would give a 4.5 supernatural stars out of five if I used a rating system.
Kiersten White's Bio: (Amazon)
Like most adults, I was once a teenager. However, I never outgrew it--literally. Standing at a daunting 4'11", I decided to write to my height peer group. Everyone knows that teenagers have more fun. Turns out writing for teenagers is more entertaining, too.Thanks for Reading!
Born and raised in Utah, I was lucky enough to marry a native San Diegan and be adopted into the fish taco and beach culture. A stay-at-home mom and full-time writer (if you count scraping in whatever hours I can after my kids go to bed as full-time), I live with my wonderful husband and two adorable children in San Diego, CA. I'm currently twenty-six, but that's bound to change next year.
Desperate for entertainment, I started writing shortly after having my first baby and haven't stopped since. Being an author is quite literally a dream come true for a girl who spent every free childhood moment reading, and still spends most of her moments (free or otherwise) daydreaming.
When I'm not writing, I enjoy blogging and reading anything I can get my hands on. I probably need to branch out a bit in my hobbies.
