Thursday, September 2, 2010

Review: PARANORMALCY by Kiersten White


There has been so much pre-release buzz about Paranormalcy that I was almost reluctant to read it.  I get that way sometimes.  Books, movies, TV shows, music… When things are overly promoted, I get too excited and frequently get let down by the actually product.  Luckily for me (and readers everywhere), Paranormalcy totally lives up to the hype! 

Sixteen year old Evie is just like a normal teenager… except she has never been to high school, lives in an underground government compound, has never been on a date, and works for the IPCA (International Paranormal Containment Agency) capturing paranormal creatures.  Evie is unique.  She is the only person in the world who can see through paranormal glamour and recognize the creature underneath.  This makes identifying vampires, werewolves, ghosts, hags, faeries, etc. easy-peasy.  Once she has them cornered (or rather, they have her cornered) she shocks them with her trusty pink taser gun and slaps an ankle bracelet on them, rendering them controllable. 

While Evie is proud of her work and genuinely cares for the people at the center who take care of her, she longs for the life she sees teens living on TV.  She would love a family, a home, a school with a real locker, a boyfriend maybe…  The closest thing to boyfriend she has ever has is Reth, a faerie who follows her around and wants to control her.  When she meets Lend, a mysterious being that no one has ever encountered before (and a teenager also), she forms a friendship and possibly could turn into more.  Unfortunately, Evie’s social life will have to wait.  Something is killing paranormals in an odd way and no one is safe. 

I thought this was a wonderful book.  White’s voice was so believable as a teenage girl.  She had the language and tone perfect.  At times I felt like Evie was a bit young for sixteen, but considering she grew up in a sterile, protected environment with no one else her age, it works.  I don’t know for sure if this is the start of a series, but I hope so.  There were a few unanswered questions, and I would love to see what happens to Evie next.  I am very curious about Reth’s character.  I have a feeling he is not as crazy as he seems.

Overall, I give Paranormalcy

Plot – 4 bookmarks
Character Development – 4 ½  bookmarks
Love Story – 3 ½ bookmarks (incredibly sweet)
Age Appropriateness – 5 bookmarks (the harshest cuss words were crap, freakin, and bleep)
Interpretation of Paranormal Lore – 4 ½ bookmarks
Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) – Taylor Swift (Evie), Taylor Lautner (Lend), Orlando Bloom (Reth)

2 comments:

  1. I'm having a hard time liking the voice of Evie. I find her too much like Buffy and when I read the words tasey and dang, I cringe. I'm really trying to like Paranormalcy - I want to like it, but right now I'm finding it tough.

    I feel bad for being negative...

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  2. Don't feel bad for being negative. We don't all like the same things. I do think that this is a book that will be liked more by actual teens rather than adults who read YA. Evie is a bit immature, but to me, it made sense with her upbringing. She is trying really hard to be a normal teenager, but her only references are what she sees on TV shows.

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