Thursday, October 14, 2010

Book Review: Paranormalcy

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White.  (Grades 7+)  HarperTeen, August 2010.  352 pages.  Reviewed from purchased copy.

Evie loves pink.  She never misses her favorite teen drama, Easton Heights.  She procrastinates on her homework.  Oh, and she can see through paranormals' glamours.  For Evie, this is her normal life: working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, chatting with her best friend (a mermaid), avoiding her ex (a faerie)... When a mysterious shape-shifter appears at IPCA, Evie can't help but be intrigued by the only guy around who's close to her own age.  But when Evie starts having disturbing dreams and paranormals starts dying, she discovers that her ability may mean more than she'd ever thought.

I loved the humorous tone of the book, something I wasn't expecting from the dark cover.  It's funny and a little flippant and it reminded me right away of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which I loved.  I liked the character of Evie right away.  She's spunky and smart and she can do something that no one else can do, but she's still very much a teen girl.  She longs to attend high school like the characters in her favorite show.  She wants to have a boyfriend, learn to drive.  She loves her job, but at the same time she wants a life.

I was intrigued by the workings of the IPCA and Evie's ability. I also dug Kiersten White's imaginings of the various paranormal creatures that Evie meets.  Since Evie can see through their glamours, we get a glimpse of vampires that appear sexy to humans but are withered corpses underneath and faeries whose glamours temper their beauty for human eyes.  Very cool.

Paranormalcy is Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Alias in a YA paranormal romance.  Nothin' wrong with that.

The book's the first in a series and if I have any complaint it's that by the end of the book, a lot of it felt like setup.  I mean, a lot of stuff happens, but not much happens (if that makes any sense).  I will definitely be checking out the sequels and waiting to find out what happens to Evie, Lend, and the rest of them.

Check out more reviews at Stacked, Stiletto Storytime, GreenBean TeenQueen, and DJ's Life in Fiction (among others).

Paranormalcy is on shelves now!