Review: Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Title: Paranormalcy
Author: Kiersten White
Genre: Young Adult
Release Date: 08/31/10
Summary:

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.

Plot: 4.5 Stars
There were a few moments while reading this novel that I had to step back. A couple elements seemed a bit out there, and that's saying something coming from a girl that doesn't read anything that doesn't have some sort of paranormal or supernatural aspect. But I kept reading, and I'm so glad I did. Those couple of elements that seemed too fantastical at the time, came together and were explained and really made for a fantasic story. And I love a story that includes all sorts of paranormal creatures, instead of focusing on just one, and this book had everything. I also enjoy when books have government agencies that control the paranormal creature. This is a theme I see much more of in adult Urban Fantasy, so I was really excited to read about a Young Adult novel with such an agency.

Pace: 4.5 Stars
This novel was a light and quick read. The action was non-stop: every time I thought Evie would get a chance to just sit down and breath, something else was thrown at her. There was a twist around every corner, but the story never felt rushed or forced. I really enjoyed reading the story from Evie's point of view because her inner thoughts gave a lot of insight into the world, plus she had a great sense of humor.

Characters: 4.5 Stars
Evie was the perfect balance of good girl and smart-ass, rule follower and rule breaker, and because of this she felt very real. Her power to see through glamours was very interesting because I often think of only faeries as having glamours, but vampires and werewolves had them also in this novel. Lend was a very interesting character. I enjoyed his shapeshifting abilities and his family. And I loved that he helped Evie be a normal go, even though he wasn't all that normal himself. My favorite paranormal aspect of this novel was the use of the faeries to aid agency member in transportation. I hate spoilers and try not to leave them in my reviews, so all I'll say is there is a character that I wish we could've seen more of. Other than that, love this character or hate that character, the author did a great job of really bringing them to life.

Cover: 5 Stars
The moment I saw this cover, I fell in love with it. This is one of the best covers I have ever seen. I'm jealous of Kiersten, and I may never write a novel let alone get published. Normally I'm not a fan of pale pink, but it really worked for both the title and the cover model's dress to bring a bit of brightness to the darkness of the cover. I also think the cover model was a fantastic choice to portray Evie. Overall, this cover looks and feels like a scene straight out of the book.

Overall: 4.5 Stars

Disclosure: I won a copy of this book from a contest at The Allure of Books!.