Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: August 31, 2010
Source: a super awesome book fairy
Language: English

Synopsis: 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.

Sweeping in as a phenomenal debut with a kickass heroine, Paranormalcy is a refreshing addition to the slew of fantasy novels in the young adult genre. Evie is a strong, funny, admirable character who has a lot of responsibility on her shoulders as IPCA's main agent but what really made me love Evie was that despite what she does, she is still a teenager at heart. She may bag and tag paranormals but she does what any regular sixteen-year-old girl would do: she talks to her best friend (who is also a mermaid but that's no biggie!) about boys, she's obsessed with her favorite show, Easton Heights and she has a love for all things pink. She's really an adorable character--she even has a cute way of swearing! Her substitute for swear words reminded me a little of Tessa from Suzanne Young's The Naughty List only instead of getting used to her quirk as I did with Tessa, I found Evie's outbursts of "Holy bleep!" instantly hilarious.

The plot went along at a fast pace since it's mostly character-driven but Kiersten White expertly balanced it with a few other subplots, including Evie's blossoming relationship with Lend. Kiersten White also did a fabulous job of making Lend and Evie's relationship believable. They may be teens with paranormal abilities but their gradual attraction to each other was filled with sweet (and sometimes awkward!) moments; it was realistic and that was lovely in itself.  Last but certainly not least is the world that White created in Paranormalcy: it was so well-crafted and imaginative that it makes me wonder what else is going on in the author's mind: it's like a playground of awesome ideas. Simply put, there was nothing in this book that I didn't like.

With a voice as distinct as Meg Cabot*, Kiersten White's original and irresistable debut is sure to be a smashing success once it's out. Paranormalcy has something for audiences of all ages and its winsome main character will definetely charm her way into your heart.

Rating: 5.0

*You know I'm serious when I use MEG CABOT as an example.