Review: Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

 *smiles sheepishly* Since I'm not big on exposing my identity, you know unveiling my appearance entirely on the internet, I sort of got my cat to model with the book! It's just that I was so damn (pardon my Française) happy about getting the book (even if it is only a library book)! Anyway this is Sam:

If Sam could talk, he'd say that Paranormalcy is super bleeping awesome! And you can take his word for it, I mean, can you resist those lovely, demonic-looking eyes?

Paranormalcy (Book 1)

Author: Kiersten White (@ Twitter/Blog)

Release Date:8/31/10

Publisher: Harper Teen

Age Group: Young Adult (14+)

Source: Borrowed (School Library)

Go Buy It! Amazon/Barnes&Noble/BookDepository

Overall Feelings: Refreshing!

"  Weird as it is working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, Evie's always thought of herself as normal. Sure, her best friend is a mermaid, 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 still. Normal.

Only now paranormals are dying, and Evie's dreams are filled with haunting voices and mysterious prophecies. She soon realizes that there may be a link between her abilities and the sudden rash of deaths. Not only that, but she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.

So much for normal."

Plot & Ending: So, how about that title? Paranormalcy It's so wonderfully unique, so out of the ordinary. When I first heard about this book, I wasn't struck with fierce intrigue. In fact, quite the opposite. Then, I saw the cover and read reviews and so forth. To put it simply, I got hooked. Now a month and a half after it's release, I'm sitting on my living room couch prepped to tell you all about it. Well, not ALL or even SOME, but you get the idea.

One of the BEST things about this book is it's integration of every supernatural creature you could ever think of. Even ones you can't think of. Faeries, Werewolves, Vamps, Shape-Shifters, you name it, Paranormalcy's got it. But, what's more is that the book surrounds itself around an agency, IPCA, a place filled with professionals who personally or otherwise deal with 'paranormals'. Can you say different, unique, extraordinary maybe? 

And I can't forget to mention the ride I took reading this one. I had to deal with the sadness and sympathy for Evie, the main girl, and how she lives on a daily basis, the angst of whether or not she is truly apart of some dark faerie prophecy (all of this is located on the flap by the way; so no complains of spoilers!), the frustration and heeby-geebies I felt because of Reth, aka Evie's faerie stalker, and the warmth emanating from the romance budding between Evie and Lend. Roller-coaster ride or what? (And get this, I didn't even mind that the story is told in the first person. =o! I know!)

Then, of course, there's the ending. While it wasn't my most favorite way to end a book, I didn't not like it either. *possible spoiler alert* I'm a little sad about the whole thing with Raquel, but not really because I have the feeling that this isn't the last of her. I'm depressed about Lish. I'm ecstatic about Lend and Evie. BUT, I can see a whole bunch of different ways White could really flip the script and send me down another long, long rabit hole. 

I DO very much recommend Paranormalcy. It didn't really annoy much, and the things that did annoy me aren't even worth mentioning. They're my own little peeves that will probably be happily ignored by other readers, so...It's most definitely worth the time, though it didn't take too much time to read. Once I got sucked in, it was very hard to pull myself out. It's a pretty fast-paced read. (:

Characters: Something I didn't expect was the depth I found in Evie, the main character. I completely fell for this girl (but not in a weird creepy, stalkerish way lol). I could feel her sadness, her loneliness, her desires, everything, which was a good surprise. Lend, I loved. He's not the type of love interest you'd expect to find in this sort of book, but he's exactly right for Evie. He has this boyish charm and irresistible sweetness that draws you in. There was nothing I didn't like about him. I had a sort of love and hate relationship with Raquel. I adored Lish (:[). Arianna cracked me the hell up. And Vivian...she freaked me out a little bit. All in all it was a nice bunch of characters with a variety of qualities and personalities that added brilliance to the book. Nice casting, K. White! 

Cover: Like I said, at first I couldn't care less about this book, but the cover was what did me in initially. The flowers...the pwetty pink dress, and I LOVE her blondness. It goes perfectly with her face. I wish the model's eyes were a shade lighter, but, hey, can't be too choosy nowadays. And the sky in the background is just a work of art. I think it expresses some of the emotion in the book.