Paranormalcy (Paranormalcy Series #1)

Refreshing.

I shouldn't have liked this book. Vampires? Check. Werewolves? Check. Fairies? Check. Secret agency? Check. Dark prophecy? Check. I'm kinda tired of these elements in YA.

So what made PARANORMALCY so different? The execution. It is FUNNY.

Exhibit A: Tasey, the sparkly, hot pink Taser Evie carries as a weapon against the above-mentioned vamps, weres, and fey.

Exhibit B: Oh bleep. The language is clean because Evie bleeps out her own curse words. It's adorable and funny and my online friends may be adopting it. (And there's a GREAT reason why, too, it's not just a tic.)

Exhibit C: Evie herself. She really is a normal girl. She loves pink and teen soap operas a la 90210. She has every reason to be angsty and melodramatic - but she isn't. Yet she's a very real character, she doesn't take the plot developments lightly: she questions herself, her world - she just doesn't languish in it.

Exhibit D: Lend. Lend is the Love Interest and he's adorable. No possibly-going-to-abuse-you bad-boy here. No I-have-personal-demons loner here. He's so normal. Not super mature and gallant, not whiny or angsty or disturbed, either.

My biggest - okay, really my only - problem with this book is the marketing. I don't know if it's the same on the book itself as it is on the ARC. There's a cover quote from Aprilynne Pike, the book 'seduced me.' and she says on the back, of how one love interest got Evie and the other one got her - this is misleading. There's no love triangle and tone isn't dark and seductive. Just to clear that up. Loved this book!

27 out of 29 people found this review helpful.

I Bleeping loved this book!

Oh Bleep! I Bleeping loved this book! This was so cute. Evie is a lovably character, she even has a pink taser she named "Tasey" that she uses to neutralize or "neuter" paranormals.  I felt drawn into the story more then some other recent reads. Evie is special, she can see past paranormal glamours (a sort of fake appearance that is projected to the world). It is this ability that has made her an asset to the International Paranormal Containment Agency (IPCA) in their attempt to regulate and contain paranormals. Since Evie is the only one of her kind she is kept on a tight leash by Raquel, her boss/guardian. Evie has always thought of herself as normal but it turns out she is more then she seems and she may be more dangerous then anyone thought possible.

Evie's best friend, Lish (a mermaid) added humor to the story with her computer generated vocabulary. Since she lives underwater she is unable to speak like a human so a computer does her talking for her. Swear words are not translated so anytime Lish uses one it just comes out as "bleep." Evie picks this up and tends to bleep things a lot. lol

Reth, Evie's ex (a faerie) is alluring but dangerous. He seems to have a hidden agenda that Evie cant quite seem to figure out. On top of all her issues with Reth paranormals start turning up dead and no one can explain why. When a strange shape shifting boy breaks into the IPCA Evie is drawn to him. He has a life on the outside: a family, friends, and even a locker! I must admit it was a little weird to see the attraction of Lend when he is first introduced since she can see under his glamour to what he really looks like. He is described by Evie as looking like water and light.. But my hesitation faded as the story went on and I totally fell in love with Lend right along with Evie. They are perfect for each other. He knows that Evie loves him for who he really is since she can see who he really is and Lend warms Evie's heart (you'll understand that when you read it). Together Evie and Lend will have to uncover a dark faerie prophecy and save all paranormal creatures.

I highly recommend this book. And if you love at much as I do you will be happy to know it is a series!!! Yay!! Supernaturally (Paranormalcy #2) is scheduled to release September 2011!

9 out of 10 people found this review helpful.

Would Not Recommend

I was extremely excited to receive this book in the mail along with a few other YA books with good reviews. I had read positive reviews for Paranormalcy everywhere so I was sure I was going to love the book. Unfortunately, I did not even like it. I found Evie to be immature for someone her age. She acted more like a preteen than a 16 year old. I also found it hard to believe that so many readers found her to be such a refreshing, strong protagonist when she broke down crying every five minutes. I didn't feel a connection to any of the characters. In fact, I did not even feel the slightest bit sad for the ones who died. Overall this book is not one that I would recommend or read twice.

4 out of 15 people found this review helpful.

Reading Teen Review

From the very first page of Paranormalcy, I fell completely in love with Evie! She was "bleeping" fantastic! It's not that often that I come away from a book, just loving the girl that is the "point of view". Even in Twilight, which I loved, I found myself often thinking, "I understand why she loves him....but what on earth does he see in her?" This was absolutely not the case in this book! Evie was funny, witty, intelligent, thoughtful, kind, and beautiful! What's not to love? I found myself cracking up laughing at her sarcastic remarks, and her witty comebacks. I loved that she had insecurities, but that they didn't hold her back. She wasn't afraid to speak her mind, even if she thought people might think she was crazy for saying it. I just loved everything about her! And the relationship between Evie and Lend was just perfect. Lend was such a fun character to get to know. I love how he "wore" different appearances all the time, and that Evie just didn't care at all what he looked like. It was so refreshing to see their relationship progress over time, as they got to really know each other. They didn't just meet and fall madly in love without any real reason. It was perfectly sweet!

I also loved the storyline. It was so unique! It was kind of like "Men in Black" meets "Van Helsing" meets "Never Been Kissed". It has something for everyone! It's funny, light-hearted, sweet, and clever, while at the same time it's unusual, romantic, mysterious, and even at brief times a little dark and scary. It's everything that I love in a book!

This is the part where I normally say what I didn't like about the book. I have nothing. There is honestly nothing I would change about this book! When I was reading it, I kept laughing, and sighing, and smiling, and Kit (my 15 yr old daughter) would keep saying, "What?" And I would just say, "Oh, you have to read this book....you will love it!" And what makes me happiest, is not only that I think this book is ok (appropriate) for her to read, but that I want her to read it. I can't wait until she reads it, because I know it will be one of those books that we talk about and quote to each other forever!

Andye (http://ReadingTeen.net/)

4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Good Read

I read a lot about this book before I decided to pick it up. It was a pretty good read. It's interesting and vivid. Pretty humorous as well. I did like this book. Yet I am on the fence about whether or not I will continue reading the series. I was interested while I read but after I put it down, it does not stay with me. This is not one of the series I will be an avid reader to. But that is just my personal (lack of) connection to this book. Yet I will recommend this to any YA paranormal readers.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Fun and Entertaining

This book was a very light read, funny and entertaining. I give it three stars because the main character talks like a valley girl and is kinda shallow and drama-queenish. But overall I had a good laugh and was entertained. It kind of reminded me of the Men in Black movies only with a teenage girl sans the black suit.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

It's Bleeping Awesome!

Evie is not the typical teenage girl. She sees through paranormal glamours and can totally kick paranormal butt, especially with her special pink rhinestone taser -- lovingly named Tasey. In being able to do so, she has become a priceless asset to IPCA (International Paranormal Containment Agency) - an agency that "bags and tags" paranormals living in our world. One night, there is a break-in at the agency and Evie catches the intruder - a shapeshifter named Lend that is like no paranormal Evie (or anyone) has ever seen before. Evie is intrigued. But as Evie learns more about Lend and why he's there, the more questions come up for Evie about herself, as well as questions about the agency that she has called home for so long.

Take the humor and wit of some of my favorite urban fantasies, mix in my favorite paranormals, and add a dash of teenage drama and romance - and you have Paranormalcy. Honestly, this is probably the most refreshing paranormal YA book that I've read for 2010. It's the perfect mix of light and dark, as well as action and a little bit of fluff.

For me, Evie is a perfect example of what I would call the best YA teen heroine in a fantasy story. Yes, she can kick butt and take names like it's no one business, but she's also still just a teen that yearns for a taste of normal teenage life. She's flawed, isn't perfect, and can whine with the best of them. Yet at the end of the day, she's still herself, who she wants to be and she's a fierce friend who sticks up and avenges her friends like it's no ones business. Reading reviews in the past, I thought I was going to get an overdose of uber-girly, "OMG, PINK!" moments. While Evie does love the color pink, it's not unbearingly so and, honestly, she makes it really cute. That, and her obsession with a teenage drama tv show. It's adorable.

And the guys? Yeah, we can't have a story without some hot guys ... and we definitely got that as well. You can't help but love Lend and Reth? Well, he frustrates you to no end, but there's the intrigue there as well! I can't say that I'm a huge fan of how the vampires were portrayed to look under their glamours, but I was able to look past that to enjoy the story.

White's voice and writing was just ... perfect. I don't know how else to describe it. She's excellent at provoking your emotions at just the right spots. When Evie is sad, you're sad. When she's happy, you're happy. When she wants to slap Reth, you want to jump into the story and do it for her. There are questions throughout that story that are sometimes answered and some that may stay with you until the very end - maybe even through the next book. When I finished this book, I was completely satisfied with what I had just read.. but I was definitely left with a small thirst to quench with the next book.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

This book is so bleeping cute. Funny, Witty, Sarcastic and I LOVED IT.

I really truly loved this book. I am also 30 years old :) Not trying to hide it. If you are into the paranormal love thing, than this is for you. It's light, and not dark and heavy like a lot of paranormal stuff.

At first I thought " crap this is going to be bubble-gummy" But in all honesty this book is adorable and I was telling people about it FAR before I was finished.

It's not too long, and an easy read. The only problem is you will NOT want to put it down. I am SO hoping that it will be a series.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Great start to what could be an awesome series!

I really liked this book. It has such a unique world and plot line. As far as debut novels go in this genre its a great start! I will say I wished the characters were more mature considering the situations and bring up of Evie and Lend. They have gone through alot and are very deeply lonely people but their characters didnt seem as developed as they should of been having been through so much isolation. I loved the fay in the book. Such accuracy in the lore but creativity in how she placed it in her story. I like how they make you think Reth is the "anti hero" Hes not the good guy at all but hes not all bad either. He really loves Evie far more then a faerie should considering how they are emotionally. Very selfish and self serving but I felt that he really cared for her even though in the end he needed her for his own reasons. All in all this was a great read. Alot of mystery, so the plot keeps you guessing but there's also alot of humor and Evie is a great female lead with Lend as a solid and very like able love interest. I loved the world of the paranormal in this book. It was very accurate to mythology but also she created her own world and let your imagination run with in it. So for sure if you want a great romance with action, suspense and mystery with a killer ending and room for more in a series then pick this book up. I'm very glad I did and I hope it comes out with another.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Best Paranormal Book Since Twilight!

This book is hilarious, exciting, and sweet. I really connect with the main character. It's a great book, and I recommend it to everyone!

1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Paranormalcy was an authentic start to a fun and stimulating series!

My Rating: 4.5

Paranormalcy was an authentic start to a fun and stimulating series. Kiersten's manifestation of the IPCA (International Paranormal Containment Agency) was bleeping brilliant (you'll understand why I used 'bleeping' once you read it.) The thought of an agency capturing paranormal beings such as vampires, werewolves, faeries, etc. and giving them a job within the company was hilarious. On top of that, the main character, Evie was spunky, sarcastic and one tough cookie. Her energy and ability to deal with unusual situations reeled me into the story. The IPCA depended on Evie a lot since she had the gift of seeing passed glamours. Too bad she couldn't enjoy the sexy vampires since all she could see was their nasty skeletons underneath.

In Paranormalcy, the reader was introduced to Evie's ex faerie boyfriend, Reth. I felt like his sense of purpose will be revealed in the next installment. Right now, I am a bit flustered by his demeanor and confused about his choices. Another character I really liked was Lend, Evie's crush. He was quite a catch not only in his power to take the appearance of others but, also his sweet nature. There blooming relationship was adorable and they seemingly meshed together. The elements I enjoyed the most was learning the reasoning behind the IPCA and the figure who made it her business to destroy paranormals. I will leave it at that in order to keep spoilers out of my review. There are still a lot of unanswered questions I am looking forward to unraveling. Overall, all the suspense, humor and supernatural creatures made this book into a fun ride. I am excited to see what other hardships Evie is put through in the sequel.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Stunning Debut

This review can be found on my blog:
http://penultimatepage.com/review-paranormalcy/

My Thoughts:

I have been longing to read Paranormalcy since I first heard about, so naturally, I stalked my mailman when I found out I would be getting my very own copy.
Evie, the main character, is quite possibly the strongest heroine I have ever read. However, she is more than just strong. Evie is clever, sarcastic, hilarious, flirtatious, lovable, and altogether awesome!
Paranormalcy isn's strictly about vampires or werewolves or faeries. Evie refuses to be put in a box labeled "YA Paranormal Romance". I mean, how can you get a girl that has a pink, rhinestone taser into a box? I wouldn't even try it. Let Evie, and Kiersten, be unique. They're good at it. They're the best.
Not only is Evie completely original, but so are the other characters, including the ultra-sexy love interest! Aside from some purposely cliche vampires, a few totally docile werewolves, and an evil faerie, Kiersten gives us some new paranormals to wrap our heads around. After seeing book after book of strictly one or the other, Paranormalcy is a breath of fresh air that seriously makes you think. All of Paranormalcy's characters have lives of their own.
Of course, there is more to a story than fabulous characters. The settings in Paranormalcy are vivid and realistic. From the IPCA headquarters to international cities where Evie tracks paranormals to the faerie paths that take her there, you can perfectly visualize everywhere Evie takes you.
Normally, I can tell where a story is going, whether I guess the ending or just the next twist. It starts to get boring. I applaud Kiersten for keeping me guessing. Sure, I could guess a twist here, the effect of some action there, but multiple times, I was utterly stumped.
What we get with Paranormalcy is the perfect debut book and I only see this series getting better.
The Blurb:

Dark and sexy, flirtatious and fun. Paranormalcy is a extraordinarily unique debut that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Best

I totally think this is like the best book ever. I recomend this book for ages 9+.

Just Awesome

Anyone who has met me in real life probably thinks I'm fairly sane. That is until they really get to know me and learn about my obsession with a little show called Buffy The Vampire Slayer. The extent of my love for this show goes far beyond casual viewership and into the "dangerously crazed" category of fandom. So much so that I injured myself on more than one occasion when I was in grade school trying to do kickboxing in my room (i'm not very coordinated). I have spent countless hours lamenting the fact that I will never be The Chosen One and that I don't get cool weapons (or athleticism for that matter). Buffy ended awhile ago but I still tend to compare most paranormal-esque things to it. I picked up Paranormalcy expecting a pretty good read based on the reviews I had read, but I was shocked by the amount of awesome in this book! It was spooky, quirky and funny. So why the Buffy intro to this post? I'll tell you, Evie's witticisms and attitude remind me so much of Buffy! I think that's why I loved this book so much. By page 3 I was thinking "why isn't this a show on the CW yet?!". I am in love with this book! Let me give you an example of why I fell for this read:

“Tasers are a one-size-fits-all paranormal butt-kicking option. Mine’s pink withrhinestones.” - Evie, Paranormalcy

Yes, ladies and gents, that's correct, she has a pink, bedazzled taser. Oh, how I want one. And in case you are wondering, yes, they do in fact exist (naturally I looked this up immediately). There is actually quite a selection of pink tasers. I happen to think the Hello Kitty one is pretty sweet.



Anyway, adorable anti-rape devices aside, this story had lots of things going for it. First of all there is Evie. I've already told you how I love her spunk, but she also has real depth and vulnerability without getting all weepy every time she breaks a nail. She is strong and capable while still being feminine. All of the characters that White creates here are realistic (strangely enough) and their motives are relateable. This includes the bad guys and even the background characters. I also really enjoyed Lend. He is a paranormal who is captured while breaking in to the agency where Evie works. He can change into almost any person and only Evie can see his real face. Of course they grow to love each other but this is not a case of insta-love. They form a friendship first and out of that loyalty and admiration comes love. This is always admirable in YA literature where the model for successful book says that the girl needs to instantly fall in love with the brooding male lead. That's another thing! Lend doesn't brood! He is funny and charming and just a little awkward. Yes! I don't know about you but Lend is just my type. The two of them together are hilarious and entirely believable. The third character I want to get into is the villain. I won't get into too much detail because, for the most part, this character isn't revealed until about half way through the book, but I will tell you that White does an excellent job of making sure that we understand the villain and even feel sympathy for their plight.

Another thing I like about this story was that it wasn't one-sided. I didn't feel like one person or organization was all bad or all good. This is something that Evie comes to realize as well as the book goes on. I think this is an important theme for a YA book. I know that as a teenager

Arielle

Whatsa matter?

Maybe if I were a teenager, I would have enjoyed this book. I t

Maybe if I were a teenager, I would have enjoyed this book. I thought I was reading an eighth grader's creative writing assignment. The plot is stupid and illogical and the writing is immature. I'm curious to know the kinds of books the author reads, so I would know why an adult human being would think it okay to write something so bad. I feel badly for young adult readers who think that this is a good book. Writing like this will seep into their subconscious and make English teachers nationwide cringe. Get ready for a C.

Hi

Dude is me hmmmm

To post below

I CANT BELIEVE YOU JUST SAID THAT!!! MAYBE ITS BECAUSE YOU HAVE A BAD TASTE IN BOOKS!!! THIS WAS ONE OF THE BEST WRITEN BOOKS EVER!!!! OR MAYBE ITS BECAUSE YOUR NOT A TEEN!!! THAT IS WHAT LIFE IS FOR A TEEN!!! STRUGGLES AND CRUSHES!!!!!! BUT ANYWAY!!! YOUR MEAN!!!

Right now I'm kicking myself for waiting so long to read to this

Right now I'm kicking myself for waiting so long to read to this book. I've had it in my "To Read" stack for 6 months and I'm really mad I left it there so long. This book was wonderful. Very rarely do I find a book that can make me (both) laugh and cry; but, this was one of those pieces of work.

Kiersten White is wonderful at making you understand the true emotions that her characters feel. The love that Evie feels for Lish (her best friend who is also a mermaid), the loathing she feels for Reth (a faerie that seems to stalk her), and the confusion that Lend (an unknown paranormal creature who can steal the appearance of others), brings into her life. Plus, I admire any author that can bring a young adult book to life without any cursing. Instead you get Lish's hilarious monotone voice "bleep"ing.

If you're looking for a book to read to in small intervals, this is NOT the book for you. This book sucks you in and leaves you wanting more.

Paranormalcy was one of those books that I kept seeing popup on

Paranormalcy was one of those books that I kept seeing popup on Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble; basically the sites I visit on practically a daily basis. Although the synopsis perked my interest a bit, it was truly the great reviews I kept seeing that urged me to purchase Paranormalcy. I’ve hit a streak of gold lately when it comes to great books. The last few I’ve read have been phenomal, and although I was a tad iffy I still went into Paranormalcy with high hopes. I’m glad to say that I wasn’t let down–not a bit. Paranormalcy is a very cute, engaging, and unique YA book. The story concept was fresh and very likable. Per usual when I get addicted to a good book I’m up wicked late to finish it, and Paranormalcy was no exception.

I’m a HUGE Buffy fan and therefore I think one of the reasons I loved Paranormalcy so much is because I could drawn lines connecting the two. Midway through the Buffy TV series we learned about a secret government sector called the Initiative whose job was to monitor and exterminate lethal supernatural beings. Their commando-agents were responsible for bagging and tagging the various supernatural they encountered such as vampires, demons, werewolves, etc. In Paranormalcy, Evie our heroine, works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency (ICPA) by ferreting out various supernaturals and banding them with trackers. In Paranormalcy all supes are considered dangerous and therefore are carefully monitored and put to work for the ICPA. I really enjoyed this aspect of the book, besides television, I’ve never read a story that features a government agency like this. With a the cool gadgets and protocol; I was completely engrossed.

Evie is at the center of the story. As an orphan with an extremely-unique as one would say “paranormal” gift, she’s been with the ICPA for quite sometime. She’s recently been able to handle bag and tag cases on her own. Paired with the ability to see through any supernatural glamour and a pink taser covered in rhinestones named “Tasey” she’s one girl you don’t want to mess with. I felt like throughout book I had a very love-hate relationship towards Evie. On one hand she’s super funny, quirky, and brave. She definitely “beats to the sound of her own drum” and therefore I found her to be a very compelling character. However, as much as I love Evie, at times I still wanted to take her by the shoulders and give her a good-solid shake. Sometimes she makes really bad decisions. Although her heart is always in the right place she has a tendency to jump in first and think it out later. She gets put in quite a lot of bad positions because of her fly-of-the-seat reactions.

Besides Evie, Paranormalcy has a strong group of characters. For instance, Lend *be still my heart* is a great male lead. Although he’s very guarded in the beginning his character really opens up throughout the book. I loved seeing the teamwork between Evie and Lend. When I think of the two them together I picture “ying” and “yang”. At one point during the book, Lend’s mother remarks ”What a lovely balance. Lend shows whatever he wants the world to see and you see through whatever the world wants to show you”. I think that Kiersten White had a spurt of creativity genius when she decided what abilities Evie and Lend would have. Not only are they super-cute together, they also complement each other fantastically.

Overall Paranormalcy was a very enjoyable read. I was extremely entertained throughout the entire novel. The pace is perfect and the story is full of action and great dialogue. All the characters leap right off the page whether it be goofy and strong-willed Evie, cute and determined Lend, stern and motherly Raquel or devilish and cunning Reth. With 4 stars I definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves YA fiction with romance, action, and of course paranormalcy.