Review: Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Posted by Jessi (Geo) on September 24, 2012 | 8 Comments


Review: Paranormalcy by Kiersten WhiteParanormalcy by Kiersten White
Series: Paranormalcy #1
Published by HarperTeen (8.31.2010)
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Format: Paperback, 335 pages
Source: I own it
Buy on Amazon


4 Stars

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.

My thoughts

This makes twice that I’ve read this one, and I enjoyed it just as much the second time! I re-read it because I wanted to read Endlessly and it’s been so long since I read the first two that I forgot basically everything. But as I was reading, I found it all coming back to me. It kept me from being surprised in many places, because I knew what was going to happen; but I think as a new reader, there would have been many unexpected things happen.

I loved Evie! She was realistic and easy to relate to, and she possessed a bit of a sarcastic streak that made me giggle many times. And did I mention she carried around a pink taser?
I liked the minor characters, too. Lend was fabulous! He was sweet, and his ability was freaking awesome. Although Raquel wasn’t an ideal parent, she did a pretty good job raising Evie. Even if she was a bit too practical at times (read: boring). Plus she practically communicated with sighs…one sigh would equal an entire sentence to Evie. It was amusing!
I really liked Lish (Evie’s mermaid best friend) and Arianna (sarcastic vampire roommate), too.

The chapter names cracked me up! Names such as OH BITE ME, FAERLY STUPID, and HAVE A BLEEP BLEEP DAY. Oh, and my personal favorite: DUMBBELLS, BOYS, AND OTHER DENSE THINGS.

I’ve read plenty of paranormal books, but this one stands out. The take on vamps and werewolves is traditional, but the IPCA (International Paranormal Containment Agency) was what made it different. I’ve read books where the paranormals are seen as celebrities, ones where they keep to themselves and stay in hiding, and many other views….but never one where they were hunted and imprisoned. It’s not exactly humane, but they’re seen as being lesser than humans. I loved how in the beginning, Evie just did her job (bagging and tagging) and didn’t think anything of it; just that she was keeping possible killers off of the streets. But as the story progressed, she started to see that the paranormals are people too, and they deserve rights as much as the humans.

Oh, bleep. Guess it’s time for book two! :)

 
quotes
“You aren’t going to kill us?” the speaker asked, giving me a suspicious look.
“Why does everyone keep asking me that?” Seriously, did I look like some kind of psycho assassin? Maybe it was the pink sneakers. Or the heart earrings?
 

Overall Assessment

Plot: 3.5/5
Writing style: 4/5
Originality: 4/5
Characters: 3.5/5
World-building: 4/5
Pace: 4/5
Cover: 4/5
Overall rating: 4/5

Jessi (Geo)

Posted in: Book Reviews | Tags: , , , , , ,

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8 responses to “Review: Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

  1. Ever since I saw the cover to this one, I was immediately enthralled. Although, I haven’t read Paranormalcy yet, but it really looks like something worth reading!

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