Paranormalcy (Paranormalcy, #1)

by Kiersten White

When your world is paranormal, be glad that you’re human… Exciting new author brings a fresh sassy take on paranormal romance, loved by Becca Fitzpatrick, author of HUSH, HUSH.

Sixteen-year-old Evie has always taken comfort in the fact that she is normal, even though her best friend is a mermaid and her ex-boyfriend is a lunatic – and a faery.
In a world where paranormals are monitored and controlled, Evie works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency because of her unique ability to see through glamours. But someone – or something – starts killing vampires, werewolves and other paranormals, and Evie must figure out what’s happening before they all disappear.

Then a shapeshifter named Lend breaks into the agency, and Evie is irresistibly drawn to him, even though he makes her aware that the IPCA is not as noble as she once thought. With everything Evie believes suddenly called into question, the IPCA is attacked and she must choose who she can really trust.

And when Evie discovers she’s part of a faerie prophecy of death and destruction… so much for normal.

• ISBN13: 9780007390113
• Publish Date: 6 January 2011 (first published 31 August 2010)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc
• Imprint: HarperCollins
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 352
• Language: English
• URL: http://harpercollins.co.uk

Reviews

[cornerfolds]

Actual rating: 2.5 stars

Kiersten White's And I Darken series is one of my absolute favorite series of all time, but I hadn't read any of her earlier work until now. I picked up Paranormalcy because it was available at my library and I loved the comparisons to Buffy and Supernatural. I dived in hoping that it would be as addictive a series as And I Darken, but alas.

Evie is the heroine of this story, and it becomes apparent immediately upon meeting her that she is very heavily based on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She is equal parts badass, girly, and rebellious, and I didn't hate her, but I couldn't bring myself to love her either. Like Buffy, she is one of a kind with powers that are expected to help bring peace on earth, but also just wants to be a normal teenager. When Evie meets Lend, she thinks he might be her chance at some normal teen interaction. She immediately starts falling for him and... eh.

The romance between Lend and Evie, while cute, was just kind of off to me. This is possibly because Evie seems so concerned with how hot he is and whether he's holding her hand because he likes her or not, all while the world is crumbling around her. Although she seems to have great reasons for questioning the authority around her, I had a really tough time accepting her attitude. I couldn't deal with her whining about prom while people were literally dying. Lend was a fascinating character, but my favorite character was Reth, by far.

I guess you could say Lend and Reth are the Angel and Spike of this series. Both are supernatural creatures, although one is good and one is kind of maybe bad. I thought that Reth was an infinitely more exciting character, although I was frustrated with how he constantly spoke in riddles, then got angry with Evie for not deciphering them. Overall, I didn't love any of the characters in this book, but Reth is the best of them.

Unlike a lot of my favorite YA series from the 2000s, I feel like Paranormalcy is definitely dated. It fits right in with a lot of other paranormal romance books, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but isn't really my thing. I do love a few books about faeries, but the mashup of faeries, shapeshifters, vampires, and other mythical creatures really took me back to the last decade. If that's something you enjoy, maybe you'd like this book more than I did.

The story itself was definitely unique and I did like the mystery surrounding the Initiative Agency and Buffy's Evie's place within it. I love the idea of a secret organization saving the world from the baddies! But nothing about it really stood out as super unique. Again, maybe if I'd read this when it was published, I would have felt differently. It's entirely possible that I've just read too many books to appreciate this for what it was when it was published.

Overall, I didn't hate Paranormalcy, but I certainly didn't love it. It's fair to say that Kiersten White has grown drastically in every possible way as an author between the time this book was published and when And I Darken came out. I sadly will not be continuing this series, but I will be giving her one more try with Chaos of Stars, and I will definitely read anything she writes in the future!

[elysium]

I have vague memories that people really loved this when it came out. I might be wrong though… Wouldn’t be a bad thing this time…

The biggest problem for me was Evie. She was way too naïve and childish. And liked pink more that is healthy in my opinion… She was found as a small child and grew up in IPCA - organisation that monitors all things paranormal – and yet seems totally clueless what IPCA does or about her own past.

She falls in love with Lend, paranormal who was captured by IPCA. Apart from being practically the only teenage boy she’s met, I don’t see what Evie saw in him. I just thought he was boring.

The most interesting thing was the fairies. They weren’t as “controlled” as everyone seemed to think. Evie’s ex Reth came at first a bit stalkerish but he turned out to be the most interesting pearson in the book. First you think he’s good, then he seems bad, then good.. And he seemed dangerous. Like he could have killed everyone. Or maybe that’s just me hoping.

This was quick and easy read and I can safely say that I won’t continue this trilogy.

[Rowena]

I’ve had this book sitting on my nook for the longest time and never got around to reading it. I would start it and then stop and then move on to something else but with my niece borrowing my kindle, I picked this book up on my nook again and finally read it through the end.
I’m glad that I read it through to the end.

This book follows a young woman named Evie who works for the IPCA (International Paranormal Containment Agency) and her job there is to bag and tag paranormal creatures that are behaving badly. Her special power is that she can see through any glamour that paranormals hide behind to the real things they are underneath. She’s an orphan that was tossed around in the foster system and then was discovered and “adopted” into the IPCA. Her handler, I guess you can call her, Raquel has been like an adopted mother to Evie and even though she doesn’t tell her much about anything, she’s all Evie has. She’s all Evie has ever had.

Even though Evie is content with the way that her life is, she’s not necessarily happy. She wants to be normal, or as normal as she can be. Her favorite TV show is Easton Heights, which is a show about high school. She wants to attend high school, have her own locker and kiss boys but since she can’t, living the way that she lives, she lives vicariously through the characters on her show. Evie’s never questioned her life until she bags and tags a paranormal that tried to break into the IPCA. His name is Lend. He’s a shape-shifter and he’s got some secrets that he won’t spill to Raquel or anyone else at the IPCA so in a cell he sits while they try to figure out what he is and what he was trying to do by breaking in.

Evie is intrigued by him so she sneaks into see him every chance she can and the more she sees him, the closer they get. The more she realizes that he’s not the bad guy that everyone seems to think that he is. When paranormals are dropping dead all over the place, Evie makes some decisions on where her loyalties lay and what she’s going to do about, well everything. Her life, the paranormal situation, etc.

In the beginning of this book, it took a while for me to warm up to Evie. Her attitude and her personality took some getting used to but as the book continued on, I really came to like her. I came to respect the hell out of her and admire the choices she made. She followed what she thought was right and didn’t let anyone talk her out of doing what she thought was right.
I’m not really big on the lighter paranormal stories. I don’t read very many of them because I prefer paranormals (when I read them) to be darker and more serious. I prefer my paranormal love interests/heroes to be the silent, brooding types but White does a really great job of drawing me into this story despite all of that. I really enjoyed watching the story unfold in pieces and I loved getting to know the characters.

I loved Lend (even though I’m not a fan of his name) and I’m really anxious to see more of him in Supernaturally. I loved the relationship that he had with his parents and I loved the way that he embraced Evie and showed her the things that she was missing, being trapped away with the IPCA. I really enjoyed the presence he had in Evie’s life and the influence he had on her. He made her a better person and it was just great.

I really enjoyed getting to know Evie as well, after that rocky start we had in the beginning. She was a really kick ass heroine, real strong and I loved that she used her powers for good and not evil. What I really liked about her was something that far too often, I hate in other characters in other books. I really liked that she was upfront and honest about what she dreaming about and what she thought was going to happen if she kept hanging out with Lend. I loved that she respected him enough to know why she was acting the way that she was. I loved that she protected him by giving him the knowledge he needed to protect himself and to help her any way that he could. I really liked that.

What I didn’t like was Raquel’s sighs. She sighed too hot damn much and it got on my nerves. Every time she sighed one of her “Why are you doing this to me” sighs and her “Why are you an idiot” sighs, I wanted to hit in her the face. I’m still on the fence with her but I did love the other characters that were introduced in this book. I can’t wait to dig into Supernaturally which is what I plan to do right after I finish this review.

Oh, bleep that was good.

This book was so much fun from the very beginning! And I mean that literally. I read the first page and I was already laughing!

I've found my new book BFF. I absolutely adore Evie! She would be so much fun to hang out with! She's got a great narrating voice and is just so sarcastic and humorous. I was pretty much laughing continually through this book thanks to her. She's a lover high-heels, fashion, drama and all things pink. Not to mention she's got a taser. But not just any taser. A bedazzled, pink taser named Tasey....yeah, cause she's just that cool. I just had to add in this quote to show how awesome Tasey is:

“Bud, my self-defense and combat skills teacher, was still trying to get me to learn knife fighting. ‘Silver knives! Painful and sometimes deadly to nearly all paranormals!’”
“’Tasey!’ I countered. ‘Hot pink and sparkly!’”
-Evie

See! See how awesome she is?!?! Where can I get a hot pink, bejeweled taser?!? I'd be the high-heeled terror of the city with that thing! She is the perfect mix of kick-butt and girly...yeah, we could totally hang.


Now to the men (cause, ya know thats totally why I read ;D). Lend is adorable. I love him. I really do. He's honorable, loving, and caring. He's amazingly sweet, and kind and he's the kinda guy that you want in real life. But this isn't real life, so give me Reth! Deliciously dark, dangerous, and intoxicating Reth. Oh, he may not have been in there that often. but goodness! And I don't normally go for blondes ;)

And where's the sparkly vampire? The nice faerie? HA! No such things! Yeah, take all those nice, fluffy things you think about paranormals and just get that outta your head before you read this. Pop culture lied to us! Sparkly Vamps don't exist! though, thank goodness because thats just not normal :/ and don't even get me started on faeries! Fairy godmothers?!? Whatever!

If you couldn't tell from my review above, I absolutely love this book and I can't believe it took me so darn long to read it! Heck, I loved it so much I went out and bought the sequel immediately! And if y'all haven't read it yet then y'all need to get y'alls rears in gear and head on to the bookstore (that was a lot of y'alls in one sentence so you know I'm serious)! Stat! Cause it was just that bleeping good.

P.S. Read the book in order to understand the bleep thing. Its pertty funny! A nice incentive to get you to read it, huh? :P

[Kelsenator]

Originally posted on my blog Kelsey's Cluttered Bookshelf

This book was not what I expected, and I loved it way more than I thought it would.

Evie lives at IPCA which is underground away from the human world. She does the odd job for them, with her pink taser Tasey, tossing around humour and tagging paranormal creatures like Vamps so they can be kept track of and not harm humans. She has no family in the outside world, and all she really knows is what’s around her, but she does dream of being a normal teenager going to high school, like her favourite TV drama she loves to watch. My favourite character there would have to be Lish, her mermaid friend.

Then a new type of Paranormal appears by breaking into IPCA, called Lend, who gets caught by Evie and locked up. He can change shape his appearance, and Evie is intrigued by this, and also excited that someone close to her age is around that she can talk to. After meeting and getting to know him in secret, she starts to doubt if her wonderful life is all it’s made up to be, or if she’s just like another paranormal that they’re keeping there to work because of her special ability. Then other Paranormals start dying. The rest I will not spoil hehe.

There were so many cute and funny parts in this book, but also a depth as Evie changes through the book figuring herself out. The little bit of romance was cute too, I was rooting for them the whole time I read. I would highly recommend this to anyone who loves paranormal, and can’t wait to read the second in the series! (Currently waiting for the library to give me a copy!)

[Amanda]

Actual rating: 4.5

Original review: http://onabookbender.com/2011/08/31/review-paranormalcy-by-kiersten-white/

Evie is what sold me so quickly on Paranormalcy. Her personality is so strong that it jumps off the page and grabs you. I was halfway through reading page 2 when I posted that update to Goodreads. It happened right here:

“Tasers are a one-size-fits-all paranormal butt-kicking option. Mine’s pink with rhinestones. Tasey and I have had a lot of good times together.”

And I was in love. Normally, I am not so easy. But then, Evie is anything but normal. She is bleeping fantastic. Her innocence — in more ways than one — is tangible, and her desire to be normal is overwhelming. She is most definitely a teenager, but rather than annoying in her teenage throes, she is bright and cheery, if occasionally insecure and unsure of her place in the world. That, or I’m turning into a total YA fan (again, all Tara’s fault) and it doesn’t bother me. Stranger things have happened.

Evie’s characterization of Raquel’s sighs was hilarious, and only partly because it reminded me of my mother, who once rated an associate on her sighing on a scale of 1 to 5. And of course, Lish and her bleep bleep bleeping were awesome. You know, the kind of awesome that you want to copy in your own life. So if you see bleeps around here, you’ll know why. I loved the rest of the characters as well. Lend will lead to a video blog, which I may or may not post tomorrow depending on how cool I feel about doing it.

The plot, while I was able to guess some of what was going on, was still enjoyable. The story ends nicely, yet still leaves enough hanging that I instantly put Supernaturally onto my wishlist. Paranormal creatures in Evie’s world have glamours that conceal their true identity. Evie is the only one who can see through those glamours. I don’t know that I have seen glamours done in such a way before, and liked the idea. The pacing was fantastic, and I zipped right through the book in two days. I would have read it in one, but I started the book too late in the day and I’m a cranky old woman who needs her sleep.

[lizarodz]

I loved this book! It seemed to me to rise above the wave of paranormal books that seem to have invaded the YA scene lately. I found Evie to have a fresh voice and different outlook of life and of the paranormal.

Evie was a different kind of protagonist. She was raised in an unusual way, and her life was full of adventure, danger, and secrecy; and lacking in normalcy and void of close relationships of any kind. Don’t get me wrong, she was in no way mistreated, and she got away with a lot mischief and rule-bending, but she deservedly wished for a ‘normal’ life. Since the story is told from Evie’s point of view, you get to know her fairly well. She is very funny and uses irony as a shield. She is a pink and rhinestone loving girly girl in search of love, family and a sense of belonging.

Other characters were Lend, Raquel and Reth. I like Lend, especially since he believed in Evie, not matter what and that is always an admirable trait in a guy, right? (Not sure I could fall in love with someone that weird though.) Raquel tried to be a mother figure for Evie, but didn’t quite hit the mark although she did care for her. Reth I didn’t like one bit. He is manipulative, sneaky, and just plain bad. The characters as a whole were well developed.

The plot was easy to follow, well paced, and original. I found ‘Paranormalcy’ very easy to read and fast paced. One thing I’m not too crazy about is all the open questions that were left at the end. Not exactly a cliffhanger, but so many open issues that make ‘Supernaturally’ a must read (lucky for me it just came out!)

If you like paranormal you should give ‘Paranormalcy’ a try, it’s definitely worth it.

About the cover: I like the cover, the dark background makes it look much more mysterious than it really is, but it makes the model stand out more. ‘Evie’ is wearing pink (what else?) in a shiny fabric and seem to be in movement (like she always is.)

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

This actually has nothing to do with the book itself, but as I was typing up the summary, I realized that Kiersten White spells it "faeries" and not "fairies" which makes me incredibly happy, as I've always done the same. ... Ahem. On to the review.

My approach to Paranormalcy, as a reader, has been different than any other book I have ever read. I bought it because I accidentally stumbled on to Kiersten White's blog and was immediately charmed by her vivacity and quirky sense of humor. I bought her book because I respected her as a person and enjoyed reading her posts everyday. This is the only book I've sought after "meeting" the author, as opposed to seeking the author after enjoying the book.

The first thing I latched on to was Evie, and her voice as the narrator. I am anything but a girly girl, and so, I didn't love her character (personal taste - no attack at all on the writing style). What I did love was her energy - Evie is full of life. High on life. Even in the darkest times, she's one of those people that seems to find a glimpse of hope to bring her happiness, to help her move forward. It's not the raw determination and vengeance sought by so many protagonists - it's innocence. I loved that about her.

However, despite the pleasure I found in the mood of the book, I did have to keep reminding myself - "This is YA Urban Fantasy. YA. Yes, the characters are going to be immature. They are written to appeal to a younger audience than myself." They were shallow and impulsive and downright silly at times, but I've worked with high schoolers long enough (and been one recently enough) to remember that level of innocence and the "drama llama" that comes with it. And adult reader cannot go into this book expecting a mature cast and serious story. This book is pure fun.

That said, there seems to be an underlying layer of seriousness - darkness - with the faeries. I very much enjoyed those characters, because of how mysterious they were. Even at the end of the book, you got the impression they were still hiding something, a clever trick to maintain interest for the next book.

White also gets brownie points for unique fantasy creatures, mixed among the usual choices (vampires, werewolves, mermaids). If I said what they were, though, I'd ruin the book.

Ultimately, I will be picking up Supernaturally at some point in the future. I think that even though the series is definitely intended for teenagers (and the young at heart), White accomplishes everything she intended to with the book.

((Cross-posted to my blog: The Literary Phoenix))

[sstaley]

I really liked this story. A lot of originality in the story and characters.

[Linda]

I really, really loved this book! Evie is a different kind of heroine, and Lend is too cute for words! And the paranormal world in this book is also quite different from what I'm used to. Very well written, kept me guessing a lot - and I like that. I am looking forward to the next paranormalcy book coming out next year.