Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Reading Level:: Young Adult
Pages: 352
Publisher: September 21st 2010 by HarperTeen

"I sighed. I hate the vamp jobs. They think they're so suave. It's not enough for them to slaughter and eat you like a zombie would. No, they want it to be all sexy, too. And, trust me: vampires? Not. Sexy. I mean, sure, their glamours can be pretty hot, but the dry-as-bone corpse bodies shimmering underneath? Nothing attractive there. Not that anyone else can see them, though.
He hissed. Just as he reached for my neck, I tased him. I was there to bag and tag, not to kill. Besides, if I had to carry separate weapons for every paranormal I took out, I'd be dragging around a full luggage set. 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."*

Evie is an apparently normal teenage girl with a not so normal ability. She can look at someone and see what they really and truly are. Not their real personality- who cares if someone is really a liar or up to no good- she can see past their facade and tell you if that gorgeous guy is really disguising the decaying corpse of a vampire or if that body builder isn't on steroids but is in fact- a werewolf. With her unique ability comes a not so average job. Evie works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency which tracks and tags paranormals, much like we do for endangered animals. But this paranormal profiling and tracking isn't for their safety- it's for ours.

____________


I had so much fun reading this book and I think all the rage over it only enhanced my enjoyment because it really does rock. So why all the hype? Well I'll tell you. Apart from the absolutely freakin' fabulous cover which looks exactly like Evie, White has a real knack for involving you in her story. It's more like a video game than a book and you don't read it- you play it. White created the world but you and Evie control it. She so involves the reader that somehow she's written you into the story and you take part in an adventure that leaves your mental legs tired. Special added bonus, you get to hang out with Evie who possesses just about all the awesome there is.

Evie has got to be one of the toughest YA heroines I've met to date. She's no nonsense, edgy and persistent all the while staying within the realistic confines of a 16 year old's mentality. Often times I find YA authors, who are adults, place a teenage label on their ladies but still write them as adults, with adult reactions to situations. I find this a refreshing approach to a YA novel. White wrote Evie like a 16 year old girl, not just called her one which tells me she really gets her character. Well done. Let a kid be a kid. I'm with Evie. Why walk down the hallways of a maximum security paranormal containment facility when you can race down it by rolling in an office chair!

We have a fun little romance happening that is quirky and sweet but it doesn't interfere with the main plot, so it adds to our story, not overpowers it. Those of you not looking for romance won't mind this little addition because it's so very adorable. Evie doesn't chose the wrong guy and lose her head- she's too smart for that. Every once in awhile it's OK to fall for the good guy. They need lovin' too. And thankfully he's not a bleeping vampire.

I couldn't put it down. It's creative, quite different from all the paranormal books floating around today, its characters are unique, and Evie is so very funny. I have a spot reserved on my bookshelf and I already know you do too :)

"I'll admit the idea of her hands on my hair- her glamoured corpse hands- still bothered me a little bit. But I was trying to get over it. After all, things were a lot more complicated than they used to be. It was no longer see vamp, stun vamp, tag vamp. Now it was, ponder the philosophical implications of people who had immortality forced upon them, doomed to hang onto the coattails of humanity while having almost none left themselves. Man, no wonder they drank blood."*

*Quotes were taken from an ARC of Paranormalcy and may not be the same in the published copy.