Review: Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Paranormalcy-Kiersten White
Publisher: Harper Teen
Publication Date: August, 2010
Source: Purchased
Author Website

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. 
(Amazon)





I feel that it's time for me to confess. I hate faeries. I would go as far as to say that I loathe faeries. I think they are mean and selfish fictional creatures. I almost never read books where faeries are main characters for this reason. I've tried, but I always come away with the same general icky feeling.

 When I heard that there were faeries in Paranormalcy, I wondered if I would like it. I bought it anyway, and I'm so glad I did. Evie feels about faeries the same way I do, and she wishes she could wash away the memories of Reth, the creeper faerie that wormed his way into her heart. Am I the only one that thought Reth was gross? Since I'm a faerie hater I'm not sure if that swayed my opinion.


I loved Evie, not only because she shares my suspicions of fey folk, but also that she loves pink. Seriously, if I wasn't married, my whole damn house would look like Hello Kitty went nuts with a bottle of Pepto Bismol. Evie has unabashed enthusiasm and utter disregard for acting 'cool'. She calls her taser Tasey, loves animal prints and hot pink anything. She's a blonde-but not a dumb blonde by any stretch of the imagination.

Evie is satisfied enough with her life when she meets Lend, a hottie shapeshifter. Lend's arrival is a harbinger for change, upending her entire world. I loved how the story played out, as Evie tried to figure out not only exactly what she was, but who she was as well. It nicely illustrates the change that we all go through when we're teenagers.

There are portions of Paranormalcy that made me gasp, and others that made me sad. Evie is a pretty lonely kid,  who at her heart just wants to wear the sparkly pink dress to the prom, go to the mall, and watch her favorite TV show.

My only (totally tiny) complaint was that I felt that the villain wasn't all that villany. I felt empathy for-er, the villain. Don't want to say too much and spoil anyone!

To wrap up, I loved  this book and the fact that while it is a series book, it had an ending that left a few strings dangling for the next book (yay-can't wait) but had a satisfying conclusion.