Tuesday, February 1, 2011

PARANORMALCY Review

Ah, I'm embarrassed, actually, to admit it's taken me this long to read PARANORMALCY, by Kiersten White. After all, I did interview her last summer and give away a pre-order of her book. I've been reading Kiersten's blog since before she sold the manuscript, and I knew I liked her writing. Her posts always either make me laugh or think, sometimes both. I'm not a fan of paranormal romance though. I knew I'd read PARANORMALCY anyway, and I hoped it would be as funny and, well, as real as its creator.

(PARANORMALCY) by White, Kiersten(Author)Hardcover{Paranormalcy} on01-Sep-2010

I loved it. My daughter loved it. My husband loved it. Currently, my nieces and nephews are fighting over it, and they've had it for over a week. My twelve-year-old quotes it.

Why did we love it?

I was trying to explain this to my nineteen-year-old nephew, without spoilers, as the cover is very . . . pink.

Me: PARANORMALCY is hilarious, but it's smart funny.

Him: Like Terry Pratchett?

Me: Kind of. Just read the first couple of pages and see if you like it.

And then we both gushed about how much we love Terry Pratchett and why, but that should probably go in another post ;) And I think PARANORMALCY is more intense than most of Pratchett's stuff, but I thought the witty humor comparison a good one and left it at that.

The story is about a girl who can see through paranormal glamours. The agency she works for tags paranormals and gives them jobs, keeps them from eating people - stuff like that. It gets interesting when a shape-shifter breaks into the place where Evie works about the same time that something starts killing paranormals. The bleeping mermaid will make you laugh, and the faeries in this book will give you chills.

Have you read PARANORMALCY? What did you think?



    

9 comments:

  1. Not yet. But maybe I will...after reading this post!

    ;)

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  2. Oo. Your comparison to Pratchett makes me even more interested. I already was interested, but like you, paranormal romance isn't my thing, so other books kept eeking out in front of it. Mayhaps it's time that changed.

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  3. Myrna, I'm glad you finally read it! Sorry I never got around to lending you my copy. (And I'm sorry I still have your copy of INSIDE OUT...)

    As for what I thought, I loved the voice (although, surprisingly, I think Kiersten's blog is funnier), but I felt like the second half of the book sort of spun its wheels, like they were just waiting for the final confrontation instad of taking a more proactive stance. I would have liked a little more plot instead of so much day-to-day teenage stuff.

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  4. I'm surprised you hadn't read it yet, but I'm glad you did! It's such a fun book, Kierseten did an amazing job! But can you believe we still have months to wait before the second book comes out?

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  5. I hope so, Sue.

    It's not Pratchett, Adam, but I do think you'd like it.

    That's okay, Krista. Ben plays in a basketball league over there every Monday night, and I keep thinking I'll go watch him play, but I haven't.

    At least she didn't leave us hanging, Kiersten. Have you read Robin McKinley's PEGASUS? Oy! I need a sequel.

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  6. Hey Myrna- I really liked it, and I like *some* paranormal romance, but I think that Kiersten's blog is so hilarious that I was expecting to be rolling on the floor. It was very funny, but I think my expectations were way high.

    I agree with Krista that the teenage life at the end with prom and hanging out at the Village Inn equivalent slowed things down, but it was also what Evie wanted most in life, so it didn't really bother me. It was a fun book, and I'm sure when my daughter gets older she'll love it.

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  7. It didn't bother me either. I'm glad you liked it.

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  8. I read it. I really liked it, and loved the voice. :D

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  9. I liked Paranormalcy, too. The bleeping mermaid...Tasey (sp?)...all the pink. It was a fun book. (Really, lots of fun. Not all books are fun.)

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