By: Kiersten White
Synopsis (from Goodreads): Weird as it is working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, Evie's always thought of herself as normal. Sure, her best friend is a mermaid, 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 still. Normal.
Only now paranormals are dying, and Evie's dreams are filled with haunting voices and mysterious prophecies. She soon realizes that there may be a link between her abilities and the sudden rash of deaths. Not only that, but she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.
Emily and Julie's Review:
Julie: First off, let me just ask. How much did you LOVE Evie? Isn’t she just a fabulous character?
Emily: Very fabulous. It’s not every day you see a kick-butt heroine that likes pink.
Julie: I loved what a blended character she was. She’s definitely a teenage girl with all the desires and habits: Easton Heights, pink boots, zebra print dresses, online shopping? Not to mention rhinestoned and pink Tasey. She just wants to be a normal girl but is even less ‘normal’ than she thinks.
Emily: But (and I thought this about Cammie in Gallagher Girls) she has kind of a rose-colored view of what “normal” is. Her sense of normal is having a locker, going to football games, and doing wild crazy things like her show. Not that some of that isn’t true. I just thought it was cute that she took such pleasure in all the small things that most teenagers overlook. The grass is always greener on the other side I suppose.
Julie: Isn’t that kind of how a lot of us are as teenagers? We think we should be going to the Homecoming game, we think that this is the way our ‘teenage years’ should be, and yet do most of us have those movie-moment teenage experiences? Not really. Poor Evie. All she knows of normal is her soap opera.
Emily: I just think that many teenagers reading this series would think, “I want to be part of an international agency that bags and tags paranormals. Evie, you can totally have MY locker!”
Julie: Hah! I’d trade any day! ;) Let’s talk about some of the other characters for a moment. Is there one you particularly liked or thought was well-written? Or maybe one you disliked.
Emily: The Reth relationship was weird for me. The summary said he was an “ex,” but I don’t know that that was an accurate description. There seemed to be only a shallow physical or perhaps shallow emotional connection, but nothing that clicked and made me say, “Oh yeah, I can see why she’d want to be with him.”
Julie: Well, I kind of think that was the point. I mean, it really had nothing to do with who he was or a ‘real’ relationship. Evie, despite remaining positive and bubbly, is incredibly lonely. Reth filled a void for her- made her feel loved. And of course, he had ulterior motives, too. I don’t think it could really be called a relationship. It wasn’t romantic, but more emotional. She needed to feel loved. Although I don’t get why he takes his sweet time getting around to his ‘goals’.
Emily: One last thing on Reth. I can see your point about their relationship and how Evie fell into it. However, I guess I just have low tolerance for stupid decisions. Which I should get over, because I read YA fiction.
Julie: And we, or at least I, don’t know yet whether Reth is a ‘bad guy’ or a ‘good guy’. Maybe he’s just a self-serving guy somewhere in the gray middle? I’m excited to read more about him in the next book.
Emily: Yeah, I don’t know any guys like that... Speaking of guys (cue segue music) how about Lend? Do we allow our daughters to date him? (You know, once Evie is done).
Julie: Well, my daughter’s name is Evie, so I think it’s destined... Hah! (Loved the name, Kiersten!) To the point, I adored Lend. I would definitely let him date my daughter. When I read this, I thought ‘Finally! A YA male lead who is not whiny, dangerous, or self-absorbed.’ Why do so many heroes have to be ‘dangerous’? Lend is a great guy and I think he fits perfectly into the story. He’s still a teenage boy, which I loved. Kiersten didn’t turn him into some boy-who-acts-like-a-man. I loved that he was nervous about his relationship with Evie.
Emily: I don’t think you want me to get into the “dangerous” love interest.
Julie: No! I’ve been privy to enough of your rants on that topic. ;)
Emily: You deserve it, Edward lover.
Julie: Oh, hush now.
Emily: Anyway, Lend. He was refreshing. That’s all I really have to say. The world needs more Lend’s.
Julie: Let’s delve into the adults for just a moment. I thought, unlike so many YA novels we’ve read lately, that the adults seemed pretty realistic and weren’t just figures stuck in to fill a need and then disposed with. I’m thinking of the parents who conveniently don’t pay any attention to their teenagers in these other books.
Emily: Yeah, I am familiar with the species. The adults in this book were involved in just the perfect amount. Evie was able to be independent and figure things out for herself, but I never thought, “Okay, WHY isn’t she calling the cops/IPCA/parents?”
Julie: Raquel’s role with Evie was complicated enough to be interesting, but was still realistic. She still had a job to do as an IPCA official, despite her motherly feelings toward Evie. And Lend’s dad was great, too. He was actually a father figure. ‘No, son, you may NOT go out and risk your life while I fritter away my time ignoring you...’. I liked that he cared about Lend and was a responsible adult. Lend’s mother, on the other hand, was pretty... slippery for me to grasp.
Emily: I think it’s the unwritten rule in YA that you can only have one involved parent at a time. I take what I can get, I guess.
Julie: Vivian was another interesting character. I don’t want to give too much away, so I’ll have to write carefully, but she’s very similar to Evie. Their circumstances are very similar and yet each handles her loneliness and confinement in a different way. Their relationship was definitely left unresolved at the end of the book and I can’t wait to see where Kiersten takes it in Supernaturally.
Emily: Amen, sister. Two final things, dialogue and plot. I’m a sucker for witty dialogue, so I really felt like this book satisfied that for me. It was fun teenage dialogue without being cliche.
Julie: Yeah, it felt very natural for me and was really fun to read. The characters really came alive through the dialogue. The plot was also artfully constructed, I felt. The best thing I can say is that I really had nothing to complain about. There was no moment as I read where I thought, ‘Why did that happen? How does this work?’ All of the action was driven by a clear motivation and it just flowed along seamlessly.
Emily: Agreed. I like endings that are wrapped up. Or at least mostly resolved. We all know my feelings about cliff-hangers. I appreciate that Kiersten wrapped it up for us, while also making sure that we were left with something to look forward to.
Julie: My last comment- I loved the chapter titles! ‘Hagtastic’, ‘Oh, Bite Me’, ‘Lend me your ears... Among other things’... These were little gems hidden in the pages. I laughed out loud at some of them. Titles aren’t that big of a deal, but they really reflected the wit of the book and Evie’s kick-butt attitude. Rock on, Evie! You’re one of my favorite new heroines!
Emily: This is one of my favorite debut novels of the year. I think this will be big like the Gallagher Girls is big. And for many of the same reasons. I can’t wait to continue on in this series. This is one book I’ll be recommending over and over again to people.
My Rating:
Profanity: None, just hilarious "bleeps" every now and then
Sexuality: Mild
Violence: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol: None
If you are in the Salt Lake City area, come see Kiersten White Saturday, September 11 at 2 pm at The King's English
