2010 Whitney Award for the Best Novel by a New Author
Debuted at #7 on the New York Times Best Seller list in the "Children's Books—Chapter Books" category
About the book: 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 . . .
The longer, sillier bio: Like most adults, I was once a teenager. However, I never outgrew it--literally. Standing at a daunting 4'11", I decided to write to my height peer group. Everyone knows that teenagers have more fun. Turns out writing for teenagers is more entertaining, too.
Born and raised in Utah, I was lucky enough to marry a native San Diegan and be adopted into the fish taco and beach culture. A stay-at-home mom and full-time writer (if you count scraping in whatever hours I can after my kids go to bed as full-time), I live with my wonderful husband and two adorable children in San Diego, CA. I'm currently twenty-seven, but that's bound to change next year.
Desperate for entertainment, I started writing shortly after having my first baby and haven't stopped since. Publishing with HarperTeen is quite literally a dream come true, and I can't get over how fortunate I am to be paid for doing what I love.
When I'm not writing, I enjoy blogging and reading anything I can get my hands on. Yeah, I probably need to branch out a bit in my hobbies.
Kay's Kritique: I first heard about Paranormalcy when I read a blog post, Mormons in the Marketplace (and What Christians can Learn from Them) by Mike Duran. Intrigued, I bought it and started to read it. Although I was enjoying it, I had other "pressing" books I needed to read to review for this blog, so I set it aside, not an easy thing to do. Then I was waiting to hear the winners of the 2010 Whitney Awards recently awarded during the LDSStorymaker Conference and Paranormalcy popped into my radar again by winning the Best Novel by a New Author - so I picked it back up and this time, didn't put it down until I was done - which meant reading well into the night. It was clean, it was fun and funny - who ever thought someone could get so excited over a High School locker? It was a little scary at times but not too scary -- took a few twists I didn't expect. I'm looking forward to book 2 of the trilogy coming out July 26. Move over Stephenie Meyers, you've got another good LDS writer to share the national stage with.
Here's a few You Tube Videos:
Other Reader Reviews:
Review by Annabell Cadiz from Open Book Society Blog: "To use a phrase from the book, Paranormalcy is BLEEPING awesome! I had so much fun reading this novel, I just couldn’t put it down until I was done! . . . The main character is named Evie. She’s a sixteen year old teenager who likes to believe she’s just an ordinary girl but in reality is far from it. She works for IPCA (International Paranormal Containment Agency) tagging and bagging paranormals. Equipped with a taser she has aptly named Tasey and can usually be found dressed in pink, Evie was a hoot! Kiersten White did a wonderful job of narrating through Evie’s voice creating a female character that is smart and fierce. She is also VERY sarcastic and has her own since of style (I REALLY want her boots)! Evie had me cracking up so much throughout the novel! As you read, you end up feeling like she’s your best friend.
Of course, no young adult novel would be complete without, you guessed it: boys!. . . Paranormalcy is a laugh out loud, full of sweet romance, and lively action type of book, you’ll just be absorbed into the story from the first sentence."
Review from Redhead Heroines Blog: "All the reviews I read of Paranormalcy were absolutely RAVING over this new series. And really, what's not to love? Vampires, fairies, mermaids, werewolves, shape-shifters, and a totally funny main character!
Evie was hands-down the best part of this book. She was witty, sarcastic, strong, but with her own weaknesses. . . . I loved the world that White created as well. This was a very interesting take on the paranormal world, with Evie acting as an agent for the International Paranormal Containment Agency. I enjoyed the mystery aspect of the novel and the way that Evie must confront her unknown heritage.
Overall, a great debut for a promising new series!"
Review from Books Before Bed Blog: "I didn’t feel like reading this book for the longest time. Not sure why, just didn’t seem my cup of tea. However, I kept seeing so many rave reviews from other bloggers and decided to give it a try. I wasn’t disappointed.
This isn’t a high literature book but it was diverting and adorable. I really liked Lend and Evie was an easy character to follow. I actually thought she was older than 16 as sometimes in literature 16 year olds annoy the heck out of me with how shallow they are. Her obsession with Easton Heights aside, Evie tried her hardest and as her relationship with Lend progressed I found my own stomach doing little happy flips!
Props to the author for coming up with a new twist to paranormals and fairies. I’m excited to see what happens in the series next!"
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