Supernaturally Blog Tour: Poltergeist Dossier!

Today I'm part of the supercool blog tour put together by Big Honcho Media for Supernaturally, the second book in Kiersten White's fun and bestselling paranormal series! This blog tour is different and cool because each stop features an IPCA Dossier and artist rendering of a different Paranormal creature from Kiersten/Evie herself!

IPCA Employee Handbook Section 3.1.34 Subsection B of Spirits

Poltergeists

Level Five
Known Entity (Human Corruption), Human Origin, Unknown Genesis, Predatory
Immortality: None
Breeding: Incorporeal; no risk

Appearance: Varies, depending on the poltergeist and its manifestations. Most often gruesome, intended to upset viewers.
Myths: Too many to list. Most true, mainly because poltergeist hauntings change from situation to situation.
Facts: Poltergeists are the lingering spirits of humans (occasionally human corruptions, such as werewolves or vampires) that seek vengeance. Through manipulation of visual, auditory, and sensory elements they create frightening situations. The method for getting rid of poltergeists depends on who the poltergeist was before dying. Because it takes enormous amounts of energy to stay on in poltergeist forms, the most effective way to get rid of a poltergeist infestation is to remove the motivation, whether through religious means that the poltergeist is familiar with, or by addressing the reasons the poltergeist has not moved on.
Dangers: Though poltergeists cannot physically harm people, the fear induced by the various hallucinations can cause heart palpitations, nightmares, stress, and digestion problems. A team effort is always recommended to divide the poltergeist’s attention.

Information contributed by Evelyn age 15 (please see Appendices Catalog, Section 7, for details on glamour-piercing abilities), transcribed from the original audio:
I watched Poltergeist when I was nine. Don’t tell Raquel; Lish let me watch it with her. So when I went on my first poltergeist mission I was terrified, waiting for trees to reach in the window and rip me out or whatever. Imagine my disappointment when it turns out that all poltergeists are is glamour. Everyone else was freaking out about the enormous monster centipedes crawling out of the floor, but I could see right through them. Really it was just some seriously grouchy old dude floating up in the corner laughing his head off. When I wasn’t scared he got annoyed, so I told him what I thought of his theatrics, and he got so mad that he lost his hold on this world and disappeared. Yet another paranormal occurrence that was nothing but a disappointment.

Artist rendering of Evelyn’s description:

About the book:

Evie finally has the normal life she’s always longed for. But she’s shocked to discover that being ordinary can be . . . kind of boring. Just when Evie starts to long for her days at the International Paranormal Containment Agency, she’s given a chance to work for them again. Desperate for a break from all the normalcy, she agrees.

But as one disastrous mission leads to another, Evie starts to wonder if she made the right choice. And when Evie’s faerie ex-boyfriend Reth appears with devastating revelations about her past, she discovers that there’s a battle brewing between the faerie courts that could throw the whole supernatural world into chaos. The prize in question? Evie herself.

So much for normal.

About the author:

Kiersten White is the NYT Bestselling author of Paranormalcy. She has one tall husband and two small children and lives near the ocean, where her life is perfectly normal. This abundance of normal led her to a fascination with all things paranormal, including but not limited to vampires, faeries, and pop culture. Visit her at http://kierstenwhite.com.

Kiersten is now on tour with a slew of other cool authors for the Dark Days of Supernatural tour around the US. Check out their tour schedule to see if they're coming near you later this month!

Review: Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Tags: YA, paranormal, urban fantasy, shapeshifters

Summary

16-year-old Evie, the only known human who can see through paranormals’ glamours, works for the IPCA, capturing and tagging stray paranormals in an effort to keep track of them and keep them under control. This is normal life for her, until the day a shapeshifter boy like nothing she has ever seen breaks into headquarters and is captured. Against her boss’ wishes, Evie befriends the shapeshifter, named Lend, who forces her to question her role in the IPCA. Does she really have free will, or is she as trapped as the paranormals she captures?

On top of that, however, it appears that there is something out there that is threatening the existence of all paranormals…and Evie might be in the center of it, if the fairy Reth’s extra attention towards her is any indication.

Review

PARANORMALCY is a fun, fast, and furious new read, a wonderfully fresh addition to the YA paranormal genre.

Kiersten White’s debut novel contains elements that will appeal to both the girly and the tomboyish. For instance, Evie has an incredibly female-power role of policing paranormals, getting to kick butt and show off her combat skills. But at the same time, she also LOVES her fair share of girly stuff, from the color pink, to fashion, to flirting with cute boys, to naming her belongings. Evie’s snarky but assuredly feminine narration had me grinning like an idiot from cover to cover. I typically don’t even like girly-girls all that much, but Evie’s personality balanced the book’s darker, more sinister plot.

PARANORMALCY is not your typical YA paranormal read: indeed, it has more in common with an elaborately written adult urban fantasy series. While the book doesn’t dive too deeply into the potentially interesting topics such as what the world outside of IPCA headquarters looks like, I appreciated how it brought up thoughtful questions about the distinction between employer vs. prisoner, true free will vs. imposed (though still broad) boundaries, and more. Kiersten White has created a marvelously complex paranormal world that I’d be excited to read more about in sequels.

Bringing the feminine to the gritty urban fantasy genre or complexity to an already female-oriented paranormal genre—whatever way you like to spin it, PARANORMALCY is one heck of a great read. Evie’s story reads smoothly, a breath of fresh air. I can’t wait for more!

Similar Authors
Julie Kagawa
Jeri Smith-Ready

Writing: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Plot: 5/5

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5


Cover discussion: 4.5 out of 5 - Wow. Talk about gorgeous. The girl's a little fiercer-looking than I imagine Evie to be, but I love how the darkness of this cover accentuates that part of the story, while, y'know, in the story, Evie's girlishness holds her own. Chyeah.

HarperCollins / Aug. 31, 2010 / Hardcover / 335pp. / $16.99

ARC received from Around the World Tours.

Waiting on Wednesday (65): BEA Edition

Really, one of the few problems with book blogging is just the sheer unreasonableness of the ratio of books read to books that one wants to read. Every week, my wishlist increases until there's no possible way I can WoW each and every one of them individually. So since BEA is--yeeeeiiiikeeesss!!!---next week (!!!), I'm going to talk about just a handful of books that I'm hoping I'll be able to find there.

Please note that this is just a sliver of the books on my BEA wishlist. I'm aware that I have a habit of always wanting to root for the underdogs, so I often try to WoW books that I haven't seen being very much publicized elsewhere before. But now, I'm going to indulge in my more mainstream desires, because these books are cool too and deserve all the attention they've gotten already. Wheeee!

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
(HarperTeen / Sept. 21, 2010)

Sixteen-year-old Evie's job is bagging and tagging paranormals. Possessing the strange ability to see through their glamours, she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency. But when someone--or something--starts taking out the vamps, werewolves, and other odd beasties she's worked hard to help become productive members of society, she's got to figure it out before they all disappear and the world becomes utterly normal.

Normal is so overrated.

This has an almost very "adult urban fantasy" premise, and Evie sounds like she will be an assertive and kickass protagonist. I can totally get behind that! And also, I'm pretty sure that the day after I saw this cover for the first time, I had a dream that inspired an idea for a possible future short story... So yeah, good karma all around. I'm definitely interested in reading this one!

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer
(Philomel / Oct. 19, 2010)

While other teenage girls daydream about boys, Calla Tor imagines ripping out her enemies’ throats. And she wouldn’t have it any other way. Calla was born a warrior and on her eighteenth-birthday she’ll become the alpha female of the next generation of Guardian wolves. But Calla’s predestined path veers off course the moment she saves the life of a wayward hiker, a boy her own age. This human boy’s secret will turn the young pack's world upside down and forever alter the outcome of the centuries-old Witches' War that surrounds them all.

This is another debut YA paranormal that's been getting TONS of great buzz all over. Personally, I'm a vampire girl, but the synopsis reminds me of Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause, which I love a lot, and it sounds like there will be BLOOD AND GUTS. COOL. *is in bloodthirsty mode, as per WIP's requirements* I'm envious of each and every person who's been able to read this already, and would probably go to great (unharmful) lengths to read this.

The Body at the Tower (The Agency, Book 2) by Y. S. Lee
(Candlewick / Aug. 10, 2010)

This is another colourful, action-packed Victorian detective novel about the exploits of agent Mary Quinn. At a young age, Mary Quinn is rescued from the gallows and taken to Miss Scrimshaw's Academy for Girls. The school turns out to be a front for a private detective agency. At age 17, Mary takes on her first case (A Spy in the House). In this, the second book of the series, Mary Quinn sets out to uncover the truth behind a suspicious death at St. Stephen's Tower, better known as the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament. The accident occurred after hours in a highly public part of town and despite the presence of night watchmen. Mary, disguised as Mark Quinn, becomes a builder's assistant to find out the truth about the body at the tower.

I thought Ying's first book, A Spy in the House, was excellent (see my review here), and I can't wait to read the next in the series. Unfortunately, I can't do any raving here without giving out spoilers (the solution to this is obviously for you all to read this so I can talk about this without giving key points away), but yep, I'm super-excited. And the care that Candlewick put into making these covers appealing and accurate to the story is astounding, something that all publishers should take note of and do.

The Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
(Margaret K. McElderry / Aug. 31, 2010)

Magic is dangerous—but love is more dangerous still.

When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.

Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What's more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own.

Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by—and torn between—two best friends: Jem, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length...everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world...and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

Helloooo, gorgeous cover. Hellooo, super-long summary. Hello, guilty pleasure.

Matched by Allyson Condie
(Dutton Juvenile / Nov. 30, 2010)

In the novel, a 17-year-old girl, who has waited her entire life to be told by a group known as “the Society” who her soul mate is, has her world upended when she discovers she’s in love with someone other than the group’s pick.

I did tell you this was going to be the big-name WoW, didn't I? I'm really hoping this one is as good as its multi-digit book deal and early reviews indicate. Plus, the cover is genius: simple but memorable and cool.

The Magnificent Twelve: The Call by Michael Grant
(Katherine Tegen Books / Sept. 1, 2010)

I'm not sure if that's the final cover, and I haven't been able to find an official synopsis yet, but Publishers Weekly described it as a "humorous fantasy series" in their BEA Kids' Galleys to Grab article. Plus, it's by Michael Grant, whose Gone series I really enjoy and make for unputdownable vacation reads. I think this one's middle grade, too. As far as adventure goes, if the Gone series is any indication, I think this one will be really good!

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Oy, I'm EXHAUSTED and I don't know why, so I'm going to stop here for now. There are definitely a few more at BEA I'm hoping to find, especially Lauren Oliver's Delirium. You can check out the Kids' Galleys to Grab article and see if any of them are on your wishlist. Hope to see some of you in NYC next week!

Also, I'm sorry if I don't make much sense in this post. I'm trying to reread what I wrote and I can't even focus on what I just wrote. Someone get these stitches out of my mouth and put real food in me, quick!