Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Synopsis:
The story is told through the eyes of 16 year old Evie (short for Evelyn), who has worked with an international agency aiming to register and control " paranormals" since she was 8. Paranormals range from vampires to werewolves to hags and faeries. She knows her life isn't normal (after all, her best friend is a mermaid and her ex-boyfirend is a psycho faerie), and longs for the things she sees on her favorite high-school soap opera Easton Hieghts. When a mysterious shape-shifter named Lend breaks into the agency, Evie's world is turned upside down as she slowly realizes just how far from normal her life really is. Lend makes Evie realize that she too is a paranormal - she is a level 7 paranormal. The highest level she has ever met is level 6 (faeries). The level depends on how rare and useful a paranormal is. As she begins to fall for Lend who is imprisoned by the agency she works for, another being begins to kill paranormals. When the killer breaks into the agency (also where Evie lives), she and Lend escape and she is forced to free her ex-boyfriend from his binding contract with the agency. Evie and Lend go back to Lend's house where she learns from his parents and rogue paranormals that the agency she works for isn't what she thought it was. Evie learns what she is and who the villain is, but the girl who is killing paranormals is closer to Evie than she could've expected. Will she be able to take her down without going over to the darkside herself?

Review: 9 out of 10.
White writes with great flair and her plot is a breath of fresh air in an often stale paranormal young adult market. Evie's story is both funny and heartbreaking, full of great moments guaranteed to bring a smile to your face (such as when she gets excited over the prospect of seeing a locker at Lend's high school for the first time). I loved the story line with Evie working for an agency that 'tags and bags' paranormals and her journey of self discovery. Paranormalcy is the first in a trilogy, and I for one can't wait to see what White will produce next.