Wednesday, 7 December 2011
Woes about Paranormal
I’m not saying that I prefer one over the other. (Okay, I do.) But the fact that in most PNRs I’ve read so far a) have missing/negligent parents, b) friends that disappear as soon as the supernatural dude (who never has to work out to keep his inexplicable six packs) comes along, which brings us to c) a very, very unhealthy love interest, and/or d) a weak heroine that doesn’t want to find HERSELF; oh, no, she wants to find that angel/vampire/werewolf/whatever.
I’m hoping that this is just a passing trend, people riding on the giant Twilight wave that swept the world, but… this is why I prefer contemporary. (Oops, I said it.)
So I’m asking YOU lovely people: can you please recommend to me a YA paranormal that does not have any of those annoying tropes in it? I will love you forever (even more than I love you already for reading this) if you find me a paranormal book that I will fall head over heels in love with and forget that I don’t like paranormal all that much.
Bring on the recommendations, peeps! Convince me! Resurrect the credibility of paranormal!
i'm with you on the contemp-lovin'. wrote a post meself a while back on it!
anyway, a good paranormal was Unearthly by Cynthia Hand. LOVED. Forgive my fins by tera lynn childs was also a fun, fluffy read. aaaand…(yeah, i'm having a hard time remembering any other ones, lol) white cat by holly black, shade by jeri smith ready (those two are urban fantasies, so not sure they count).
anyway i'd give more but mum's breathing down me neck so i'mma have to get off (see, not hot bf, just mum :P) so yeah. hope you like 'em!
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I'm adding them to my list! Also, too bad about the no-hot-bf 😛 Oh, that conversation was hilarious.
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This is exactly my problem with most PNRs. Not usually a fan, though I've come across a few that aren't entirely cringe-worthy. DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE comes to mind, though I suppose that's more of an urban fantasy. Either way, it involves angels and demons and it's AMAZING. I'll be checking back in to see what books others recommend. 🙂
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YES YES YES GIVE UP THE GHOST by Megan Crewe!!! (And you know how I use my exclamation marks judiciously, gal.) It's actually the only paranormal I truly like — Unearthly didn't win me over as much as it did for Aleeza, and Forgive My Fins was a wee bit too fluffy. Do try them, though.
But you MUST read GUtG. Such an amazing paranormal — it's like a contemporary, but tweaked with a (well-done) paranormal accent. <33333333.
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I'm telling you to read Chime. Read it! Read it now! Go! But seriously, that book? It swept me away so completely. It is gorgeous and I don't know why many people don't fangirl about it. And hm, it's not paranormal but I love high fantasy so I reckon you should try The Songs of Pellinor by Alison Croggon. It's awesomesauce. Plain Kate by Erin Bow if you haven't already done so. It's high fantasy as well but dude, it is one of the most beautiful books ever. I liked Fracture, it's coming out in January, I think. By Megan Miranda. Okay, actually, only Fracture may be true paranormal as all the rest are high fantasy. Hur.
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I read it! And I totally fangirl over it. The writing was EXQUISITE. And LOL, I'll keep the rest of your books in mind- I have Plain Kate right now, so I'm even more excited to read it.
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Oh my gosh, I'm SO excited about reading that one. Hurry up, library!
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Give Up the Ghost? Hmm, I'm totally going to read that, because yes, I know about your stingy use of exclamation marks 😉
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Unearthly, is of course, the first book that comes to mind. 🙂 So another enthusiastic vote for that one. (I can't believe you haven't read it!)
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Did I mention Erin Bow is Canadian? That makes her even more awesome. And Taggles, the Talking Cat. Why has Eden not read this? Or has she?
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Okay, so now I'm totally going to read Unearthly.
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Oh, Eden HAS read it- she recommended it to me, too =)
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Contemporary is a hands down win for me over ANY OTHER GENRE. Of course, I'm a fangirl.
Yeah, the paranormal thing. I need that love to be resurrected as well. I haven't read one in ages! One I can think off the top of my head is Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr. I read it a loooong time back and it's a little strange and a tad confusing, but there's something achingly beautiful about it. Plus, it has tattoos and OMG, I LOVE TATTOOS.
A while back I was reading Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater and something about it immensely appealed to me. I never finished Shiver (read about a 100 pages, that's all) but Ballad felt different and I swear I would have finished it if my friend hadn't dropped out of the blue and run away with it. I'll get to it as soon as I can untie my lazy ass off this chair and make my way to her house. Soon.
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You're right. Paranormal books stink. Ha! I didn't really say that out loud. But I do have a contemporary preference (mostly because I am more a fan of character-building than world-building). I liked CHIME but it took me a bit to get into. I've heard good things about Anna Dressed In Blood and Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Let me know if you find something great.
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Oh, yes, Anna Dressed in Blood- I need to check that one out!
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Yeah, contemporary rules 🙂
I've read Wicked Lovely, and yeah, it was confusing (I think I was 12 at the time) but ever since, I've wanted to get a tattoo of wings on my back. So I share the tattoo love =)
Really? I didn't like Shiver much, actually, but if you say… hurry up and get to that friend's house to finish it!
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Hehehehe. I LOVED it. (And bought it too, which is unusual for me.)
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I hear Paranormalcy is supposed to be good — more of a paranormal adventure than a paranormal romance, but there's a romance in there. In that case, though, the protagonist has a paranormal ability of her own (witch sight, in this case) and has dated both a vampire and a shapeshifter. It stuck out to me because it seemed more like normal teen relationships — not the unhealthy obsession/find-your-soulmate-in-a-paranormal-creature trend.
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I've read Paranormalcy, and I found the romance sweet, so yes, that's one exception 🙂
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