You'll Want Extra..."ExtraNormal"

 Title:   ExtraNormal
(ExtraNormal #1)
Author:  Suze Reese
Format:  Kindle Edition
Length:  253 pages
Publisher:  Valarian Press
Rating:  5 stars

Mira Johns is pretty much like any other teenage girl. Except that she knows how to harness electro-magnetic energy to communicate without words. And she’s really, really far from home. Her assignment as an emissary to Earth sounds fairly simple: blend in, observe, and stay away from the planet’s primitive males. But after she finds one mysterious boy too irresistible for stupid rules, she realizes the real reason she’s supposed to keep her distance: mates from her world can die if separated. But a series of serious accidents make it clear that someone wants to force her return. Mira decides her only hope is to uncover the truth to why she, the most mediocre of candidates, was actually chosen for this assignment—before the agency discovers her secret and sends her back home.

It is with great pleasure that this blog brings you a review of Suze Reese's "ExtraNormal".  
This is a book that is like no other that this reviewer has experienced.  
If you are looking for the usually YA fair of weres, vamps, zombies, and the like; you should probably stop reading here.  This is not the book for you.  Though the characters of this book are decidedly out of the ordinary, they are very much alive and definitely not "extra-furry".

The New Girl
As if being the "new girl" at school is not bad enough, try being the new girl on the planet.  This is the predicament in which our reluctant heroine Mira Johns finds herself.  Though she comes equipt with some very cool powers; she still has to deal with the very human issues of love, an assault, the responsibilities of 
her job as an operative for her home world, her loyalty to her parents, and the hierarchy of the high school social strata.
At the start of the story, Mira is very detached from her surroundings.  She is overwhelmed by the sights, sounds, and most interestingly the smells of the people around her.  Her speech is very clinical and matter of fact as she refers to boys as "males" and people as "humans".  This is such a welcome change from the books in which the special beings come to our meager planet already fully ready to assimilate our speech patterns and culture as easily as they would slide into a pair of new jeans.  A major part of Mira's likeability comes form the fact that she, along with her long-distance gal pal Geary, have to "grow into" Neoearth and all of its primitive quaintness. 

Jesse
He is the "perfect" guy.  At least he's perfect for Mira.  He's so perfect that she begins to fall for him on the first page of the book.  In the interest of time and blog space; all mention of his swoon worthy actions will be summed up thusly.        
He saves the princess too many times to count, is a completely gentleman, and is willing to do anything for the love of his lady!
Oh yeah, he's cover model gorgeous and has a rep for being mental institution CRAZY!
OK so perfect is a relative term!

The Baddies
There are quite a few.  This is where the story really starts to get interesting and where this blogger clams up. Let's just say that there is a certain sleazeball that is a little more than meets the eye and that his apple didn't fall too far from the sleazeball tree. (Cue mysterious music here.)

Parents In YA...WTF???
Yes, people Mira has parents!  In fact, she and everyone in the book have them.  It comes as a pleasant surprise that the mates of her world can not stand to be parted for long periods of time because their pair bond is so strong.  Mira's parents although busy, make an effort to put her first and be there for her whenever possible.  This is not to say that they get things right all the time, but they do try.  Oh, and try not to get on the bad side of Mira's mom.  She has guns!  LOL!

In Short
If you want a read that will touch your heart mind and funny bone all at the same time; this is the read for you
It is so well written that and the story so fleshed out that it can stand alone as a singular story.  Thanks be to Suze Reese and all of her muses that this is just the first book in a fabulous journey to worlds unknown.

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13 comments:

  1. Oh my holy ziproids! I laughed and I cried with your review. I can't say enough thanks, and I'm so glad you liked it. Thanks for kicking off the tour with a bang!

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  2. It's good to know that parents are in this book. Too often their roles are disregarded, and this is just too unrealistic. Great review!

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  3. This reminds me a little of Ender's Game, but softer. Very intrigued after reading your review. Might check it out.

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  4. Really interested in reading this as I'm quite new to the genre.

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  5. I love parents in the story too. And not stupid ones either :) Good luck to Suze! THANKS for the review.

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  6. Great review! I'm super excited to read this! The cover is gorgeous!

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  7. I love the idea of aliens that are human. It makes the character far more relatable. So excited for this book!

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  8. Just bought the book for my Kindle. Can't wait to start reading!

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  9. Great review!! I really love the cover: Gorgeous! :)

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  10. Awesome review!! My favorite part was "Parents in YA...WTF??" lol. Really good point, it's not often you get solid parental characters in YA. Thanks for sharing your review! :)

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  11. Very cool! Can't wait to read this.

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  12. Great review, tempted to read the book! :) Really love the cover!

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