Paranormalcy

I'm too fresh off the high of just having finished a really fun book to give you all a proper what's-it-all-about here so I'll just say:

Kiersten White has a great, great voice. Reading her is easy - like Meg Cabot easy (better? dare I say it?) and the pacing was simply fantastic. I was not given the option to put this book down. My children had ramen for lunch and I am still in my 6 a.m jogging clothes because after I got home and sat down with it I did nothing else until I finished.

Now elation and despair are warring within me, elation from reading such an enjoyable story, and despair at my ever, ever actually hammering out a text of my own. Argh!

Just, go read it.

Good YA Fantasy

Star Crossed was written by the same lady who wrote A Curse Dark as Gold. I didn't read her earlier work, but I enjoyed Star Crossed more than I have enjoyed a YA Fantasy for a LONG time! There is magic in her world, but no unicorns or fairies - it's more like a magical tale set in dark-ages earth. Not too fantastical, for you non goblin story lovers.
The plot of Secondhand Charm made a turn around 1/3 of the way through the book that was interesting and fun to read and completely unexpected. Loved the book! This one seems to be set in a very earth-like world, with christianity and place names being the same. But there are some fantastical creatures and some magic.