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| Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin |
"Phoebe finds herself drawn to Mallory, the strange and secretive new girl at school. Soon the two become as close as sisters . . . until Mallory’s magnetic older brother, Ryland, appears. Ryland has an immediate, exciting hold on Phoebe — but a dangerous hold, for she begins to question her feelings about her best friend and, worse, about herself.
Soon she’ll discover the shocking, fantastical truth about Ryland and Mallory, and about an age-old debt they expect Phoebe to pay. Will she be strong enough to resist? Will she be special enough to save herself?
Intensely page-turning, this follow-up to Nancy Werlin’s acclaimed novel Impossible links the real and the otherworldly in a story that is suspenseful, conversation-starting, and utterly alluring."
Rating:
The premise of this book was simple and yet so mysterious, but I liked that about Extraordinary. I also like the way Werlin envisioned her faeries to be as actual “faeries”; meaning conniving, cruel, mischievous creatures that they’re known to be. Not the ones who go all “head-over-heels in love and defy the whole faerie law for a human” kind. Not that I don’t like those kinds of stories, it’s just that I like the new intake of a different side of it.
But what I don’t like about this book is the highlight of it all, the Climax. Oh dear! All the manipulation and effort to get Phoebe to do what they want her to do just wasn’t what I expected. After all the mystery building up on each chapter it was kind of underwhelming.
I specifically remember my reaction over it. I was reading the part where they revealed what she had to do and so when I found out, I went like… “Wait…that was it?”
Of course I know there’s a deeper meaning to what the faeries wanted her to do but, really? It just threw away all the beauty of the other parts of the book.
The near ending also bothered me, faeries are known for their cleverness and I really didn’t appreciate the fact that there was another option they could use to save their kin and yet their queen only figured it out at the last second. I mean c’mon! Didn’t they think that it would’ve saved them all the trouble they went through if they just thought of that in the beginning? I just wish they would’ve at least gave it some thought as another option if the first option didn’t work, you know like forming a plan B when plan A is thought off to fail at some point. Sheesh!
Overall I think Extraordinary wasn’t so bad but not exactly an outstanding book. I’m just really bothered by climax but all the other parts were good and sweet. It also teaches teens to see the light in who they are. If they feel that they’re plain and just ordinary, there are people in their lives that see them as something more than how they perceive themselves, genuine and beautiful and most of all…loved.
