Evie's desire for a normal life hits another roadblock in the final installment of the Paranormalcy Trilogy. The International Paranormal Containment Agreement (IPCA), now under suspicious new management, wants her back; the paranormals trapped on earth, under the direction of Evie's fairie ex-boyfriend and her current boyfriend's water-element mother, want her to open a gate to their own realm; and the Dark Queen wants her dead. What's an Empty One to do? Evie, with her snark and her "innately human sense of home," has always been the most compelling character in a series filled with personalities and all matter of supernatural entities. Resourceful, brave, and as pigheaded as any normal teen, Evie never compromises her convictions. The wind-swept, sky-torn ending earns the term epic as Evie, reunited with her sister, Vivian, seizes the chance to right past wrongs. The book needs to be read with the series; it has no emotional impact as a stand-alone. But for readers who have traveled this far with Evie, it's a satisfying conclusion. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: The final chapter in the New York Times best-selling Paranormalcy Trilogy is going out with a bang. Expect a presence at San Diego Comic-Con 2012 as well as a book trailer and extensive blogger outreach.

Paranormals ask Evie (Paranormalcy; Supernaturally) to help them return to their realm. When the dark faerie court holds Evie's boyfriend hostage to prevent her from opening the portal, Evie must take on the Dark Queen herself to rescue (and then de-curse) him. Evie's struggles with issues of identity, morality, and love provide satisfying counterbalance to supernatural action and clever banter in this trilogy-ender.

Fashion-conscious Evie continues her fight for paranormal creatures' freedom and rights (Paranormalcy, 2010, etc.). Evie's adventures will make little sense to readers unfamiliar with the earlier books in this trilogy. Characters from the first two books reappear, including Reth and Jack, both baddies from the middle book, Supernaturally (2010), but this time they seem to be helping. Or are they? Evie's dishy boyfriend, Lend, is cursed to fall asleep in her presence for a good portion of the book, limiting the romance somewhat, but at least he presents her with a fantastic magical birthday party as a present before nodding off. The details of the plot are not logical or important, but Evie's voice amuses, as when she describes prom: "Reth kidnapping me, confronting Vivian and almost killing her, nearly sucking the soul out of Lend…yeah, prom hadn't been quite what I'd hoped." Unfortunately, the device that truly distinguished the earlier books, Evie's disconcertingly funny transitions from cool teen chick to supernatural fighter and back, is largely missing here. Fans will like knowing who all the creatures are by name, but newcomers will wish for a cast of characters. Ending the trilogy, White leaves some space for further adventures while tying most loose ends into pretty bows. Modestly inventive but a bit of a letdown. (Paranormal romance. 10 & up)

Gr 8-11 Paranormals and Light Court Faeries want to return to their world. Evie is an Empty One and can make a gate that will let them through. When they try to force her to do so, she rebels, mainly because they tell her she must do it. She formerly worked for the International Paranormal Containment Agency (IPCA), and they apparently forced her to do things she did not want to do. Confused? For readers who are new to the story, it feels as though there is a secret club of vocabulary and references to previous events. The story is episodic, with Evie repeatedly making the same mistakes, and with her near-misses neatly resolved. However, the first two books have been popular and there will be demand from those readers for this book. It is a clean paranormal romance-Evie even says (somewhat annoyingly) "BLEEP" instead of any swear words, and the sex factor is very low, with only a bit of touching and a few stolen kisses. Purchase where the other two books are in high demand. Angela J. Reynolds, Annapolis Valley Regional Library, Bridgetown, NS, Canada