ExtraNormal (ExtraNormal, #1)

Mar 14, 2013 Linda rated it 4 of 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 she quickly learns that nothing about this assignment is as easy as it seems.”

I really enjoyed Ms. Reese’s unique, innovative story line and the sci-fi components. I loved how the...more “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 she quickly learns that nothing about this assignment is as easy as it seems.”

I really enjoyed Ms. Reese’s unique, innovative story line and the sci-fi components. I loved how the author worked all the uses of electro-magnetic energy into the alien society. What was most intriguing was how and why the alien civilization had eliminated or controlled certain sociological and environmental elements, which we take for granted, believing they were providing a better quality of life for their species. They infiltrated our society, which was easy to do because they were humanoid, with the intent to aid us along our evolutionary path. I can only hope that perhaps we aid them on a path of de-evolution in the future books of this series.

Mira’s task seemed simple enough; little did anyone realize the depths some leaders are willing to go to advance themselves, not necessarily for the greater good. Mira faced similar decisions putting herself, her family, and her friends at risk as she unravels and tries to piece together the mystery she finds herself in the midst of. I found the story a little tedious in the middle as Mira struggles with all the lies she has to tell repeatedly. However, I was greatly entertained with her conversations with Geery, her best friend back home, through thought streams. Everett was truly frightening with his abilities of mind control and Jesse, provided the perfect flawed romantic lead. He is a mystery at first, but as his character unfolds, you will be blown away. I thought the story ended on a nice note and sets up the next adventure quite well.

I think this is going to be a great series, probably for older teens because of the angst that was dealt with. The romantic element was YA appropriate and heartwarming. I found no significant editing errors or issues.

**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy. ** March 8, 2013
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Feb 12, 2013 Jenna rated it 4 of 5 stars

I love paranormal fiction, but I falter with too much fantasy and talk of other worlds.
I purchased this as a freebie on Amazon.com, and was pleasantly surprised to find a wonderful young adult read. A bit of fantasy, a bit of fact, and a whole lot of, "ooooh, what's next?"

Come join Mira, who comes from a far away planet, as she makes new friends and solves a mystery here on Earth.

I started this book at 10pm and ended up finishing it the same night...or should I say early morning?

(bit of a spoil...more

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Aug 03, 2012 Misty Baker rated it 4 of 5 stars

One of the most magical things about literature is its ability to create the impossible.

J.K. Rowling brought us collapsible buildings and cloaked train stations. C.S. Lewis introduced us to a wardrobe that opened into a unknown world filled with Ice Queens and talking lions. J.M. Barrie, a land where boys never grew up and pirates fight crocodiles.

Imagination is what books are made of, and an author’s ability to create new and stunning worlds is what draws us to them.

Aliens make up a fairly larg...more

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Jun 23, 2012 Wendy Hines rated it 5 of 5 stars

Mira isn't sure why she was chosen for the assignment, but she's pretty excited. She comes from another planet that is superior to Earth but very similar. She grew up watching American television and eighties rock hits. She and her best friend Geery are always trying to outwit one another with trivia.

She's never eaten normal food - her nutrition comes in the form of a cube. They don't have cellphones or televisions, they don't need them. In her world, they communicate by Stream, a form of mind c...more Mira isn't sure why she was chosen for the assignment, but she's pretty excited. She comes from another planet that is superior to Earth but very similar. She grew up watching American television and eighties rock hits. She and her best friend Geery are always trying to outwit one another with trivia.

She's never eaten normal food - her nutrition comes in the form of a cube. They don't have cellphones or televisions, they don't need them. In her world, they communicate by Stream, a form of mind communication. She knows she isn't to look at a male or she'll be sent right back home before her mission is complete. In her world, link mates bond for life, as their electro-magnetic powers re pattern themselves.

She's to watch a couple of teachers that have blended in, also from her own planet, to see if anything is going on that isn't legal on her planet. However, when Mira meets Jessie, she knows she has sealed her own fate. He is everything she wants in a male, even though he is human. She tries to keep her secret as she knows it is the only way to keep him safe. If she is caught, it is instant death for him and possible death for him. However, they instantly are attracted to one another and keep their relationship secret.

Everett, a new boy at school, seems to be instantly popular but he really creeps Mira out. Something isn't right about him and she can't put her finger on it. But when he attacks her, she learns to keep her distance. But when he attacks someone she loves, all niceties are gone and she begins a thorough investigation into his life - even if it means she will forfeit hers.

ExtraNormal is a fun romp! Aliens, romance, action and suspense all mesh together into a great start to a new young adult series. It was magical watching Mira try her first piece of chocolate, learning how to use text, and a whole lot of other firsts that aren't available on her home planet. She and Jessie's relationship builds as the story unfolds and the quirkiness of her father had me smiling. It wraps up rather well, but with a bit of a cliffhanger that will definitely have me picking up the next in the series. (less)

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May 02, 2012 The Haunted Rose rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: YA readers

Recommended to The Haunted Rose by: Suze Reese

Shelves: extranormal

Cover Thoughts-I love it! It's so unearthly and magnetic just like the book. I pictures Mira just like that!

First Thought-

Aliens? Umm well this is different. I have never read anything about alien romance.

What I liked-ExtraNormal is completely unique. I wasn't sure how much I would like reading about aliens and science stuff but this was not what I expected. It was awesome. This girl gets an opportunity of a lifetime and the first day is already breaking rules like eating Earth food, talking to...more

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Apr 27, 2012 Navdha rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: not-very-happy, predictable, yay-it-s-over, ummm-really

Umm… Could the ending get any more cheesier? Everything in the end was so perfect and hard to digest after all the troubles that Mira thought she was dealing with.

First off, the book started with a blunder. The Backstreet Boys album’s named Millennium not Millennia and I think the lyrics were wrong. Then there was that mistake with Lacey’s name. If I ignore this, there are so many other things that left me with a lot of eye-rolling and yawning. So Mira is an alien and is on this special mission...more Umm… Could the ending get any more cheesier? Everything in the end was so perfect and hard to digest after all the troubles that Mira thought she was dealing with.

First off, the book started with a blunder. The Backstreet Boys album’s named Millennium not Millennia and I think the lyrics were wrong. Then there was that mistake with Lacey’s name. If I ignore this, there are so many other things that left me with a lot of eye-rolling and yawning. So Mira is an alien and is on this special mission from her planet with her mom on Earth. They are supposed to keep an eye on a couple named Stones who are currently high-school teachers. The said couple is planning to take over the world or something along the lines because of the superior powers that these aliens have over us Earthians. They haven’t done anything that could down-right get the authority’s attention but there is definitely something fishy going on.
So, this is the main plot and it isn’t even that interesting. I wanted to read this book because it had something to do with another planet and worm-hole. So, this planet that Mira is from is like Earth, the third planet from the Sun having the same dimensions and stuff, but the people there are highly evolved and use a lot of magnetic power and are superior to the people on Earth because they can stream each other and can control and compel other humans and can feel emotions. I’m no master in the complexities of the Universe, in fact no one is, and even though there is a likelihood of such a solar system existing, the thing about the species there and here sharing the same DNA was just too much fantasy. I would have understood if it was put up like a parallel universe theory but it wasn’t.

Moving on, there wasn’t much suspense building up. Many times the book felt predictable, many times I had no idea what was going on. Becca felt like a useless addition and her parents were AWOL most of the times. Then there was her brother, whose name was Trevor, and I have no idea how Mira got his name when she never really had a conversation with Becca about anything. It just felt like one of the glitches out of many other in this book. There was so less info about Mira’s life in her planet. All we get to know about is a few random facts about the planet, a little history, a little about food and the ethnicity. Geery, Mira’s best friend seemed like the only sane person. The whole you-cannot-contact-a-male was too much and her parents pushed it to a limit. Their reasons weren’t convincing enough. Also, I simply hate it when there is this love-at-first-sight involved in books. I didn’t feel any romance through this entire book. Mira just falls for the guy and Jesse, the guy, just falls for her. The whole opposite poles attracting each other like a magnet theory being the reason for their mutual attraction at first sight was plain stupid. There never was any real conversation between them. I still don’t know why Everett choked Mira when she went to that party. I don’t know how Jesse miraculously appeared at that party to save her ass. I don’t even know why Jesse bothered up with all the secrets and how he so easily believed that Mira was from another planet. Also, it felt like he took his being a half-breed alien pretty well. Maybe he had time to cope up but there was no anguish or curiosity or anything that we get to see from Mira’s POV. Mira’s relationship with her friends and everything felt forced and it was like she never had any homework and she never needed much sleep. Also, another glitch was the time zone in the planets. We have no idea how many light years away Mira’s planet is and sure the revolution and rotation around their Sun is same like Earth’s but still, all of it felt so weakly put up. It feels like the author just put loose fragments into a story without giving much thought to anything.

The only scene I liked was when Everett finally confessed to being a nafarian and was torturing Jesse. Jesse was on okay guy only being creepy in the beginning and a love-sick dumb-ass the rest of the time and I didn’t enjoy him being tortured but that was the only scene where something happened. The ending felt too rushed up and then there was all rainbows and stars and merry news and shit.
I am not going to read the sequels and I’m very disappointed and I did not like this book if it wasn’t clear from the rest of my review. So only 2 stars.
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Apr 23, 2012 Frishawn Rasheed rated it 5 of 5 stars

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 relu...more

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Jan 11, 2012 Jenny Morris rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

This book was such a breath of fresh air. I grew up watching Star Trek and I have always been a sucker for aliens and space travel. It's not straight out sci-fi, but there are many cool concepts. I thought the love story was super sweet and the ideas that are introduced with the aliens and how they have linkmates was really cool!

Another thing that was quite interesting about this book is that the alien planet thinks of itself as a Utopian society, but from an earthlings perspective they look mo...more

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Apr 20, 2012 Mitch rated it 2 of 5 stars

The low rating's just a case of me being way outside the intended audience of this book. For anyone who actually liked Jennifer Armentrout's Obsidian, skip to the end of this review and just substitute your rating of that book here, factoring in this book basically being Obsidian-lite. Otherwise, or if you've never heard of Obsidian, read on and I'll do what I can.

Anyway, like Obsidian, this book's a romance nominally involving an alien and a human, emphasis on romance. Is there a plot involving...more The low rating's just a case of me being way outside the intended audience of this book. For anyone who actually liked Jennifer Armentrout's Obsidian, skip to the end of this review and just substitute your rating of that book here, factoring in this book basically being Obsidian-lite. Otherwise, or if you've never heard of Obsidian, read on and I'll do what I can.

Anyway, like Obsidian, this book's a romance nominally involving an alien and a human, emphasis on romance. Is there a plot involving evil aliens trying to take over the world? Sure, but it's really, really slow and takes a backseat in ninety percent of this book to Mira's alien observations of high school behavior that kinda made me rather uncomfortable as a guy, some cheesy moments involving Mira wolfing down human food for the first time and generally learning to be human, and Mira trying to stay away from Jesse (the human) so she doesn't get sent back to her planet by the alien authorities who look down on that sort of thing (interracial romance). Honestly, not the thrilling kind of plot I was hoping for, guess I should've taken the summary more at face value.

The bad guys, two aliens with mind control powers disguised as high school teachers and a new kid Mira suspects of being an alien, are in plain sight the entire time - besides one twist not involving the villains, my predictions based just on the setup nailed everything that happened. I liked Mira's alien best friend, Geery, who has a good repartee with Mira (though come on, Star Trek Voyager is lame, Deep Space Nine is the way better series), but the human characters that Mira befriends besides Jesse really didn't play as big a role and sort of feel wasted. At least Mira's mother and father got stuff to do, although needless to say, the plot just took too long before any of these characters did anything of substance.

So what do I mean by Obsidian-lite? Well, Obsidian basically has the same premise (with the genders of the main characters reversed) and so-so plot that bored me just as much, but I'm told the chemistry between the leads made that book. This one's a little less serious all around, initially chock full of scenes of Mira being the awkward alien and probably less banter between Mira and Jesse, but yeah, read this if the idea of Obsidian-lite sounds appealing I guess. It's just not the book for me.(less)

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Mar 01, 2012 Marthita rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: tours

Spanish Review

No se muy bien como iniciar esta reseña por dos razones: la primera es simplemente que este libro no es malo, pero por alguna extraña razón no me dejo sintiendo nada (estoy completamente neutra, a falta de otra palabra) y la segunda es que casi todas mis reseñas se basan en lo anterior, en como me siento al terminar un libro, y no se muy bien que poner acerca de este... Pero bueno, espero que salga bien.

Desde que vi la portada y leí la sinopsis sabia que tenia que leer este libro,...more Spanish Review

No se muy bien como iniciar esta reseña por dos razones: la primera es simplemente que este libro no es malo, pero por alguna extraña razón no me dejo sintiendo nada (estoy completamente neutra, a falta de otra palabra) y la segunda es que casi todas mis reseñas se basan en lo anterior, en como me siento al terminar un libro, y no se muy bien que poner acerca de este... Pero bueno, espero que salga bien.

Desde que vi la portada y leí la sinopsis sabia que tenia que leer este libro, por lo mismo que incluye ciencia ficción y últimamente me ha gustado bastante el genero, pero hubo algo en este libro que no termino de llenarme y la verdad es que sigo sin poder decir que fue...
La historia es bastante revolucionaria para el genero juvenil y me encanto que (gracias por esto!) no hubiera un triangulo amoroso con el que lidiar, ya que en el planeta de Mira, Nreim, que se podría decir es como el hermano gemelo de la Tierra pero mucho mas "avanzado" (porque tienen reglas que ni al caso), cuando llegas a ser adulto te "emparejas" con alguien para siempre, y este vinculo es tan fuerte que estar lejos de la persona te puede causar un dolor muy profundo, incluso llegar a matarte... Todo esto, junto con una historia de amor tierna y pura, le dan algunos puntos al libro y fue lo que me hizo seguir leyendo hasta el final...

Por parte de los personajes, la verdad no pude conectarme con Mira, por mas que lo intente y por mas que quería que de verdad me agradara como protagonista, simplemente no se pudo... La encontré bastante común, sin nada que la hiciera resaltar, a excepción de la forma tan infantil y sin malicia en que llegaba a disfrutar las cosas que le estaban prohibidas en su mundo (como ir a la playa o comer galletas con chispas de chocolate)... Pero Jesse, mi querido Jesse, supongo que el fue la otra razón por la que seguí leyendo; simplemente me encanto su forma de ser y sus valores, y la forma en que se siente hacia Mira me hizo suspirar muchas veces (yo también quiero un Jesse!)

El misterio también es otro punto fuerte de la historia, porque hay algunos que vienen desde Nreim que quieren conquistar la Tierra, y Mira debe descubrir sus planes antes de que los lleven a cabo; aunque he de decir, que encontré al villano demasiado insoportable ¬¬ Me daban ganas de golpearlo!

Pues supongo que eso es todo... He leído muchas reseñas en Goodreads que lo ponen muy bien, pero tal vez este libro no era para mi... Recomiendo que si tienen la oportunidad lo lean, vale la pena y tal vez a ustedes les guste mas que a mi, porque ya saben lo que dicen "El gusto se rompe en Géneros"
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Dec 12, 2012 CJ rated it 3 of 5 stars

It is not often that I read a paranormal YA book about aliens, but I took a chance on this one. I am glad I did. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Mira, an exchange student from another planet (but the humans don't know this), learning about life on earth, and catching some bad aliens at the same time. There are some truly amusing scenes involving Mira and earthly new experiences, food, males, hormones to name a few, that made me chuckle and were a pleasure to read. However, I wish there was mo...more

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May 27, 2012 Kellani rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I received this book in a goodreads first reads giveaway, and at first, after reading some reviews, I wasn't sure what I was going to think of it. I love to read, but normally aliens do not slip into my genres. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that on the first page, I found the story's heroine in a choir class. Being a musician, I was a sucker for this setting, and set down all others books that I was reading.

As I continued, the story only continued to impress me, always providing some...more

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May 03, 2012 Jennifer Zuna rated it 5 of 5 stars

The first word that came to my mind when I started reading this story was charming. The main character Mira seems like any other "normal" teenager even though she's not. She's from another planet that's very similar but much more advanced than earth as we know it. She's not supposed to have any contact with earth males but can't seem to fight the attraction to a sweet and caring earth boy named Jesse. Then there's the creepy Everett. Outwardly popular and has everyone fawning all over him except...more

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Jul 30, 2012 Alisha rated it 3 of 5 stars

I really wanted to like this book more then I did, since it was something quite a bit different then I've seen in a long time, and the cover art was beautiful. However, I found that something was just lacking for me. The writing was good, the characters were decent, and overall it wasn't a bad story. I just didn't feel the romance with Jesse, the alien factor with Mira, or the book at all. Even the bad guy and the way Mira's parents weren't listening to her all felt strange to me, since she was...more

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May 05, 2012 Book Whales rated it 4 of 5 stars

Originally posted @ Book Whales

This book is different for me, in a good way that is. I’ve read a lot of YA books about vampires, werewolves, fairies, ghosts, you name it! But I’ve only come across very few novels about aliens. (And no, I haven’t read Obsidian yet) Yep! This is one of them. Usually, the “aliens” are the “love interests” of our dear heroine, but this time, it’s the other way around, which is pretty cool for me.
We follow Mira, our “alien” heroine who was given a special mission to...more

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May 11, 2012 Julia rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya

When I started this book I was pleasantly surprised. The writing was nice and the way Mira stumbled her way through high school. She's from another planet, very similar to ours, but with advanced humans, and she came here, because ... uh ... well, some reason.
And that's EXACTLY the problem. The world building is terrible, or at least not portrayed very well. A lot of essential details are only explained at the very end. The relationship between Jesse and Mira is even more confusing. After just...more

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Oct 11, 2011 Lindsey rated it 5 of 5 stars

The author of this book is a friend of mine and asked our bookclub to edit it for her earlier this year. It will be published and available to buy in January 2012. So I began reading it as a favor for her and was blown away by how AWESOME it was!!! Seriously so, so good! It was a definite page turner and I couldn't set it down untiI I had finished the entire thing! The author does an amazing job with creating a unpredictable yet believable plot which is tricky to do. I can't wait for the next bo...more

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Aug 01, 2012 Michelle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

A nice change of pace from the werewolves, angels/demons and vampires that have saturated the market.

I had some misgivings about this novel, even pushed it aside several times and read something else. Aliens? Not my usual cup o tea. BUT I'm glad I gave ExtraNormal a chance. The main characters are likeable, Mira and Jesse's forbidden love was a little cheesy, but hey ... they're only seventeen. Everyone is cheesy at that age, right?

If you're in the mood for something different, something that...more

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Mar 07, 2013 Kimberly Souza rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: i-own

“Extranormal” by, Suze Reese

Mira Johnson is a normal teenage girl who just happens to be from another planet. She is part of an alien race from the planet Nreim (The Nreim race is also a human race, just much more advanced) and she has been sent to earth on a mission. Mira’s job is to observe and record any information she finds out about two teachers in Los Robles High School. (The school that she starts attending after coming to Earth with her mother) The two teachers are from Mira’s planet a...more

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Sep 25, 2012 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Well to start things off, this was a cute book. I liked the story and the characters were very sweet. When I started reading ExtraNormal I really didn't know what I expected. It was a refreshing tale about an alien girl who comes to Earth to find out information regarding two of the teachers at her new school. I enjoyed the story, I fell in love with Jesse. He was such a beautiful amazing guy, total fangirl here! He's a boy you just can't help but love. Mira was lucky to have him. I had fun read...more Well to start things off, this was a cute book. I liked the story and the characters were very sweet. When I started reading ExtraNormal I really didn't know what I expected. It was a refreshing tale about an alien girl who comes to Earth to find out information regarding two of the teachers at her new school. I enjoyed the story, I fell in love with Jesse. He was such a beautiful amazing guy, total fangirl here! He's a boy you just can't help but love. Mira was lucky to have him. I had fun reading Mira's thoughts, as a teenage alien on a different planet, Ms. Reese did a great job her creation. I loved that Mira was confused and she had a hard time with people touching her or being so close to her. It wasn't all "hey I am an alien but I get all things earthly". This was a good story, though I have to say it is more a sweet romantic story than a thrill ride.

I am not going to go into the story as the summary kinda explains it and I don't really want to give away too much about the plot. Sometimes with a story like this it is best to stick to talking about how much I liked the characters. This way I don't feel like I have given the whole story away.

So we have this alien named Mira. Yeah that's right she's the alien, for some reason when I bought this book I thought she was going to another world and was human. Ha ha I was totally wrong, but I can tell you I am glad I was wrong. Mira made an awesome alien right down to her enjoyment of human food. I laughed so hard when I was reading about her eating food. It was so funny. Not to mention her comments to Geery about the way human "males" smell, totally priceless! Not that this book was all fun and games. There is a lot of intrigue and mystery to it as well. After all Mira was sent there for a reason.

Jesse, oh you super cute sweetie you. I loved Jesse. He was a great match for Mira. I loved how he trusted her despite the fact that he knew she was keeping things from him. He never let his faith in her fail, never gave up even when it looked like things were impossible. I liked how he waited for her to tell him the truth, and his reaction to it, wow, what a guy. Could he be anymore perfect, umm yeah he can, but I won't go into that. He he. Just trust me you will love Jesse!

Geery is a Mira's friend from her home planet. I loved her interaction with Mira, it was hilarious. I love her "human" quotes from movies, she definitely added the right kind of flavour to ExtraNormal. She is the type of friend you want with you for life. She was a great support character and I can't wait to see if or when Ms. Reese writes a story about her. I really hope she does.

Now we get to the annoying boy you just can't stand, you know the one that makes you want to slap him. Everett, wow what a jerk! I hated this boy from the first moment I read about arrival. I just wanted to reach out and slap him so hard, at least I was not alone in this feeling. You go, Mira! I really enjoyed that she never let him push her around unless it might hurt someone close to her. Everett just plain sucks.

All in all, it was a good read, one I definitely enjoyed. I can't to see what happens next. Hopefully Geery's story is next in line. It would be nice to see her fall for a human after her telling Mira what she was doing was wrong. Oh how the mighty will fall, or at least I hope so. Well it's time to go, another assignment awaits. *Spy music plays*

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May 22, 2012 Emily rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, arc, for-review, blog-tour, e-books, disappointing, fantasy, love-the-cover, review, ya-romance, young-adult, sci-fi, annoying-romances

*An ARC was provided by Valarian Press in exchange for an honest review*

I was super-excited to read this book. I loved the cover and the summery made it seem like a really original, interesting book. Sadly, it was the complete opposite.

I really wanted to like this book, I really did. But I just couldn’t. It was so clichéd and dramatic and…dumb. I couldn’t stand it. First off, I had no idea what Mira was. Reeze didn’t explain ANYTHING. She just assumed we already knew everything. The writing was...more

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Apr 28, 2012 Jillian rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: aliens, young-adult, paranormal, book-nooked, kindle, romance

I was kindly provided an ebook version for free by the author.

ExtraNormal is exactly my kind of YA. It's fast-paced, it's smartly written, it's got a love story that leaves you sighing, and (the icing on the literary cake) it's paranormal.

ExtraNormal sucks you in from the start, throwing you right in the middle of Mira's struggles to blend in with the human students at Los Robles High School. She knows the rules for her mission, but sticking to them proves to be a challenge. Luckily, her best f...more I was kindly provided an ebook version for free by the author.

ExtraNormal is exactly my kind of YA. It's fast-paced, it's smartly written, it's got a love story that leaves you sighing, and (the icing on the literary cake) it's paranormal.

ExtraNormal sucks you in from the start, throwing you right in the middle of Mira's struggles to blend in with the human students at Los Robles High School. She knows the rules for her mission, but sticking to them proves to be a challenge. Luckily, her best friend Geery is only a stream (a sort of telepathic communication) away. Although Geery is back home on Nreim, she keeps Mira company from afar.

Despite Mira's resolve to avoid interaction, especially with human guys, she keeps running into one guy in particular: Jesse Mecham. He's a bit of an outcast, due to a mysterious situation at school last year, but Mira sees past everyone else's apprehension and becomes friends with him. Good friends. And even though she tries to resist, she can't help falling in love with him. Which is a huge deal for a nafarian like Mira, because Jesse's a human, and human-nafarian matches are a big, life-threatening no-no.

The romance between Mira and Jesse is a big part of the book, and I loved every moment of it. But another major part of the book is the mystery that starts building almost as soon as Mira arrives, which becomes more involved and more dangerous as each day passes. I really don't want to give away anything that has to do with the plot, because it's so exciting to learn it piece by piece along with Mira. As she starts putting the clues together, she finds they involve those around her: the teachers, Dr. Alison and Dr. Tom; the nextdoor neighbor, Becca; the annoying guy at school, Everett, who always seems to be around when trouble arises. The plot builds and builds until it all comes to an exciting, dramatic end, and you're not sure until the very last moment if Mira's going to come away as a hero or a failure. The conclusion leaves things wide open for the next books in the series; it could go pretty much any direction from here, which makes it all the more intriguing and makes me wish the next book was out NOW.

ExtraNormal is one of the best YA books I've read in a long while; it's got well-crafted relatable characters, an innocently passionate love story, a strong storyline that keeps you compulsively flipping pages, and an ending that leaves you dying for more. I'll definitely be snagging the next book in the ExtraNormal series as soon as it hits shelves and/or ereaders!

Full review originally posted on my blog, PidginPea's Book Nook.(less)

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May 14, 2012 Hmr28 marked it as to-read

I am not sure why authors' don't take advantage of every single avenue of publication open to them. I know that if I come across a recommendation from goodreads or a friend I check the book out right away, if it is available and is interesting to me, I buy it. If it is not available for me to buy on the Nook, I don't and then...I forget about it. Essentially the author has lost the chance at a sale, because I am not going to remember that I wanted a particular book 1 week from now much less 3 mo...more

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May 05, 2012 Sana rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012, absolute-favorites

ExtraNormal is a book that I had been waiting to read for a long time now. I finally got to read it and to say that it was awesome would be an understatement. It was infinitely better. I took my time writing this review and talking about things I really, really liked in ExtraNormal. So here I go.

ExtraNormal jumped right into the story from the first page. Mira is an alien from the planet Nreim which is exactly like Earth, the differences being in their far advanced technology and a permanent imp...more ExtraNormal is a book that I had been waiting to read for a long time now. I finally got to read it and to say that it was awesome would be an understatement. It was infinitely better. I took my time writing this review and talking about things I really, really liked in ExtraNormal. So here I go.

ExtraNormal jumped right into the story from the first page. Mira is an alien from the planet Nreim which is exactly like Earth, the differences being in their far advanced technology and a permanent improvment in their genetics and food. She was selected out of 603 other applicants to go on a mission to observe the Alisons high school teachers and married. Mira is to report on them and to work on the doubts the Council has regarding them.

Everything is provided for by the Council and her Mom, being a part of the government, is sent with Mira on another mission. Mira does not have any knowhow of how cell phones work and why does she find cafeteria food to be highly palatable. She makes friends in school and eight years old Becca, her neighbor, is thrust upon her quite suddenly.

Then there is Jesse, the boy who stuck in Mira's mind on her first day in Loc Robles High School. However, Mira is prohibited to interact with any males on earth for reasons she doesn't understand. That doesn't really matter because she smells disgusting odor when she is around males anyway. But Jesse is different, deep and interesting. One of the things I really liked about him was how he he clearly disliked sneaking around with Mira.

Everett is a very disturbing character as much as Alisons are creepy. He is ruthless and reeks of hatred for Mira. As time progresses, Mira knows that she has something bigger on her hands than she could ever imagine. And when her Dad arrives to Earth, she just knows she has a very limited time to uncover the truth and not leave Jesse behind.

Being a story involving aliens, ExtraNormal is a little hard to understand with all the technology regarding electromagnetic fields, being able to sense the emotions of other people and Mira's ability to stream with Geery, her BFF, back on Neirm. Their relationships work in a very different way than on Earth. The people on Neirm are linked in their 20s and then they undergo a permanent repatterning in their magnetic fields. Meaning that when her Mom is away from Dad, their Em-fields change and may be fatal if went on for a long time.

So when Mira finds herself being linked to Jesse she is beyond confused as the concept is incomprehensible. The love she feels emanating from him is unlike any other emotion she has witnessed and it makes her feel divine bliss. I really liked Jesse, he is a very sweet, under-valued and mysterious protagonist. The only thing I didn't like was how he followed Mira from school to see that she gets home safely. But otherwise, he is a very lovable character; strong-willed yet soft.

The story of ExtraNormal is very interesting and I loved how it progressed. The pace was perfect and the world building took me on a ride and left me breathless. The concept behind ExtraNormal is extremely innovative and highly interesting to read about. Suze Reese is a genius for creating the world of Mira and Jesse. In other words, I simply loved ExtraNormal.(less)

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Apr 26, 2012 Savannah (Books With Bite) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Another amazing book I read this weekend is Extranormal. And this book took me for a spin!

What I loved most about this book is the characters. The reader meets Mira, who is from another planet who is sent to earth on a mission. Mira being on earth is the funniest to read. To be in her shoes new on earth, new to school, money, cars, phones, etc. Watching her learn all of these things and getting used to it is nice. I loved watching her grow and learn new knowledge. I liked that even though Mira i...more

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Apr 23, 2012 Noémy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebook

2.5 stars

This book started really great but then about halfway through, it became a little too formulaic for my taste. There is a beautiful protagonist. A misunderstood boy. A smart and cheesy sidekick. The dreaded insta-love. And so on. The premise of ‘Extranormal’ really grabbed my attention (and so did the original cover, although why did they feel the need to change it I really don’t know…) : I haven’t read many books about aliens in YA so I was really curious and excited to start reading it...more 2.5 stars

This book started really great but then about halfway through, it became a little too formulaic for my taste. There is a beautiful protagonist. A misunderstood boy. A smart and cheesy sidekick. The dreaded insta-love. And so on. The premise of ‘Extranormal’ really grabbed my attention (and so did the original cover, although why did they feel the need to change it I really don’t know…) : I haven’t read many books about aliens in YA so I was really curious and excited to start reading it. And it did not disappoint. At first. Obviously, I really enjoyed the beginning of the book as well as reading it from Mira’s POV. BUT, as soon as THE boy entered the picture it started being way too cliche to my liking. I knew there was going to be some kind of love story after reading the synopsis but the author clearly favored the romance above anything else and did not focus nearly as much on the whole sci-fi aspect of the story, which just plain annoyed me. The whole streaming idea and the fact that the nefarians are able to read emotions off of people was beyond cool. I would have liked SR to delve just a tiny bit further into it or for her to have at least included those details at the forefront of the story rather than the other way around.

I didn’t buy Jesse and Mira’s relationship either and didn’t like how their connection was played out, although it is explained at the end. I thought these two lacked some serious chemistry; I guess that Jesse might be considered cute and nice by others but was a very dull character to me. And, as previously mentionned, I really hate it when the romantic elements overwhelm the actual plot in books. And this one felt particularly forced.

Plotwise, the story lacked intensity and that at-the-edge-of-your-seat feeling of trepidation that I expected from a somewhat sci-fi novel. I was looking forward to super creepy villains and big shows of extraterritorial superpowers and felt cheated when I didn’t get any of those. OK so maybe I watch too many movies but I’ll be honest and say I was expecting a LOT MORE excitement. I gritted my teeth in anticipation every time something remotely interesting started happening only to be let down in the end. There was also a lot of telling and not enough showing and it was frustrating because I simply could not connect to any of the characters which resulted in me feeling rather detached from the whole story.

Another thing I wasn’t particularly fond of was how slow the pacing was. The ending especially dragged on forever and could have easily been cut in half. I skipped more than a few lines to get to it. But what really bothered me is that it also ended way too abruptly : there was no real closure and the best I can describe it was anti climactic and dissatisfying. Only the mystery surrounding some of the characters and what their actions exactly entailed kept me interested enough to keep on reading ; I also thought the writing was good and Mira definitely was a worthy heroine. She really was interesting – I enjoyed watching her ‘struggle’ to act as a human : moments when she was interacting with the other students, trying out food for the first time or deciphering the language were fun to read about – and a smart and mature girl. I’m afraid that’s all I can really say about it though.

I might read book 2 when it comes out. I'm still undecided. It will really depend on the summary and whether it will focus on Mira+Jesse or Geery.(less)

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Mar 06, 2012 Annette rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-2012, kindle-ebooks

I feel so sorry about this book... it wasn't a bad book... it was a bad book for me...
The synopse and cover seemed very appealing to me, but when I started reading... it feel really long and sometimes boring. I felt that I wasn't going anywhere...
I really find myself giving a chance finishing this book several times...
Maybe is the subject or maybe it was the pace of the story or maybe I didn't feel connected to the characters... the thing is that I do not enjoy much this book even though I trie...more

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Jul 06, 2012 Alyssa Corpus rated it 4 of 5 stars

Pleasantly surprised! This was in my Kindle library gathering up imaginary mechanical dust for a while. The Disney fantasy-like cover and unusual title made me think it would be an immature, badly-edited story with a weak plot. That wasn't the case! I loved the characters, and even though I'm not usually into aliens, and the explanations of why the aliens were there was a little (a lot) unbelievable, I enjoyed it. Not particularly memorable or great, but still a good read.

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Jul 12, 2012 Amanda rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: kindle-owned-read

A fun and interesting "alien" story. I like how the nafarians were the same as humans, just slightly more advanced instead of being strange creatures with superpowers. The author gave some information and background on the differences between the "Old Earth" and "NeoEarth," but nothing too heavy and confusing. The romance aspect wasn't terribly annoying and I loved Mira's parents and Becca. The book moved quickly and smoothly throughout. There are plenty of surprises at the end that I never expe...more

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Apr 25, 2012 Raea rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-challenge, 100-book-challenge, kindle-lendables

I have to say that I was hesitant about this book. I was hooked, yet for a bit, I was bored. I loved the storyline and Mira's obvious connection to Jesse. However, it took a while to get around to something besides the teenage soap opera. I gave it only 4 stars because of this. The ending completely redeemed my previous feelings which is what kept it from being only 3 stars.

Suggestion? Read the book. I am ready for the next one!

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Where is the old cover?	1	12	16 mar. 11:50
Goodreads Librari...: New cover for book not yet published	3	39	09 mar. 09:01

title link	preview: ExtraNormal
avg rating	preview: ExtraNormal Goodreads rating: 3.62 (287 ratings)
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BBCode	[url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12797906-extranormal?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1331923462l/12797906.jpg[/img][/url] [url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12797906-extranormal?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]ExtraNormal by Suze Reese[/url]

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