Review: Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin

Phoebe finds herself drawn to Mallory, the strange and secretive new kid in school, and the two girls become as close as sisters . . . until Mallory's magnetic older brother, Ryland, shows up during their junior year. 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 truth about Ryland and Mallory: that these two are visitors from the faerie realm who have come to collect on an age-old debt.

Generations ago, the faerie queen promised Pheobe's ancestor five extraordinary sons in exchange for the sacrifice of one ordinary female heir. But in hundreds of years there hasn't been a single ordinary girl in the family, and now the faeries are dying. Could Phoebe be the first ordinary one? Could she save the faeries, or is she special enough to save herself?

I'm going to start off by saying that I did enjoy this tale that Werlin weaved for her readers, but also must add that it equally frustrated me along the way. I think I've come to expect and appreciate all of the strong female leading characters in so many books out on the shelves today that watching this character struggle throughout the story left me a little disappointed. Werlin's writing style and pace made up for my frustrations over Phoebe, but not enough that I can rave about the story as a whole.

I did enjoy the details surrounding the deal made between the queen of fairies and Phoebe's ancestors, and the little bits of historical fiction thrown in to the mix as well. I wasn't sure what to expect from Werlin's ending, but I was pleasantly surprised when all was said and done.

If you're looking for a light read and a standalone novel, this one might be just what you're looking for.

I gave Extraordinary 3 shamrocks!!!