You can’t throw a rock without tripping over a young-adult novel that pairs a teen girl with a supernaturally different boy. But, Utah native Kiersten White’s debut novel Paranormalcy refuses to wallow in the angst we might have come to expect from such tales.

That’s not to say that Evie, her orphaned 16-year-old heroine, doesn’t fret over the things that she feels make her different from her peers. It’s just that the things that make her different—specifically, her job with an agency that monitors paranormal creatures, thanks to her ability to see through their “glamour” exteriors—threaten her actual life more often than her social life. And when she meets a cute boy with the ability to shape-shift, it’s part of a much bigger threat to all paranormal creatures.

Writing in Evie’s lively first-person voice, White crafts an appealing adventure that provides a few twists on familiar premises. Meet Evie—and the author—at today’s reading and signing.

Kiersten White: Paranormalcy @ The King’s English Bookshop, 1511 S. 1500 East, 801-484-9100, Sept. 11, 2 p.m. KingsEnglish.com