Stork by Wendy Delsol - Review

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I didn't know what to expect from Stork. I mean, the title made me think that Katla, the ice-blonde main character, turned into a weird looking, long-limbed bird who dropped babies down chimneys or something! But I was drawn in by that gorgeously frosty cover, and decided to read the book.
And oh I am so glad that I did!

Stork is the story of Katla, a fashion loving teen who has recently moved from the bustling city of LA to the tiny town of Norse Falls, Minnesota, a place as cold as it is Scandinavian. Finding herself without friends (or a decent shopping mall!) one night she is ushered into the Icelandic Stork Society, and the folktale flavoured story really begins. Throw in your normal high school drama and a mysterious hottie, and you've got all the ingredients necessary for a seriously great YA paranormal romance!

Wendy Delsol's Stork was a random find at my local library, and one that I wasn't sure that I wanted to read. Living by the principles of the ridiculous and relevant saying "YOLOFISH" (Google it!) I went home with the book and picked it up a few days later. By the end of the night, I had finished the book, and was looking up the sequel on Goodreads and The Book Depository! Really, it's that good!

I've found myself drawn back into the world of YA novels recently. I stopped reading them for quite a while as I began to have a problem with the repetitive story lines and Mary Sue lead characters that feature in many YA books today, but I have been pleasantly surprised by the YA fiction I have discovered lately. Stork was yet another of these pleasant surprises: a strikingly original premise combined with a fashion loving town misfit - what a perfect book for me! While Katla's story does require a slight suspension of belief, that is what you've got to expect from any paranormal fiction. And when the idea is as interesting as that of the Icelandic Stork Society is, it's sure to be well worth the read.

The whole idea and development of the Icelandic Stork Society was my favourite thing about this book. Without giving too much of the plot away, Katla's hidden talent is unique and made for an interesting and different story, though I would have liked to have seen the author focus on that a bit more than the romance aspect of the story, but I suppose that will come in the next two books in the series.

Speaking of romance... what a sweet, swift romance it was! I have a total soft spot for love stories where the characters go from hating one another to being completely in love, and when the guy is as much of a babe as Jack, that's even better! I also really appreciated the fact that Jack has a supernatural secret of his own; I think that that will make for a very interesting story line in the next two books, and it's great to see both lead characters having supernatural abilities, as usually it's one or the other.

I thought that Jack and Katla's romance was adorable, though it did irk me a little that she became so dependent on Jack so quickly. Having said that, she did show some mettle towards the end of the novel. Hopefully we'll see Katla becoming stronger and stronger over the course of the next two books! I also felt that the story was slightly rushed towards the end; another couple of chapters to spread the action and the big reveal of Jack's secret could have helped.

Apart from those few small gripes I had with the book, I found Stork to be a truly unique, beautifully written debut novel, and I can't wait to get into the other two books in the series, Frost and Flock. I freakin' love it when a series I've just discovered is already complete!