Addicts of supernatural, romantic novels are seeking consolation as they face a vampire-less future, and “The Caster Chronicles,” written by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, might just do the job.

“Beautiful Creatures” was released in December 2009 as the first of four books in the series and, like most young adult fantasy novels these days, will make it to the big screen on Feb. 13, 2013.

The synopsis on the book’s back cover alone drew me in immediately.

Ethan Wate, a male narrator, brings a bit of a new twist to the modern paranormal love stories, and his profound emotions will leave many young girls swooning for the jock with a secret love for classics like “Catcher in the Rye.”

The authors continuously allude to other famous novels as well, including Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” where it pays homage to Lee’s theme regarding injustice.

While Lee makes a point about discrimination with the case against Tom Robinson, in “Beautiful Creatures,” the case against Lena Duchannes has a resemblance to the ancient witch trials.

Lena’s example is timeless for all teenagers as she refuses to trade her identity for a place in society.

I loved the overall concept and characters in “Beautiful Creatures,” but the story itself still has two weaknesses: predictability and pacing.

The love story between Ethan and Lena created a lot of déjà vu.

Popular boy falls for a new, unpopular girl, and their love is tainted by a supernatural difference between them.

I almost cringed whenever Ethan mentioned Lena’s imperfections that, like for most girls in contemporary novels, made her even more unique and beautiful.

Even though Ethan and Lena have many redeeming qualities, there could have been better character development. I didn’t to get to know them very deeply until the latter half of the book.

The writers dive right into the mystery and make sudden jumps from mellow, descriptive settings to fast-paced action scenes that left me dizzy.

The story follows Ethan, whose mother died and whose father lost his mind to grief.

Ethan is well taken care of by the superstitious yet loving old woman, Amma.  But since losing his mother, Ethan has been eager to escape from his artificial lifestyle as a jock and to abandon his southern roots. That is, until Lena comes to town.

Lena moves into the mysterious Ravenwood plantation with her uncle, who is also known as the “Boo Radley” of Gatlin.

But in this small town, change is unacceptable for its locals, so Lena’s odd demeanor and clothing become targets for ridicule.  Accidents also tend to occur wherever Lena is present.

But Ethan finds Lena’s individuality alluring, and he goes against everything he has ever known as a “popular” kid when he befriends her.

But their relationship is doomed by the fact that Lena is a Caster (similar to a witch) and will be “Claimed” on her 16th birthday as either “Dark” (evil) or “Light” (good). If she goes Dark, there is no telling what she might become or what terrible things she will use her powers for.

I am excited to see how well filmmakers will bring the movie to life, and how actors Alden Ehrenreich and Alice Englert portray Ethan and Lena.

Although I don’t believe that it will reach the fandom of “Twilight” or “Harry Potter,” I encourage fantasy lovers to give Ethan Wate a chance and to try to find some solace in “Beautiful Creatures.”