Age: 14+ (my guess)Publication Date: July 2010
Pages: 326
Series: 1st in a series
Book Acquisition: received a finished copy from the publisher
My Rating: 5 / 5 Stars
(from Goodreads)
Seventeen-year-old Gwen hides a dangerous secret: she’s Other. Half-pooka, to be exact, thanks to the father she never met. Most Americans don’t exactly roll out the welcome mat for Others, especially not the small-town folks of Klikamuks, Washington. As if this isn’t bad enough, Gwen’s on the brink of revealing her true identity to her long-time boyfriend, Zack, but she’s scared he’ll lump her with the likes of bloodthirsty vampires and feral werewolves.
When a pack of werewolves chooses the national forest behind Gwen’s home as their new territory, the tensions in Klikamuks escalate-into murder. It soon becomes clear a serial killer is methodically slaying Others. The police turn a blind eye, leaving Gwen to find the killer before the killer finds her. As she hunts for clues, she uncovers more Others living nearby than she ever expected. Like Tavian, a sexy Japanese fox-spirit who rivals Zack and challenges her to embrace her Otherness. Gwen must struggle with her own conflicted identity, learn who she can trust, and-most importantly-stay alive.
My Review:
First off I need to say - I would very much like to live in Gwen's world. Paranormal folks living side by side with 'normal' people? Pretty cool. These 'Others' as they are called are pretty much accepted by society. They still face a lot of prejudice and challenges though. These facts made the book more believable to me. The situations felt very real - like, these things could actually happen.
While I pretty much figured out who the bad guys was early on, it didn't hurt the suspense factor. There was some romance that I found rather sweet - not overdone. Some sex too, which, in my opinion wasn't necessary but it was realistic so it worked with the story. There might be the makings of a love triangle for the sequel, which I'm not so happy about but I guess I will have to wait and see.
Speaking of sequels, Bloodborn comes out in the Fall of 2011 and I know I'll be picking up a copy. I love a good paranormal story and Other really came through for me. The story held my attention for start to finish and the characters were really likable.
Reminded Me Of:
The Strange Angels series by Lili St. Crow. Not as much action and not quite the same paranormals. But the setting, for me, seemed similar. Young girl, looking for answers in a world full of secrets.
Who Would Enjoy It:
Fans of paranormal YA fiction who like a little romance and mystery.
Books in the Series:
Other
Bloodborn (Fall 2011)
Linkage Love:
Flux
Author's Website
Goodreads
Thanks for your review. I just received this book in the mail last week and need to make time to read it.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this one a lot too :) I wasn't sure if I would, so many teen paranormals!, but I did! Also I liked that the entire book wasn't devoted to Gwen's various romances--the mystery was more important I think.
ReplyDeleteSounds great. I wonder if we really have paranormal people just live together among us. that will be way too cool!
ReplyDeleteOooo this sounds good. I love stories where paranormals live amongst normal folk. Like in Tantalize.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review!
I've heard that this is a fantastic book! And I love the concept, too. It sounds like a great book to escape in. Excellent review!
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