In Other Lands
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4.8 • 44 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Georgia Peach Award Nominee • Florida Teens Read Award Nominee • ABC Best Books for Young Readers • Bank Street College Best Children’s Books of the Year • A Junior Library Guild Selection • Hugo & Locus award finalist
In Other Lands is an exhilarating novel from bestselling author Sarah Rees Brennan about surviving four years in the most unusual of schools - friendship, falling in love, diplomacy, and finding your own place in the world — even if it means giving up your phone.
Excerpt:
The
Borderlands aren’t like anywhere else. Don’t try to smuggle a phone or
any other piece of technology over the wall that marks the Border —
unless you enjoy a fireworks display in your backpack. (Ballpoint pens
are okay.) There are elves, harpies, and — best of all as far as Elliot
is concerned — mermaids.
"What’s your name?"
"Serene."
"Serena?" Elliot asked.
"Serene," said Serene. "My full name is Serene-Heart-in-the-Chaos-of-Battle."
Elliot’s mouth fell open. "That is badass."
Elliot?
Who’s Elliot? Elliot is thirteen years old. He’s smart and just a tiny
bit obnoxious. Sometimes more than a tiny bit. When his class goes on a
field trip and he can see a wall that no one else can see, he is given
the chance to go to school in the Borderlands.
It turns out that
on the other side of the wall, classes involve a lot more weaponry and
fitness training and fewer mermaids than he expected. On the other hand,
there’s Serene-Heart-in-the-Chaos-of-Battle, an elven warrior who is
more beautiful than anyone Elliot has ever seen, and then there’s her
human friend Luke: sunny, blond, and annoyingly likeable. There are lots
of interesting books. There’s even the chance Elliot might be able to
change the world.
Chapter illustrations by Casey Nowak.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Elliot Schafer is a small-for-his-age 13-year-old who is prone to being bullied largely due to his personality, which slots somewhere between insufferable know-it-all and sarcastic jackass. When Elliot's class travels to a "random field in Devon, England" for a supposed scholarship test, he instead winds up in a strange world known as the Borderlands, which are filled with elves, mermaids, and other creatures. So begins Brennan's hilarious, irreverent, and multilayered coming-of-age fantasy, set over several years. Elliot quickly befriends (and falls for) Serene, a fierce elven warrior, and arranges a reluctant truce with Luke Sunborn, the son of one of the Borderland's founding families. All three along with every young person there are training in war or as councilors, charged with protecting the fragile barrier with the human world. Amid shifting relationships, the threat of war, and substantial growth among the characters, Elliot's razor-edged wit and general inability to keep his mouth shut make for blissfully entertaining reading. Smart explorations of gender stereotypes, fluid sexuality, and awkward romance only add to the depth and delight of this glittering contemporary fantasy. Ages 13 up.
Customer Reviews
Beloved
This was lovely and witty and thoughtful from start to finish and has easily become one of my top two favorite books ever. Entertaining and heartfelt while providing a running commentary on the foolishness of policing sex and gender and the total awesomeness of mermaids.
Concerns (questions that should be answered in a sequel that should absolutely be written): what happened to the best part of the fake dating trope? Where are the centaurs? Why do unicorns insist on shaming and goring hussies? How will our heroes perfect a partially aquatic mail delivery system? What do mermaid libraries look like? Is there lo tech enough scuba gear that Elliot could find out first hand? If the technology is crafted in the magical otherworld will it still melt and explode? Where’s my Golden wedding? Why did Luke refer to the Championship as some sort of misunderstanding? How will Elliot acquire more pens when he runs out? Will he have to become a criminal for the sake of peace? If (when) Rachel finds out Elliot’s mother is a deadbeat, how mad is she gonna be at that lady? Will it spread through the fam like the Wavechaser news and will they all start making snide remarks whenever in proximity to Elliot’s mother? Please let there be a sequel.