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The Otherworldlies | 
| Author: Jennifer Anne Kogler
Publisher: Eos
Category: Book
List Price: $16.99
Buy New: $8.49
You Save: $8.50 (50%)
New (25) Used (15) Collectible (1) from $6.96
Avg. Customer Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 92809
Media: Hardcover
Edition: Ages: 10 and up
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 400
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.7 x 1.4
ISBN: 0060739592
EAN: 9780060739591
ASIN: 0060739592
Publication Date: June 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New. 100% money back guarantee. All books shipped from Strand Bookstore, New York City, USA.
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Product Description
Fern communicates with her dog, blisters from just moments in the sun, and has correctly predicted the daily weather for more than two years. Even so, she's always seemed to be a normal twelve-year-old girl . . . until one day when Fern closes her eyes in class and opens them seconds later on a sandy beach miles away from school. When Fern disappears again, this time to a place far more dangerous, she begins to realize exactly how different she is. With the help of her twin brother, Sam, Fern struggles to gain control of her supernatural powers. The arrival of a sinister vampire in town—who seems to have an alarming interest in Fern's powers—causes Fern to question her true identity. Who is she? More importantly, who can she count on? Soon Fern finds herself in the middle of a centuries-old battle—one that could destroy Fern and endanger everyone she loves.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...
 Overall a good story August 21, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
I enjoyed the overall story line but the writing and descriptions are not necessarily that sophisticated though I suppose thats what you get when a novel is more for teen readers. I am 29 so take this review with a grain of salt. I adore a lot of teen books which is one reason I often read them. I wish I had not ordered the hard-bound copy though I paid $11 for it. I would have preferred to have spent less on a paperback so if your not sure if you want to get it or not, wait for the paperback. It's worth a read and I like the main characters.
 Enchanting Review: The Otherworldlies August 11, 2008
THE OTHERWORLDLIES
JENNIFER ANNE KOGLER
MG fantasy
Rating: 3.5 Enchantments
Twelve-year-old twins Fern and Sam McAllister can't be any different. Sam is popular at St. Gregory, the school they both attend. Fern is 'different' with her super sensitivity to light, ability to communicate with her dog, and being able to predict the weather. She doesn't know just how different until one day when she closes her eyes in class and is transported to the beach. More weird things happen around her like dead birds appearing outside her window.
With the help of Sam, she searches to find out more about her ability to transport. When Vlad, a vampire, shows interest in Fern, it's up to her to find out the truth. Who is she? And why the sudden interest in her abilities?
This story has an interesting twist on the whole vampire theme. I liked how Kogler tied in Greek mythology with the origins of vampires. Fern's confusion on who she is will resonate with readers. I liked how Fern worked together with her brother Sam on finding out the truth of her abilities.
Though the storyline was intriguing I found myself drifting on some parts of the story and felt the ending was abrupt. But this can be solved by a sequel.
The Otherworldlies is sure to appeal to younger readers who'd like a vampire tale without the gory bite of similar older books.
Jennifer Anne Kogler is also the author of Ruby Tuesday, which started as her senior thesis at Princeton University. She currently attends Standford Law School. Readers can find out more on her website at www.jenniferannekogler.com
Kim
Enchanting Reviews
July 2008
A book with a familiar motif August 10, 2008
Twelve-year-old Fern McAllister is weird enough that she's the regular target of bullies at her over-strict private school, St. Gregory's. Unlike her twin brother and faithful confidante Sam, Fern is pale-eyed and unusually sensitive to sunlight: her skin can blister after just a few minutes of exposure. And it doesn't help that she talks to her dog and climbs trees to escape the other students during recess. As it turns out, Fern is stranger than even her tormenters' can have imagined. Early in Jennifer Anne Kogler's The Otherworldies, Fern finds herself teleporting involuntarily out of a boring English class to a beach miles away. It's the first bizarre event in a long series of them, and the start of Fern's education into her true nature. Fern is, as the book's title suggests, an "Otherworldy"--or, as the less politically correct among us would have it, a vampire.
Readers will recognize a familiar motif in Kogler's plot: an underdog protagonist who does not quite belong in their current surroundings (think Oedipus or Paris of Troy or Harry Potter) comes to discover that he or she is heir to a kingdom or possesses extraordinary powers. The plot is appealing because we want the underdog to prevail. We are certainly rooting for Fern in the early chapters of Kogler's book, when she is at the mercy of her tween persecutors. When Fern comes more fully into her powers and the story shifts from the familiar drama of middle school to the secret halls of the Vampire Alliance Headquarters, things become less interesting and the story drags. Real human drama gives way to a litany of the strange beasties and other things that mortals are unaware exist: centaurs and cyclopes and bushes that can be used for remote eavesdropping.
In the alternative universe Kogler creates, vampires exist alongside but hidden from the mortal world. But their community is riven by a schism between good and evil branches--a fight in which Fern will have an important role to play. (Cf. the division between good wizards and Death Eaters in the Harry Potter books.) The vamps are descendants of Zeus, and Kogler weaves Greek mythology through her story to a degree. The universe of the book is interesting enough on paper, but it doesn't appeal or feel as real as, say, the Potter-verse or the world created by Joss Whedon for Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It is not, that is, a place that I'm itching to get back to. But I did enjoy Kogler's story when Fern was wrestling more with her strangeness. I would that the mystery of her otherness had not been resolved quite so quickly.
-- Debra Hamel
 I can't wait for the next one!!! July 16, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I had more fun reading this book than I can ever remember having! I wished I was related to Fern and Sam the entire time I was reading it. The author creates such a rich and detailed world that you feel like you are living inside this magical book! The world of the Otherworldlies is filled with fantastic and amazing creatures. The plot is very surprising and also very familiar. The characters are very realistic, even though they have special powers! I can't believe the author did such a great job of making the fantastic seem so real!!! I can't wait to read the next installment. This is shaping up to be one of the best series ever.
A most "Unusual" heroine July 4, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Strange things keep happening to 12 year old Fern McAllister. For one thing a rash of dead swallows in her town San Juan Capistrano, plaguing Fern and her twin brother, Sam. For another thing the voices that Fern constantly hears won't shut up, and they keep whispering of the appearance of a man named Vlad. There is also, of course, the typical weird things that Fern can do; like speak to the family dog, Byron, predict the weather accurately for months at a time, and how simply being out in the sun will cause her skin to blister unmercifully. Suffice it to say, Fern is a very "unusual" girl.
Things at school don't help to negate this complex for Fern. She is constantly picked on by the in crowd who have labeled her "Freaky Fern" for her attitudes and dark appearance, especially in contrast with her handsome, charismatic (and golden) twin. Fern continues to perpetuate the fact that she is odd by acting what is most normal to her, whether it's reading a book in a tree with Byron at her side, or constantly going to the nurses office for painful stomach cramps. Fern is an outcast, plain and simple... the worst crime possible for a 12 year old at a parochial school... But is there more to Fern's behavior then meets the eyes?
Things get even weirder when an incident at school culminates in Fern's disappearance. And by disappearance I mean literally that... one minute she is sitting in her desk at school and the next she is at the beach that her family frequently spends time at talking to some random beach bum who convinces her to go into the cave nearby where she sees two things that she has never noticed before... initials carved into the rock and an inscription in ancient Greek, which Fern cannot read. This incident begins to open up Fern's eyes to a whole new world, a world where she is even more "unusual" than she once thought... a world that she never knew existed until it fell into her proverbial lap.
As a debut novel in a series this is a really good effort on Kogler's part. I liked it to a point. There were a few minutes in the story when I checked out either from annoyance (or potentially from outside interference) and I had to reread the bits I got distracted in. The whole time spent in New Tartarus I found to be a touch.... Meh... overall just not well developed. She could have sharpened a few moments in that particular story arc. However, I was attracted to the overall story at large and definitely checked back in just in time to see what happened with Fern and Sam once they were no longer in New Tartarus. I think with some cleaning up the writing style, and with some tweaking of details, Kogler has the makings of a good series of books... Especially considering that Vampires are the new black right now when it comes to young adult science fiction writing. Structurally, it reminds me a tad of the format of the Harry Potter books, but only slightly, as it is really nothing like the books. I also enjoyed the inclusion of Greek Mythology merged with the mythology of Vampires. I think this is a really bold and inventive choice on Kogler's part and I was thrilled that the book highlighted so many interesting points in Greek mythology (especially considering she is building her mythos base on them).
Overall, I liked it. Enough to sell it where I work. Enough to read further books by Kogler about these characters. I think it's a fine start, and I hope to see her develop this idea further.
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