Other by Karen Kincy: Review

Other
By: Karen Kincey
Received from publisher for review

Summary (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: This book had a great concept, but I was not completely sold on the execution.

Shapeshifters are inherently cool. I loved what Kincy did with Gwen's outwardness, if that makes any sense. I liked the interpretation of pookas. But, I didn't love Gwen. I was bothered that she didn't stand up for herself a little more.

I was really unhappy with Gwen's relationship with Zack. A good portion of their time in the book was spent by pressuring her to have sex with him. This is something that turns me off of a story really quickly. Teenagers having sex is one thing, but teenagers pressuring each other to have sex just gets under my skin. Although, without getting too spoiler-y, the series of events that follow this pressure explain exactly why sleeping with someone before marriage is not a good idea. (I know I'll probably get heat for that last sentence, but it's what I believe, and that's all there is to it.)

Gwen's parents need a slap in the face. How ridiculous is it that you have a good girl that really doesn't get into trouble, and you aren't supportive of her? I have a daughter, and I'll be darned if I ever treat her the way Gwen's mother treats her. Instead of being supportive and helping her daughter deal with the prejudice associated with being an Other, they pretend she is normal. Shame on them. However, I have to say that at least their lack of involvement was crucial to the story. They aren't conveniently missing so that Gwen can get herself into a lot of trouble. It showed what lengths people will go to be accepted. Even to semi-shun their own daughter.

I thought the dialogue was spot on. Dialogue is one of the most difficult things to get right in a Young Adult novel. Teenagers speak differently than adults, but if you force it too much, you get cliche and unrealistic. Not a problem in this novel. Even though this is a debut novel for Kincy, the dialogue flows like it's a second or third novel.

I think a lot of people will like this novel. It's fun, deals with a lot of issues teenagers can relate to, and it has two good-looking boys. If you've read it, what do you think? Also, where do you draw the line with things you won't read? Or do you not draw a line?

My Rating: