Corinne Duyvis

Sometimes a book just sneaks up quietly behind your back... and then slaps you on the head. Hard. That basically sums up my reading experience with Otherbound. I had been intrigued by Otherbound for some time. So, when I had the chance to read and review the story for free, I gladly grabbed the chance!

However, I never expected to be so immersed in Nolan and Amara’s story. The writing and settings were exquisite. And, at the end of Otherbound, I felt as if I had lost a friend. This book show more will stick with me for a long time, and will definitely make it onto my 2014 favorites list.

Let’s start with the two characters and two settings. Our two main characters are Nolan and Amara. Nolan is from our world. However, he is not your average boy. He is missing a good part of one of his legs, and he has “seizures” and “hallucinations”. Of course, the readers learn pretty quickly that Nolan doesn’t have either of these plights, despite what the doctors might say.

Every time Nolan closes his eyes, he finds himself in another world called the Dunelands. More specifically, he sees through the eyes of a girl called Amara. Amara is not only a mute servant from the Dunelands, she is also a healer protecting a cursed princess. This job is not nearly as glamourous as it sounds, as the healing process causes Amara to inflict terrible harm upon herself. Also, Jorn, her master, cruelly punishes Amara often. And, in turn, Nolan has to suffer through terrible pain as well.

Otherbound had a certain uniqueness that other books lack. Not only does the author evidently have a wildly creative mind, she also incorporates diversity into Otherbound. The characters are LGBT, Hispanic, disabled, mute etc. The character relationships were astounding. Whether it was the relationship between two love interests or between family, Otherbound made the interactions realistic, hopeful, and heartbreaking.

Also, I loved the unpredictability of this novel. I was never sure what would occur next. And two revelations in the novel caught me totally off guard, but, when I reread parts of the book, made total sense to me. Both of these new bits of knowledge were about magic and the two worlds! This brings me onto my next topic, the magic and worldbuilding! For fear of spoilers, I won’t say much except the author had her world, and the awesome magic within, down pat!

Otherbound’s ending is spectacular. Nothing is tied up in a nice red ribbon but the story ends at just the right place. Also, I was impacted tremendously by one of the sentences on the very last page. I may or may not have leaked a few tears.

Corrine Duyvis has truly written a gem. The book has it all: a fantastic plot, a vivid setting, diverse characters, major feels, wonderful themes, and a stunning conclusion. Also, despite the length of this review, I feel as if I have barely touched upon all the amazing aspects of Otherbound! Overall, I cannot recommend Otherbound highly enough.

5/5 Stars
*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review!* show less

Otherbound by Corinne Duyvis is the author's début novel. It first drew my attention because of some blogs I follow, then I happened to read some of author's short stories and knew I had to read her novel too.

Amara is never alone. Not when she's protecting the cursed princess she unwillingly serves. Not when they're fleeing across dunes and islands and seas to stay alive. Not when she's punished, ordered around, or neglected.

She can't be alone, because a boy from another world experiences show more all that alongside her, looking through her eyes.

Nolan longs for a life uninterrupted. Every time he blinks, he's yanked from his Arizona town into Amara's mind, a world away, which makes even simple things like hobbies and homework impossible. He's spent years as a powerless observer of Amara's life. Amara has no idea . . . until he learns to control her, and they communicate for the first time. Amara is terrified. Then, she's furious.

All Amara and Nolan want is to be free of each other. But Nolan's breakthrough has dangerous consequences. Now, they'll have to work together to survive--and discover the truth about their connection.

I loved Otherbound. It's meticulously thought through and beautifully written. Nolan is not a normal teenage boy and isn't sure how to be. He spends a large chunk of his life involuntarily living someone else's life. It's distracting to the point where he can't concentrate on school, ride a bike safely or do anything else normal teenagers do. He tries to keep his life together, but it's a constant struggle he rarely wins. But he's not doing anything stupid or irrational, which makes him more likeable than a lot of YA main characters. His doctors, who think he has a rare form of epilepsy with hallucinations, put him on some new meds which allow him to interact with the world he sees when he closes his eyes. And so the real story begins.

Meanwhile Amara lives in a well-drawn and fully developed fantasy world. Her life is complex, living on the run with a princess who's the only survivor of a palace coup, their protector and another servant. Amara's job is simple: make sure the princess never gets hurt, because if she bleeds her curse will kill her. And when the princess does get hurt, Amara gets to step in and suffer in her place because she's "lucky" enough to have healing magic. There is nothing happy about Amara's life but it's stable until Nolan realises he can take control of her body.

I really loved this book. I particularly appreciated Duyvis's attention to detail. Often, when I'm reading a book I'm having feelings over I'll explain the premise and characters to my husband (without spoilers for books I want him to read) and he always manages to find the plot-/worldbuilding-holes just from my summary. Not this time! Every detailed was accounted for even when some of those details were misdirection.

It was also well written on a sentence level. When my eyes excitedly jumped down the page because I wanted to know what happened next, I always went back to read the half-paragraph or whatever that I skipped.

I highly recommend Otherbound to all YA and adult fantasy fans. I would be remiss if I didn't also recommend it to readers looking for diversity. Nolan is hispanic and Nahuatl and has a prosthetic leg. The magic stuff also has many parallels with chronic illness (although isn't because magic). Amara had her tongue cut out at a young age (because she's a servant) and has to sign with her hands to communicate. But whether you care about diversity or not, Otherbound is excellent. Do yourself a favour and read it. I will definitely be keeping a keen eye on Duyvis's future work.

5 / 5 stars

Read more reviews on my blog. show less

The two greatest things about this novel are its willingness to embrace intersectionality and the diversity that comes with it and its ability to balance a riveting plot with fascinating characterization. Together, these things created an addicting fantasy that allowed me to both see parts of myself in places I don't usually find them in literature (especially, in terms of Amara's sexuality, which felt more accurate than any other fictional portrayal of bisexuality I have read) and to show more grapple with issues like identity, duty, choice, privilege, and power in new ways as I read how each character handled those issues in their situation. I look forward to reading more from this author. show less

I received an advance copy of the book through the publisher via NetGalley.

THIS BOOK. Gah. I'm morbid and enjoy a good apocalyptic story. This blew me away. Denise is an autistic teenager who loves working with cats at a shelter in Amsterdam. Her mom is a drug addict. A comet is about to strike Earth. Everything changes, but some things do not--her mom makes them late to reach their assigned shelter during the blast, and they end up taking refuge on a generation ship stuck on earth. The ship show more doesn't want them aboard--how can Denise fit in, much less her mom? As Earth rattles with repercussions from the impact, all Denise wants is to find her beloved trans sister and somehow stay alive amid increasingly horrible circumstances.

The drama feels real. The science comes across as sound. The interpersonal drama is likewise intense: a teenager who struggles to interact with the world on a normal day, suddenly coping with a cataclysm, even as her mother is zoned out on drugs. The whole cast is fantastic. It's January and I already know this book will top my Norton Award shortlist for next year. show less