You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Scan barcode
A review by maises
In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
"I'm serious as harpy cancer."
I may be a little blinded by nostalgia here, but on this reread it went down easy as butter, so that has to mean something, especially now that YA doesn’t have its grip on me like it did as a kid. I read this story originally when it was called The Turn of the Story, published chapter by chapter (school year by year?) on the author’s personal website ages ago. I only know it's been a long time because I vividly recall reading it on desktop. I remember reading and rereading about Elliot and his adventures so often that on this first reread in adulthood I still recalled nearly every event and almost every line after all these years. Which is a little embarrassing. Even the additional extra Wings in the Morning was a part of a YA horror monster anthology or something like it which I definitely borrowed just for it. I have a lot of sweet feelings for this world and its people, so I’ll just pretend that extra star is for that reason alone!
I may be a little blinded by nostalgia here, but on this reread it went down easy as butter, so that has to mean something, especially now that YA doesn’t have its grip on me like it did as a kid. I read this story originally when it was called The Turn of the Story, published chapter by chapter (school year by year?) on the author’s personal website ages ago. I only know it's been a long time because I vividly recall reading it on desktop. I remember reading and rereading about Elliot and his adventures so often that on this first reread in adulthood I still recalled nearly every event and almost every line after all these years. Which is a little embarrassing. Even the additional extra Wings in the Morning was a part of a YA horror monster anthology or something like it which I definitely borrowed just for it. I have a lot of sweet feelings for this world and its people, so I’ll just pretend that extra star is for that reason alone!
Elliot is kind of a heart-breaking character, but it takes some time to really uncover that, which means his schemes of being annoying enough to at least bury that part of himself really worked. I think lots of young teens can see themselves in him, but he’s probably not the best role model. Or maybe he is. I liked him a lot, and I liked Luke (easiest kid to adore) and Serene (easiest elf to adore) and everyone else, but I think that’s a little too easy to talk about. I will say that I think In Other Lands is a perfect example of being able to succeed within a deconstruction of a genre only because the genre is clearly loved despite being self-aware. I’m happy to finally have a physical copy of it on my shelf for when I need it again like comfort food, even though I noted one too many punctuation errors to blink away. Please make sure your editors are alive n kicking…