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Other (Other #1)

by Karen Kincy (Goodreads Author)

3.67 of 5 stars 3.67 · rating details · 1,310 ratings · 197 reviews

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...more

Paperback, 1st Edition, 336 pages

Published July 8th 2010 by Flux (first published July 1st 2010)

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Aug 26, 2010 Janina rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery-thriller-suspense, young-adult-fiction, read-in-2010, given-away, paranormal, series-lost-interest

I was really looking forward to reading Other, and altogether, I wasn’t disappointed. The book does have some minor flaws, and it took me a few pages to get used to the very direct writing style, but I enjoyed it.

Gwen is Other, half pooka, half human, and in her small home town, this means she has to hide her true identity. Although Others are out in the open, it doesn’t mean they are accepted. Gwen struggles a lot with her situation, sometimes unable to resist her urge to shapeshift, but always...more I was really looking forward to reading Other, and altogether, I wasn’t disappointed. The book does have some minor flaws, and it took me a few pages to get used to the very direct writing style, but I enjoyed it.

Gwen is Other, half pooka, half human, and in her small home town, this means she has to hide her true identity. Although Others are out in the open, it doesn’t mean they are accepted. Gwen struggles a lot with her situation, sometimes unable to resist her urge to shapeshift, but always in fear that she will be discovered.
Except from her family and her best friend Chloe, a dryad, nobody knows Gwen is half pooka, not even her boyfriend Zack, with who she has been together for a year.
But when a werewolf pack moves into the area and a serial killer begins to hunt Others, Gwen and those close to her are in terrible danger … and Gwen isn’t sure if she can keep her secret any longer.

This book is full of all kinds of mythical creatures, not only your average werewolves and vampires, but also dryads, water sprites, centaurs, Japanese fox spirits and many more. Gwen herself is half pooka, which means she can shapeshift into any animal form possible.
I found Kincy’s idea that Others live more or less openly in human society, but that they have to face prejudices like many minorities still do in our society quite unique, and I really liked reading about all the different kinds of mythical creatures there were (hilarious: the encounter with the centaur at the local supermarket).

Gwen is a flawed character but nevertheless, I found her likeable and she definitely shows some growth throughout the novel. It’s not easy for her to keep her true nature hidden, especially from her boyfriend. Sometimes she wishes desperately to be ‘normal’, like the rest of her family. She despises society for the prejudices it has against Others, but at the same time she herself views ‘bloodborn’ Others (those who have been bitten and turned Other after that, especially vampires and werewolves) as inferior and believes them to be driven only by their lust for blood and violence.
What annoyed me: Concerning the murder investigation, some of Gwen’s decisions were rather dumb in my opinion. I mean, if you know that there is a serial killer hunting your kind, you normally don’t spend that much time in a) the woods where you discovered a corpse only days ago or b) in a secluded area of a park where you know the murderer has killed before.

The romance plot of this novel was refreshing as well. Gwen already has a boyfriend, Zack, but due to the fact that she can’t tell him who she really is, she always feels like she has to hold back. When he betrays her in the worst possible way, she finds a friend in Tavian, a Japanese guy working at the local bookstore, who is Other like herself. Together, they try to find out who is stalking and killing Others in their small Washington town.
A lot of people said in their reviews that Tavian was their favourite character in the book, but I thought he remained a little bit flat. I couldn't really feel the chemistry between him and Gwen.

As I’ve read The Body Finder only recently, I can’t help but compare the plot surrounding the serial killer to it. I think it was better executed in Other. It was more suspenseful, there were actually a few suspects that also played a role in the novel altogether and I myself as a reader could make assumptions who could be the murderer. Although the revelation at the end wasn’t too unexpected, it still had a little surprising twist to it.

So all in all, a quite unique take on paranormal YA fiction without the usual romance plot that includes a mysterious, brooding yet incredibly handsome guy.
Three stars from me and I’ll keep an eye out for the next Other novel, which is supposed to take part in the same world, but with a different cast of characters.(less)

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Sep 13, 2010 Jen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own, received-as-gift, read-in-2010

3.5 stars.

Other was not a bad read by any means. The world-building was wonderful and my book-tuitive bells were chiming. The idea that you could be a natural born Other or a bloodborn Other, inflicted by either bite or sexual contact. That's right. You could become an Other in the same way you get nasties in the no-no. I found that pretty creative.

Other contains a wide variety of species. Vampires, were-creatures, centaurs (non-chalant supermarket shoppers), kitsune, dryads, and pookas, as Gw...more 3.5 stars.

Other was not a bad read by any means. The world-building was wonderful and my book-tuitive bells were chiming. The idea that you could be a natural born Other or a bloodborn Other, inflicted by either bite or sexual contact. That's right. You could become an Other in the same way you get nasties in the no-no. I found that pretty creative.

Other contains a wide variety of species. Vampires, were-creatures, centaurs (non-chalant supermarket shoppers), kitsune, dryads, and pookas, as Gwen was. I'm very interested to find out more the different kinds of Others there are in Kincy's world.

Then we have Gwen. Oh, Gwen. I loved her. Sure she had her crybaby moments, but when you have a festering secret that your parents discourage you from sharing, you have no friends except for your boyfriend, who doesn't know your dirty little secret and may potentially judge you for it, you may tend to get a little emotional. Gwen was not perky. She was dry, sarcastic, and over-analytical about everything. I really freaking enjoyed that about her. I sympathized with her. When she was itching to give into her pooka side, but trying as hard as she could not to shift (despite how much it hurt), I felt bad for her.

Other had a decent plot. It took awhile to reach the climax, due to world-building and various love interest scenes. Tavian was sweet, but no swooning occurred. Mostly, this story was about Gwen gaining acceptance and becoming comfortable in her skin. I'm okay with that! But I do have one major gripe: not all Christians are closed-minded, judgment-wielding hatemongers. Seriously. I understand that there are some of us who give the others a bad image. I've SEEN them and KNOW them. But we are not all out to "change" anyone who is different. I just felt the need to say that, because there's some heavy negative imagery regarding religious folks in this story.

I am absolutely looking forward to further development of Gwen's world and story in the next book, Bloodborn.

Yay for unexpectedly decent book!(less)

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May 20, 2013 Caro rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: series-dropped, ya-fantasy

I hated this book. I really, really hated it. I hated it from the very first chapter, when the main character (I forgot her name) was introduced. I might have forgotten her name, but I haven't forgotten how much she pissed me off.
She was an awful, self-absorbed, annoying and stupid brat. Who was also a pooka (that's some kind of shape-shifter.)
So this brat was dating her boyfriend for ages and didn't tell him she was "Other". Her boyfriend comes from a family of religious fanatics, so I guess it...more I hated this book. I really, really hated it. I hated it from the very first chapter, when the main character (I forgot her name) was introduced. I might have forgotten her name, but I haven't forgotten how much she pissed me off.
She was an awful, self-absorbed, annoying and stupid brat. Who was also a pooka (that's some kind of shape-shifter.)
So this brat was dating her boyfriend for ages and didn't tell him she was "Other". Her boyfriend comes from a family of religious fanatics, so I guess it's understandable that she has issues telling him.
But if she really doesn't trust him with telling him secrets, how come she has no problem sleeping with him?
So the two of them have sex (and that particular scene was really unnecessary, btw. I didn't want to know that her first time wasn't awesome. I could have guessed it wasn't. But it needn't have been spelled out and described. I'm aware the author probably wanted to point out that many first times aren't always awesome, but I really don't care for a 16-year-old's personal love life problems.).
A bit later, Main Character decides to tell her religious fanatic boyfriend the truth. He freaks out and dumps her. And I was like, okay, so is this a metaphore for all the 16-year-olds being dumped by their boyfriends after having sex with them? And I didn't care. I didn't care for main character and her heart ache, I didn't care for her religious fanatic boyfriend and his parents and his brothers.
But oh, the book actually had a story as well: "Others" were killed be a lunatic killer. But who cares about that if Main Character has more problems with her love life.
The murders that should have been gruesome and mystifying were thrown in like all the other unimportant facts in the book that didn't relate to Main Character directly. Main Character didn't even seem too horrified when her best friend was killed, and neither was I.
But what annoyed me most was the fox-spirit.
This was Main Character's new love interest, dubbed Fox because I forgot his name.
So Fox is a really sensitive boy who happens to be a bit smaller than Main Character. Not that I cared. He was just as unnecessary and annoying as the rest of the characters.
Even when I viewed him as a metaphore for the nice expressions: "Oh honey, even if your boyfriend dumped you, a new one will show up eventually", he was still unnecessary and unimportant.

Conclusion: I hated this book, I hated every single character and I still somehow managed to finish it. I'm definitely never going to touch a work of this author ever again.
I wish I had never read this book. I think I'll never be able to read a book about pookas and fox spirits again, because "Other" traumatized me. (less)

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Jun 27, 2010 Kristi (The Story Siren) rated it 3 of 5 stars

What a fantastic debut novel! I absolutely loved this world that Kincy created..... Where 'Others' live among humans. It's 'normal' to see a centaur beside you shopping in the produce section at the grocery store. I mean wouldn't that be a riot! It was interesting to have a novel that included an array of mythological and magical creatures. So many times a novel is focused on one being, werewolves, vampires, fae.... but Other is something unique. I'd love to hear about the research that Kincy di...more

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Oct 03, 2010 Nic rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, paranormal-romance, young-adult

Rating - a good solid 3.5 stars!

A shudder both painful and pleasurable ripples down my spine. It almost unbearable. I hug myself tight, then grasp as magic floods my veins. My skin prickles as glossy black feathers unfurl.

I really liked Other. It was a light and fun read that was full of unique paranormal characters, mystery, action, and of course some romance.

The writing style was a little bit choppy but still easy to read. The plot was sometimes predictable but still interesting. The charact...more

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Dec 10, 2010 Krystle rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book had so much potential to be great but in the end, it mostly crashed and burned. The beginning started off with a bang, her standing in her room contemplating her shapeshifting and her desire to be free, but it took a giant nosedive after a few chapters.

Okay, there were some great things about the book that I loved. The fact that the main love interest for the girl was Japanese. That was cool in and of itself but he's *shorter* than her which made it doubly awesome. I mean, how many tim...more This book had so much potential to be great but in the end, it mostly crashed and burned. The beginning started off with a bang, her standing in her room contemplating her shapeshifting and her desire to be free, but it took a giant nosedive after a few chapters.

Okay, there were some great things about the book that I loved. The fact that the main love interest for the girl was Japanese. That was cool in and of itself but he's *shorter* than her which made it doubly awesome. I mean, how many times do you find in a story, especially ya, where the guy is shorter than her? It's almost unheard of.

I loved the shapeshifting bits, it's always fun to read about characters turning into animals, and if they're magical creatures even better. It helps that the writer's style is simple and easy to read. You can finish this in one sitting in a snap (which is what I did). There's also a mystery plot/subplot in here so it keeps up the tension and makes it fast paced.

But there's a lot of flaws to this book. I may just be nitpicky but you make the Japanese guy have a name like Tavian (Octavian) Kimura? And I don't care what reason you gave for it in the story but omg that name is just so jarring it makes me grit my teeth every time I see it. Furthermore, his characterization is such a stereotypical one. Loves anime, manga, and likes to draw? What? You know there is more to Japan than just their manga/anime side of things. Give him more depth. And, also, the author *does* know that there is no such thing as wtf in the Japanese language, right?

I was really disappointed that there was a whole subplot focused on Gwen confessing her true identity to her boyfriend being nothing more than using an excuse under the pretense of sleeping with him for the first time to be the outlet for it. Really now? It's only because of sex that you're able to be honest with yourself and you need the validation of the boy to do this for you? No thanks. This whole thing overshadowed the main plot, which was finding out who the killer was of the mysterious murders of Others.

But then that main plot seemed sort of like an after thought that she finally remembered after so many pages and just decided to rush through a climax. There wasn't really any suspenseful moments like say, "The Body Finder" had with its gradual rise in tension that teased us by taking on a roller coaster of emotions. There was nothing but a quick rush to clues that didn't have enough time to sink in so when the ending comes you're just going, "oh, that's it?"

This book had so much potential. Too bad it fell flat.(less)

3 likes · like · see review

Aug 26, 2010 BOOK BUTTERFLY rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: wish-list, paranormal-urban-fantasy, werewolves-shifters

OPENING LINE:

“I can't last much longer. It's been one week, three days and I can't remember how many hours. ”

NOTABLE SCENE:

“Whatever. I've earned this. I'll be careful. I've been a good little girl for long enough. It's easy to transform again, I'm so giddy with the lingering magic. Back to girl I go. I climb through the window and onto the roof. Naked, I curl my bare toes around shingles and grin nervously in the moonlight. I hope nobody's awake.

Wind tosses my curls. I clench my hands and...more

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Jul 02, 2010 April rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: for-review, ya, paranormal

Have you ever felt like you were an outsider? Or maybe, different from everyone around you? I think that we all feel like that from time to time, especially growing up. Even us adults get like that. Gwen Williams, protagonist of Other by Karen Kincy, feels this way all the time. However, she has a perfectly valid reason for this. She is an other, meaning she is not a full human, rather, she is 50% pooka.
Read the rest of my review here

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May 19, 2013 Andrea Hussey rated it 1 of 5 stars

Did Not Finish
The style of the author rubbed me the wrong way, the very way she talked, what she talked about, and how she talked about it. Suffice it to say, the personality was weird and annoying. She kept trying to be funny, but missed the mark by a country mile.

I hated that she already had a boyfriend. I definitely don’t agree with that, and since I know she’s gonna end up with the Japanese fox spirit mentioned on the back of the book (and why would you give that away before we’ve even start...more Did Not Finish
The style of the author rubbed me the wrong way, the very way she talked, what she talked about, and how she talked about it. Suffice it to say, the personality was weird and annoying. She kept trying to be funny, but missed the mark by a country mile.

I hated that she already had a boyfriend. I definitely don’t agree with that, and since I know she’s gonna end up with the Japanese fox spirit mentioned on the back of the book (and why would you give that away before we’ve even started reading the book? That would have made for a nice surprise) I don’t even wanna read about her and Zack. I did like him though. It was cool how he was interested in medieval life, and wore a cross necklace and went to Renaissance fairs. That was really unique. And the IM he sent her speaking like a knight in the Middle Ages was funny and cute. I hated that Tavian was shorter than her. I really don’t like when the girl is taller than the guy.

It was really interesting that the author chose Washington as her setting. That just screams Twilight. Could you not have picked one other location in the world that hadn’t already been done? Basically, this book is just another cookie cutter plotter with overused material. And it was really weird that regular humans knew that supernatural beings existed. I could barely wrap my mind around that.

I was highly irritated by all the Hollywood, stereotypical and propaganda comments that were flying around. It went something like “pookas are said to be mean to people. That’s Hollywood for you.” So stupid! One author came up with it, and then everyone jumped on the bandwagon. Use your own stuff, I beg of you. There’s nothing more annoying than reading overused material.

I was really sick of Gwen blushing all the time. She blushed for every single thing that happened, even when it wasn’t really embarrassing. Chloe would get mad about her saying something negative about werewolves. She would blush. Her mom would look at her sternly. She would blush. Quit blushing. Jeeze. Think of another reaction.

When Gwen decides to have sex with Zack, I was waiting for it to get ruined. I waited, and waited, until it became apparent that she wasn’t going to tell him that she was Other. And they just have sex, and then she tells him the truth. W.T.F?! I hate when characters screw up this badly. She doesn’t even deserve to be with Tavian, and this book sucks. So I threw it down in disgust, and will never pick it back up again. I have not one ounce of curiosity about what happens in this piece of trash.
(less)

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Jun 18, 2012 Liana rated it 3 of 5 stars

Sometimes I think this author couldn't convey the full meaning she wanted to. Scenes felt a little hollow - like they had potential to be more.
Having said that, I really enjoyed this book. Mixing fantasy and mystery (two of my favorite genres) while cleverly integrating less main stream mythological creatures from many cultures. (Alright "mythological creatures" is a wierd way to put it, but I don't know how else to categorize all of them in one phrase.) The author was accurate for what I know o...more

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Mar 29, 2012 Star (The Bibliophilic Book Blog) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

Gwen is a half-pooka – an Other – but she’s also a teenager and wants what every other teenager does. She knows she and her family could be ostracized if people her small town know she’s Other. Then Others keep turning up dead – murdered - and the police don't seem to care. Gwen wants to solve the mystery and receives help from Tavian, who is someone she just met and isn’t sure if she totally trusts at first. But they've got to find the killer before the killer finds them and they're running out...more

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Nov 25, 2011 Turtles rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-modern

I have been wondering often about these teen books which sound so amazing, but I am often disappointed when they fall flat. Is it because I am an adult? Perhaps. This book had charm, it was genuinely written from the point of view of a teenage girl who was struggling with telling her boyfriend she was part Other, their slang for non-human. Whether a born Other (Pooka, the fey such as dryads or leprechaun) or becoming a blood Other (Vampire, Werewolf), they are not treated well. Especially in a s...more

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Oct 31, 2011 Christine rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book.
Well.
It was just so awkward...
The good:
Gwen's a real character. Yeah, she goes on about how annoying stereotypes are, and then turns around and stereotypes people, but hey, I don't know anyone who's NOT like that. Another good thing: I didn't predict who would be the killer. I guessed the cousin, so I was half right, but I was impressed that Kincy pulled gauze over my eyes. I loved the different kinds of "others" there were, and I was so glad it didn't just turn into a vampire and were...more

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Sep 10, 2011 Sarah rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: teen-fantasy, teen-paranormal-romance

I knew I was in trouble a few pages in when the angst-ridden narrator described herself as "snarky" no less than 10 times, but when the boyfriend showed up speaking like a love struck knight out of a bodice ripper it was all over. The parents change character so much I started to believe they were "other" too, although all the characters seem bent to dramatic emotion shifts and "I'M SUDDENLY SO ANGRY BECAUSE I LOVE YOU TOO MUCH" dialogue. The foreshadowing is like a brick over the head, about 50...more

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Jul 16, 2011 Connie rated it 3 of 5 stars

*spoiler...kinda* I always kind of liked these types of books, with magic and shapeshifting and all that. This book wasn't bad...the plot was pretty interesting, and the characters were unique. I felt like there wasn't really a solid introduction, but I'm assuming that was the author's purpose...but I tend to follow books with nice introductions better. Also, the back of the book seemed to give a LOT of the story away. After reading the first few chapters, I knew who was going to die, who Gwen w...more

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Jan 12, 2011 Alison Catherine rated it 5 of 5 stars

Let’s just say I kinda know what a book is going to be breathtaking. I get really excited about reading it and I can’t stop thinking about it once I start. Other was one of those books that I started obsessing over. And when I start obsessing, it gets intense.

Gwen has one heck of a personality. She’s strong, emotional, crazy and nervous. The person she is makes me want to be like her because of the way she handles situations and stands up for certain things. Her character is well rounded because...more

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Dec 31, 2010 Rebecca Kelly-lyons rated it 5 of 5 stars

So resently I was at barns and noble on the seach for a good book, a really good book. So I looked at the displays looked at books that were recommended, nothing really apealed to me. So I went depper in to crevices and saw a book not displaded with a boring spine and I thought ??? so i picked it up looked at the cover read the back and decided I had found the really good book I was looking for.
Boy was I right this book was breath taking the opening scene I was already hooked. The book has a maj...more

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Dec 02, 2012 Luce rated it 1 of 5 stars

//spoilers//

I started this series because I actually picked up the latest installment of the series (Foxfire) for its Japanese culture elements but I hate starting books out of order.

Anyway, Gwen Williams was pretty much your typical teenage girl except she can shapeshift. Her wariness about people knowing that she was Other (the book's term for anyone supernatural) was completely understandable but the book lacked a certain amount of sense and substance. A majority of people that Gwen interact...more //spoilers//

I started this series because I actually picked up the latest installment of the series (Foxfire) for its Japanese culture elements but I hate starting books out of order.

Anyway, Gwen Williams was pretty much your typical teenage girl except she can shapeshift. Her wariness about people knowing that she was Other (the book's term for anyone supernatural) was completely understandable but the book lacked a certain amount of sense and substance. A majority of people that Gwen interacted with didn't even seem like friends and the writing itself was brief.

Chloe was less of a friend and more like a distant mentor who used iciness/passive aggressiveness to get Gwen to drop topics, instead of showing Gwen what was wrong with her thinking (ie her racism and stereotyping of werewolves which was ironic looking at her reaction to other people acting the same way towards her). I couldn't understand why they were friends, the relationship lacked a certain amount of fondness and they didn't have much in common. I know that friendship does not always require outward fondness or things in common but this book was from Gwen's point of view... and it was missing things that really cemented a friendship between them.

Gwen's relationship with Zack, her first boyfriend, was equally shallow. They have fun of course but when serious topics came up, like Others and misconceptions of them, Gwen clammed up and went with the flow. While this was perfectly fine to do with people of acquaintance and the possibility of compromised safety, it was not so great to do if the person in question was your boyfriend. I was kind of surprised how torn up she was about them breaking up but I suppose Gwen can feel how she liked about it. The writing just didn't sell it.

Tavian on the other hand.... was practically perfect for Gwen. He's handsome, really patient with her and really, really understanding. Actually, I think he might just be perfect in general. I can find no fault in him which was...weird. He was an accomplished artist, worked in a bookstore, was well off despite it via parents, handsome, patient, and kind. Tavian was quite unbelievably a perfect guy and it was more than a little unbelievable.

The last thing I wanted to touch upon was Gwen's changed mindset at the end of the book. She was suddenly out and proud about being Other, despite having lived most of her life in relative secrecy and recently attacked for being Other. I didn't find the transition convincing and the book itself didn't explain why she had this change of heart. She just doesn't want to hide anymore and while that is plausible, how she gets there didn't make sense. Just a few pages before, she was worried about not being able to transform. If it was because Chloe's headstone quite clearly proclaimed her dryad status or some other sort of internal revelation for Gwen that led her to being out and proud, it was not at all explained.

The racism and bigotry I have mixed feelings about. While it was fairly accurate, I didn't really like how it seemed a lot like reverse racism BS. Gwen, a definite white girl, was given an incredibly hard time by the officers and a majority of the victims described in the book were white. It appropriated the experiences of real groups of people being oppressed and slapped it onto to whites, which was all kinds of offensive and ignorant. Whites have the position of power in our society and it is grossly inappropriate to steal other's experiences. While this is another universe where girls can turn into birds, it is written to be read by people here in this one and it is not ok. I didn't read a single person of color in this book that was Other or otherwise. White people had never experienced this level of persecution and pretending that they ever did in this book is offensive.
(less)

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Jun 25, 2010 Shanyn (Chick Loves Lit) rated it 3 of 5 stars

I liked the plot summary of Other because it seemed like it would include lots of different types of magical creatures... and it did! That was my favorite part of this book. Most of them I hadn't heard of before, and I'm not sure if they all exist in folklore somewhere or if the author made some up, but they were all interesting and had very cool characteristics.

Unfortunately, the pacing of events was a little slow for me. Only towards the last half to last quarter of the book did I get the acti...more

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Feb 09, 2011 ◕ ◡ ◕ Arooj rated it 4 of 5 stars

So when I first saw this book on this site, I didn't feel like reading it. The synopsis sounded ok and I wasn't too thrilled with the cover. I thought it would be historical. After reading some reviews I decided to give it a try. I was surprised to find that I enjoyed this book a lot. Read it in one whole day!

What I really liked was that in this book there were other paranormal creatures besides the usual werewolves and vampires. There were pookas (shapeshifters), Japanese spirit fox, dryads, an...more

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Dec 03, 2010 Izabela C rated it 2 of 5 stars

Meh. The plot was very slow and uneventful, pretty boring to be honest, and it was quite obvious who the bad guy(s?) were, because they acted damn creepy right from the beginning.

There were also a lot of little inconsistencies that nagged at me throughout the story, for example, Gwen being unsure whether Ben was super religious or just trying to be funny when she had dinner with Zack's family ... surely, after a year of dating Zack, she'd know whether his brother was ridiculously OTT religious o...more

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Dec 08, 2012 Sam rated it 3 of 5 stars

A kitsune and a phooka, two of my favorite magical creatures out there. There really aren't too many books out there about them and I was very happy to see them together in one book. Besides them, though, the world Kincy created is very diverse. Pretty much anything paranormal you can imagine has a home within these pages and that was very nice, especcially since it wasn't overdone. You didn't need to meet every single creature to get afeel for this world.

The characters were relatively easy to l...more

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Feb 15, 2012 Angie rated it 1 of 5 stars

I am sorry to my friend here on Goodreads who recommended this to me! I truly thought this book was awful! It reminded me a lot of the only other book I gave one star to: Firelight by Stephanie Jordan. In some ways these two books were similar: the writing was juvenile and not well developed, and the main female characters were unbearably stupid and made stupid decisions. Okay, what girl decides to "take on" a group of older boys whom she knows are dangerous? She might have a chance if she shape...more

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May 14, 2013 Julia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 50-states-locales-ya-challenge, based-on-folksong-myth, fairies-fae-faeries, mystery, urban-fantasy, vampires-weres-witches, ya, ya-challenge-9

Gwen is a half-pooka, which makes her an Other in this world, in this case Klikamuk, WA, which sounds a lot like our world, if our world is rural Washington state, but the vampires and werewolves have come out from under the bed. Someone is killing Others. The mystery in this novel is weak.

Gwen and her boyfriend find two murdered water sprites. Then her friend is murdered. Gwen is so curious about Others. In her small town she meets water sprites, a dryad, a leprechaun, a half-kitsune, and a pac...more

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Aug 11, 2010 Candace rated it 5 of 5 stars

I had a feeling it was my kind of story, and it really was! I love that there are Others 'out' in the world and that they live among humans. Even if they do have to hide what they are in order to not be persecuted.

I liked Gwen's personality and felt like I could connect with her. I actually felt like that with all the characters but I have to say that Tavien is definitely my favorite character. I also liked that her parents seemed more present then some YA books.

The story moved along smoothly b...more

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Feb 22, 2013 Jayd Reads rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: made-me-laugh-w00, ya

Really enjoyed this book. At first I thought it was going to be the same as so many other paranormal YA books out there, but it was quite different - I'd never heard of a pooka before reading this book, so it's nice to see even the less known mythological creatures are getting recognition.

The general outline is that main character Gwen and her current boyfriend Zack stumble across two dead Others near a river. More deaths follow, and Gwen suffers inner turmoil due to her own secrecy and fear. S...more

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Aug 07, 2011 Haley ~ YA-Aholic rated it 2 of 5 stars

“I can't last much longer. It's been one week, three days and I can't remember how many hours. ”

I don't know how I feel about this book so this review is going to be short. The world that Karen Kincy has put together in this book is incredible, people know about vampires, werewolves, and they also know about others. An 'other' is exactly what Gwen is classified as, Gwen is half pooka from her dads side, A pooka is a mythical creatures that shows up as a dark horse with glowing golden eyes, sta...more “I can't last much longer. It's been one week, three days and I can't remember how many hours. ”

I don't know how I feel about this book so this review is going to be short. The world that Karen Kincy has put together in this book is incredible, people know about vampires, werewolves, and they also know about others. An 'other' is exactly what Gwen is classified as, Gwen is half pooka from her dads side, A pooka is a mythical creatures that shows up as a dark horse with glowing golden eyes, stalking travelers on murky nights, inviting them on wild rides, throwing them over cliffs, of course none of that is true, can Gwen turn into a horse? yes Can she turn into a horned owl? yes..can she turn into a cat? yes...but she is no shape or form has temptations to throw people over cliffs..but in the world Gwen lives in everybody believes what the books say...Gwen doesn't know what to do, living in a very closed minded town where no one accepts mythical creatures, she keeps her other side a secret from everyone, even her boyfriend of one year Zack. Gwen thinks everything is going fine..sure she will eventually need to tell Zack the truth, but that can wait.

One day her and Zack go for a walk in the park...and come across two dead bodies in the water...but those bodies weren't people...they were water spirits..others...and that's just the beginning as more and more mythical creatures are found dead Gwen knows her small town is no longer safe, as she tries to contain her shapshitfing she meets a mysterious boy, Tavian , he seems to know she is an other, but Gwen doesn't think he can be trusted.. Time is running out to find the killer, and when Gwen finally puts the pieces all together, it may be too late.

Now your probably thinking, Haley this book sounds great. Well for me it just fell short, I thought this book was gonna be amazing, but I just couldn't get into it. For me the characters weren't very likable..and the story was just kinda dull. The whole 'other' aspect of this book was awesome, very original. This book unfortunately just wasn't my taste, for me it was just 'ok' almost liked it though.

So much for this being a short review

Thank you Donna from Book Passion for Life for sending me this book (:
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Sep 06, 2010 Raven rated it 3 of 5 stars

Other was definitely a unique story, which is what I was looking for considering the fact that YA Paranormal is saturated with fairy/vampire/werewolf stories.

Gwen Williams is half-human, half-pooka. She can shapeshift into any animal she wants and she lives in a house with her human mother, her human sister, and her step-dad, who all discourage her shapeshifting on a daily basis.

In this world that Karen Kincy built, paranormal creatures walk amongst humans. Though, sometimes, their existence i...more

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Sep 28, 2010 Dialma rated it 2 of 5 stars

I really wanted to like this book, but was a bit dissapointed. It is a good storyline, but I never got use to the writing style. Also, it had quite a bit of language, and I could have done without it. The story build up was too long, and it came to an end a bit aprubtly, for my liking. And as much as I tried to like Gwen, couldn't get over how whiny and immature her character was. And it had a predictable ending for me, which in some books is ok, but on this one, I saw it coming to early on, and...more

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Sep 14, 2010 Chookristine rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

I don't usually write reviews because I find them extremely hard to do, but I feel that I must say something about this book.

Firstly, umm… yum?
It was such a refreshing young adult book! I felt like these characters could have actually been teenagers, some authors just try way too hard.
I commend Karen Kincy actually saying the “s” word! I’m sick of young adult authors tip toeing around the subject or shoving it in a YA book with a two sentence reference.
But, to show you that sex isn’t the only...more

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What Other are you?	5	33	Mar 04, 2013 05:56pm
What the BLEEP is a pooka?	4	114	Mar 11, 2012 02:39pm

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About Karen Kincy

Karen Kincy (Redmond, Washington) lives among countless trees, some of which—her pet kumquats and oranges—have lovingly invaded her apartment. Unlike her characters, she has never been on the run from the law or bitten by a werewolf, though she has been known to howl at the moon. Karen has BA in Linguistics and Literature from The Evergreen State College, and is studying toward a Master’s in Compu...more

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“He looks sexy in a black army jacket - brass buttons and braids - over a white shirt.
I have to admit, he's got style. I can only hope it's not gay style.” — 11 people liked it

“I prefer not to be called 'cute' or 'little,' thank you very much." He grins again. "I should get a T-shirt that says that.” — 10 people liked it

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