The Other Ones

by Jean Thesman

Bridget, a teen witch, has been keeping her powers hidden her entire life, but when a new girl, Althea Peale--a shapeshifter--comes to school, Bridget must use her powers in a fight to save herself and her family.

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Fiction, Childrens, Paranormal, Magic

181 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1999

About the author

Jean Thesman was a widely read and award-winning American author known for her young adult fiction, with a career spanning over 25 years. Her novels often explored themes of family, identity, and belonging, frequently featuring heroines who find their place in the world by uncovering truths about their families and forming chosen connections. “I loved telling the story,” she once wrote, “because I really believed that families were made up of the people you wanted, not the people you were stuck with.”
Born with a passion for storytelling and literacy, she learned to read before starting school and recalled having to wait until she was six years old before being allowed her first library card. Throughout her career, she authored around 40 books, most under her own name but a few under the pseudonym T.J. Bradstreet.
Thesman published a wide range of novels for teens and middle-grade readers, including stand-alone works such as The Rain Catchers, Calling the Swan, and Cattail Moon, as well as series like The Whitney Cousins, The Birthday Girls, and The Elliott Cousins. Her lyrical style, emotional depth, and strong female characters earned her a loyal readership. Notable works like The Ornament Tree and In the House of the Queen’s Beasts remain particularly admired for their nuanced storytelling and emotional resonance.
She was a longtime resident of Washington state and an active member of The Authors Guild and the Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Jean Thesman passed away in 2016 at the age of 86, leaving behind a significant legacy in young adult literature.

Reviews

[Amaranta · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okay, in all honesty, I hated this book. I found it dull, mundane, and very boring. I often felt confused and, more often than once, felt like I accidently picked up the second book in a series. I also ended up so frustated that I'd want to yell at the characters in the story (which, unlike almost every other time, is not a good thing).

Another problem I had with the story is the characters, the adults, to be specific. I don't care how unobservent and uncaring your parents are, if you come home from school after being shoved into a filing cabnet so hard that it made the back of your head bleed, THEY WOULD ACTUALLY CAN ARE NOT JUST BLAME THEIR CHILD!! Same goes for teachers. It doesn't matter how "evil" a teacher is, they WILL care if one of their students gets hurt. WHEITHER THEY LIKE THE STUDENT OR NOT!

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started off solid enough, but it felt like I was being led on to expect something more interesting. Bridget is in denial through most of the book, which delays her predictable decisions. The ending was unsatisfying and lukewarm. The author seems to have fun killing off the interesting characters and replacing them with boring ones, which is also a shame. The book is easy to read, so take this in as a random episode of Bridget the Teenage Witch and don't take it too seriously.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice little book about learning to accept yourself. I was a little disappointed with the ending, very anti-climatic and out of place compared to the rest of the story. It would have been nice if some of the other characters outside the protagonist were more developed - like Greg and aunt Cait - or if there had been more emphasis placed on the witchcraft part of the story. This would have spiced things up considerably.

[malombra. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Voglio bene a questo libro, è la mia coperta calda d’inverno. Gli voglio bene dal 2001 quando mi è stato regalato per il mio dodicesimo compleanno e ricordo che ne ero ossessionata, ci scrissi fin un tema a scuola e negli anni l’ho riletto innumerevoli volte senza che il suo effetto su di me venisse meno.

Perché mi piace così tanto? Allora:

- c’è Bridget, piccola strega che rifugge i suoi poteri soffocandoli per poter essere come tutti gli altri (crudeli e dozzinali alcuni, compassionevoli e amichevoli altri. La caratterizzazione dei personaggi per me è azzeccata, anche con poche battute riescono ad uscire i tratti del carattere di ognuno);

- c’e una descrizione piuttosto acuta della sua famiglia con una madre che vuole conformarsi senza sentirsi coinvolta nei problemi altrui e quindi senza aiutare nessuno e un padre che si nasconde e non si prende responsabilità. I dialoghi tra la ragazza e i genitori sono esemplari a definire quello che lei chiama il “viaggiare su un autobus senza conducente” e il sentirsi impotente tra il voler essere accettata da due genitori disinteressati e il voler essere diversa da loro, contrastandoli;

- c’è un senso di pericolo che aleggia su tutta la vicenda, qualcosa che deve succedere legato all’accettazione dei poteri della ragazza (quindi essere il conducente del proprio autobus, con tutto ciò che comporta);

- c’è una tristezza e una cupezza di fondo al cuore della vicenda che si sposa con l’ambiente piovoso e autunnale ritratto (anche qua, lo si “sente” proprio questo triste autunno);

- c’è un intenso legame con la terra, la natura e il sentire più profondo, sia rivolto verso l’interno (noi stessi, ciò che blocchiamo di noi, la rabbia, l’impotenza e il desiderio), sia verso l’esterno (ciò che detestiamo, ciò che amiamo, il dolore che gli altri sentono e provocano);

- c’è, infine, l’accettazione di ciò che si è e la ricerca di un posto sicuro nel mondo e il capire che quel posto lo creiamo noi, siamo noi e le persone delle quali ci fidiamo (famiglia nel senso più ampio e libero del termine).

Non sarà raccontato con un ritmo forsennato e con il solito approccio alla magia, qualche personaggio avrebbe potuto avere più spazio (come Greg e zia Cait), forse la parte finale poteva essere meno affrettata e la parte relativa alla stregoneria poteva anche qua avere uno spazio maggiore, ma questo libro mi piace anche se è imperfetto, mi piace per questo suo essere mite, triste e delicato, con un suo messaggio confortante di fondo.

[Kayleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read this book countless times after finding it at a tiny thrift store fourteen years ago. It is one of my favorites. I never could understand why it is hard to find fantasy novels, no sequels or long series attached. I was really happy to find this. It is well written, not dumbed down for younger people. Very interesting story about a young girl whom is fighting against her natural witch abilities, but has to do so to save some friends from more pain and help them move on. Coming of age story with magic, highly recommend.

[Sarah (SB) ღ · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cosmos aligned to give me a perfect reading experience today. I won't pick apart any details of this book, because frankly there would be no point. Maybe it was just my lucky day.

[Ashley Romero · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was alright. The kind of book I would have really enjoyed as a teen. I put it in the same category as "Gallow's Hill" by Lois Duncan, though not as creepy. Overall, it was a simple read that had a simple plot line and interesting characters, though they could have been expanded a bit more. You have the bully, the mean teacher, the new girl, the popular girl, the main character and her problems, the main character's friends and family, the troubled best friend/love interest, and then you sprinkle it with magic, talking animals, and teenage drama. I liked it, but gave it 4 stars because I feel it would be good for teens.

[Jhoel Centeno · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5/5 *

This is a coming of age story, where a sophomore is in denial the whole time about being witch until the last 10 pages. Literally! The book was dull. There are so many problematic things to it that just is abuse and bullying. The only reason it's not a one star is because the ending, the last 10 pages, actually were good. I wanted magic and I got it by the end. But yeah, boring and definitely wouldn't have a child read this and think it's okay.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a pretty good story but ponderously, painfully slow. There could be loads more story to tell about after the climax - who are the people at school, how do the dreams work, how does Bridget cope going forward, how do her parents cope and respond, what was the fall out with Jordan's story ending..., but it took til 99% to get anywhere with the story progression.

[Alysa H. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was just about a 3-star read until the ridiculously underbaked ending brought it down one.

[James Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about Bridget, a young girl who has undeveloped powers such as mind reading, moving things without touching them, communicating with nature spirits and the like.


The problem is that she just wants to fit in with the other students and so she keeps denying her powers and uses them as rarely as she can. She keeps being put under pressure by a spirit guardian who lives at her house. He keeps warning her that something very bad is going to happen but he won't be specific about what it is.


Things get worse, though, when a mysterious new student shows up at her school and Bridget finds out that the girl is a shapeshifter. At the same time a boy she is very fond of ends up in a very bad situation when his father goes away and the boy runs out of money.

Bridget also finds out that losing her temper and using her abilities to hurt others can result in someone having to pay a price for her anger, and that someone might not even be her.

This is a very good book and definitely worth reading.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was amazing! How ever, I didn't really like the sad parts cause they were very upsetting, cause you could perfectly visualize the whole story!! It now is one of my favorite story's. I would recommend this book to any one into things like mind reading and witches.

This book has a lot of magical things in it. People going into paintings and talking to the birds they feed ob the afternoon. And useing her powers to save her life.

Characters:
Bridget
Athea
Jordan
Mazzy

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good YA novel about a young woman struggling to come to terms with her powers. She's already an outcast, and she's certain that if she acknowledges that magical powers inside her, she will be branded as a freak forever. However, there may be more at stake than her popularity if she fails to accept her destiny.

[Moonbean · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good coming of age story with both realistic and fantasy elements.

All Briget wants it to "fit in." Problem is, she's very different from her classmates...and does all she can to hide the very characteristics that set her apart and make her special. It's not until she can accept herself for who she is that the pieces of her life begin to fit into place.

[zjakkelien · Rating 2 out of 5]

This felt like a very young young-adult to me. Nice coming-of-age story, but also a bit frustrating. Most of the book involved dawdling by the main character in accepting her heritage. Once she finally gets there, there's hardly any time left to explain it a bit. Plus, I strongly dislike how her parents ignore her.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a delightful book. It was about a young teen named bridget,who has for years kept her true powers dormant. She kept them this way because because wanted to be normal like her classmates. Until one day she has to choose to embrace her true power , in order to help others.

[Mykka · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book did not make any sense to me. I believe it was about witches and a girl didn't like being one but she accepted it at the end and some kind of death. I believe that this was a middle grade book.

[Myvi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! It have so many interesting key events. I read this book in about 3 hours!

[elissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the very end of this, and it made the whole book worth it, BUT it was fairly slow up to then.

[Jessica J · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book told a good story about accepting yourself, especially if you have the potential to be a witch. It was short but pretty well written for a young young adult book.

[Alyssa McKendry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very mysterious,creepy but very good!