Otherbound

by Corinne Duyvis

Publication: 17th June 2014

Publisher: Amulet Books

Pages: 387

Genre: Fantasy/Contemporary

Age Appropriate: Young Adult

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ABRAMS
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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 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.

My Thoughts.

Otherbound is a book that is a combination of genre's, with two stories being told simultaneously in a contemporary setting and the other in a fantasy world.

Nolan has been suffering from 'seizures' for as long as anyone in his family can remember, the truth is that every time he blinks/ closes his eyes he finds himself in the head of Amara, a mute servant girl to a runaway princess, in a land where Mages and magic are rife and Cilla the princess is on the run after the whole royal family was slaughtered.

Amara has the ability to self-heal which makes her the perfect companion to Cilla who has been cursed, she is to never bleed in any way, to do so would make the earth retaliate against her and Amara ends up suffering the consequences, with the punishment being put on her.

Nolan discovers that he can control Amara's body, which leaves her extremely angry, but when trouble comes calling for both Cilla and Amara he may be the only hope of helping them both to survive.

While I loved the concept of this book, especially the parallel worlds, I found myself struggling to want to keep picking this book up to read, there was just something missing for me that I just can't pinpoint,also the fact that I just couldn't get my head around a lot of things that happened/ were happening, I still don't really understand how Nolan a normal human boy was actually able to find himself in Amara's head and to control her, I just didn't understand the explanation and by that point I just wanted to finish the book and get it over and done with.

While I did enjoy Corinne's writing style, the plotline lost me towards the end and I found myself taking six days to read a book that would normally only take me one.

This book was not for me but I can see the potential that Corinne has as a writer, this book would be ideal for those who like alternate worlds with a dash of magic thrown in for good measure.

I give this 2.5/5 stars.

At fourteen, I was diagnosed with autism and dropped out of high school in a spectacular fashion; at nineteen, I graduated from the Amsterdam art school Wackers Academie in an even more spectacular fashion. After that, I had my future as a proper artiste all planned out–so it makes perfect sense that, instead, I threw myself headfirst into the writing business the same year I graduated. While I’ve dabbled in short stories, my focus is on science fiction and fantasy novels in the middle grade-young adult age range. I love a wide variety of styles and genres–from high-concept SF to magical realism, from light-hearted fantasy to deliciously messed-up darkness. My debut novel, Otherbound was released in summer 2014 from Amulet Books/ABRAMS, with a second, unrelated book to follow in 2016.

I still create the occasional piece of art, which you can see in my portfolio. I have an affinity for black-and-white portraits–especially when done in charcoal–as I feel it leaves me free to delve deep into the balance between dark and light in a drawing. I’m meticulously attentive to detail and love playing around with contrasts and composition. In 2009, I appeared on Dutch national television with my art in a show called Sterren op het Doek.

These days, however, my life tends to revolve around Microsoft Word and my computer keyboard; on the rare occasions I draw, it’s usually in the form of cartoonesque portraits of the characters from my novels. I miss portrait art dearly, and one of my life’s missions is eventually finding a balance between my writing and my art.

As for the rest: I have a harmless Internet addiction, and my hobbies slant toward the geeky. Think superheroes, comic books, video games, way too much TV, and online fandom. This is balanced out by a couple of years of krav maga training and a tendency to sleep until noon. I occasionally find myself shouting at my computer screen in futile attempts to dismantle the kyriarchy using the power of indignance, but mostly just defy it by sheer virtue of rocking on with my badass queer, disabled self.

I was born and raised in Amsterdam, where I still live alongside my endearingly wimpy cat.

Website:

www.corinneduyvis.net

Twitter:

www.twitter.com/corinneduyvis

Tumblr:
www.corinneduyvis.tumblr.com

Goodreads:
www.goodreads.com/corinneduyvis