In Other Lands

Sarah Rees Brennan

ISBN 10: 1618731203 / ISBN 13: 9781618731203

Published by Small Beer Press, United States, Northampton, 2017

About this Item

The Borderlands arent like anywhere else. Dont try to smuggle a phone or any other piece of technology over the wall that marks the Border unless you enjoy a fireworks display in your backpack. (Ballpoint pens are okay.) There are elves, harpies, and best of all as far as Elliot is concerned mermaids. "Whats your name?" "Serene." "Serena?" Elliot asked. "Serene," said Serene. "My full name is Serene-Heart-in-the-Chaos-of-Battle." Elliots mouth fell open. "That is badass." Elliot? Whos Elliot? Elliot is thirteen years old. Hes smart and just a tiny bit obnoxious. Sometimes more than a tiny bit. When his class goes on a field trip and he can see a wall that no one else can see, he is given the chance to go to school in the Borderlands. It turns out that on the other side of the wall, classes involve a lot more weaponry and fitness training and fewer mermaids than he expected. On the other hand, theres Serene-Heart-in-the-Chaos-of-Battle, an elven warrior who is more beautiful than anyone Elliot has ever seen, and then theres her human friend Luke: sunny, blond, and annoyingly likeable. There are lots of interesting books. Theres even the chance Elliot might be able to change the world. In Other Lands is the exhilarating new book from beloved and bestselling author Sarah Rees Brennan. Its a novel about surviving four years in the most unusual of schools, about friendship, falling in love, diplomacy, and finding your own place in the world even if it means giving up your phone. Early Reader Reaction "Four years in the life of an unloved English schoolboy whos invited to a secret magical school and learns that even in fantasyland, real life is messier than books. . . . But over the course of four years training among child soldiers, Elliot, unsurprisingly, grows up. His slow development into a genuinely kind person is entirely satisfying, as is his awakening to his own bisexuality and to the colonialism, sexism, and racism of Borderlands society. . . . A stellar . . . wholly rewarding journey." Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Elliot Schafer is a small-for-his-age 13-year-old who is prone to being bulliedlargely due to his personality, which slots somewhere between insufferable know-it-all and sarcastic jackass. When Elliots class travels to a 'random field in Devon, England' for a supposed scholarship test, he instead winds up in a strange world known as the Borderlands, which are filled with elves, mermaids, and other creatures. So begins Brennans hilarious, irreverent, and multilayered coming-of-age fantasy, set over several years. Elliot quickly befriends (and falls for) Serene, a fierce elven warrior, and arranges a reluctant truce with Luke Sunborn, the son of one of the Borderlands founding families. All threealong with every young person thereare training in war or as councilors, charged with protecting the fragile barrier with the human world. Amid shifting relationships, the threat of war, and substantial growth among the characters, Elliots razor-edged wit and general inability to keep his mouth shut make for blissfully entertaining reading. Smart explorations of gender stereotypes, fluid sexuality, and awkward romance only add to the depth and delight of this glittering contemporary fantasy." Publishers Weekly (starred review) "I have rewritten the first paragraph of this review a half-dozen times, trying to find some way to make clear that Sarah Rees Brennan has created a nearly perfect YA fantasy without gushing. I cant do it. In Other Lands is brilliantly subversive, assuredly smart, and often laugh-out-loud funny. It combines a magic-world school setting with heaps of snark about everything from teen romance to gender roles, educational systems and serious world diplomacy." Colleen Mondor, Locus "Brennan brilliantly turns the very genre she occupies on its head with this YA fantasy. In her latest, the human who falls into a magic world isnt a strong, beautiful, charismatic hero. It is Elliot, a hero who might annoy,

Seller Inventory # GOR008606249

Bibliographic Details

• Title: In Other Lands
• Publisher: Small Beer Press, United States, Northampton
• Publication Date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1618731203
• ISBN 13: 9781618731203
• Binding: Paperback
• Illustrator: Nowak, Casey
• Condition: Very Good
• Weight: 726 grams

About this title

Synopsis

Georgia Peach Award Nominee • Florida Teens Read Award Nominee • ABC Best Books for Young Readers • Bank Street College Best Children’s Books of the Year • A Junior Library Guild Selection • Hugo & Locus award finalist

In Other Lands is an exhilarating novel from bestselling author Sarah Rees Brennan about surviving four years in the most unusual of schools - friendship, falling in love, diplomacy, and finding your own place in the world — even if it means giving up your phone.

Excerpt:

The Borderlands aren’t like anywhere else. Don’t try to smuggle a phone or any other piece of technology over the wall that marks the Border — unless you enjoy a fireworks display in your backpack. (Ballpoint pens are okay.) There are elves, harpies, and — best of all as far as Elliot is concerned — mermaids.

"What’s your name?"

"Serene."

"Serena?" Elliot asked.

"Serene," said Serene. "My full name is Serene-Heart-in-the-Chaos-of-Battle."

Elliot’s mouth fell open. "That is badass."

Elliot? Who’s Elliot? Elliot is thirteen years old. He’s smart and just a tiny bit obnoxious. Sometimes more than a tiny bit. When his class goes on a field trip and he can see a wall that no one else can see, he is given the chance to go to school in the Borderlands.

It turns out that on the other side of the wall, classes involve a lot more weaponry and fitness training and fewer mermaids than he expected. On the other hand, there’s Serene-Heart-in-the-Chaos-of-Battle, an elven warrior who is more beautiful than anyone Elliot has ever seen, and then there’s her human friend Luke: sunny, blond, and annoyingly likeable. There are lots of interesting books. There’s even the chance Elliot might be able to change the world.

About the Authors

Sarah Rees Brennan was born and raised in Ireland and now travels the world writing, teaching and confusing locals. She is the New York Times bestselling author of Tell the Wind and Fire and the Lynburn Legacy and Demon’s Lexicon series, among other works.

Casey Nowak graduated from the University of Michigan's School of Art and Design. They write and illustrates comics and their illustration clients include the Sierra Club of Michigan, the Ann Arbor District Library, WomanSafeHealth, BOOM! Studios, Cartoon Network, and more. They live in Ann Arbor, Michigan.