Otherkin, Book 1

July 15, 2012
Berry's debut offers just the right combination of high-stakes exploits and steamy love scenes to keep readers up until the wee hours. Sixteen-year-old Desdemona Grey has always felt a little "other." Adopted when she was a baby, Dez doesn't have a clue who or where her birth parents are or if they are even alive. To make matters worse, a crooked spine has kept her in a back brace for the last two years and ruined any hope she might have for a love life. But Dez didn't have any idea just how "other" she was until a sudden rage transforms her into a tiger. Before she can even process the golden eyes staring back at her in the mirror, she is locked up in a cage next to a hot "shadow caller," who identifies her as a "shifter" and takes her to a school for others like her. He not only knows the secrets of her past but also holds the key to her future--and quite possibly to her heart. While Dez is certainly not your typical teen, the book is ripe with issues that will resonate with readers. From body image to friendship, first love and betrayal, the novel explores the truth that no matter who or what you are, there's no escaping the politics of high school. A page-turner. (Paranormal romance. 14 & up)

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February 1, 2013

Gr 9 Up-Desdemona is an overlooked California teen with scoliosis until the night she shifts into a tiger and her life changes forever. That same night, the Tribunal kidnaps her and she befriends a shadow caller named Caleb, who explains the world of the Otherkin. Refreshingly, her adoptive mother (Dez was found in an orphanage in Siberia) is supportive upon realizing that her daughter is a shifter and encourages her to flee to safety with Caleb. The pair heads to a small school for shifters, where the student body includes two girls (who become a rat and a wolf) and two boys (a bear and an eagle), as well as a mysterious teacher, Morfael. Although these teens are extraordinary, they still struggle to belong and trust one another. After a short time, Dez is able to bring everyone together in unity as they strive to protect themselves and create an alliance against the Tribunal. As the novel progresses, her insecurities about her shifting and her back brace fall by the wayside as she grows confident in both her own skin and in her love for Caleb. Although the beginning is a bit slow and the writing can be clunky at times, readers will be swept away by the romance and paranormal elements of this debut tale.-Lindsay Klemas, JM Rapport School for Career Development, Bronx, NY

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