by Anna Silver
Genre: YA Dystopian
Publisher: Sapphire Star Publishing
Published: April 4th 2013
Source: review copy for tour
Author's website | GoodReads
London and her teenage friends live in a reprocessed world.Otherborn brought fresh new concepts to the dystopian table and gave me a fast-paced story delivered with dark undertones. The whole concept of it consumed me and made me turn page after page.
Confined within Capital City’s concrete walls, London has done the impossible and the illegal. She’s created something New- a song. But her mentor, club owner Pauly, is not impressed. Since the historic Energy Crisis forced everyone behind walls generations ago, the Tycoons have ensured there is truly nothing new allowed under the sun. Pauly warns London to keep her song to herself, if she knows what’s good for her.
What he doesn’t know is that London is keeping an even bigger secret: she dreams. And she’s not alone. London’s band-mates and friends have begun dreaming as well, seeing themselves in “night pictures” as beings from another world. As Otherborn, they must piece together the story of their astral avatars, the Others, in order to save their world from a dreamless, hopeless future.
When Pauly is murdered and an Otherborn goes missing, London realizes someone is hunting them down. Escaping along the Outroads, they brave the deserted Houselands with only their dreams to guide them. Can they find their friend before the assassin finds them? Will being Otherborn save their lives, or destroy them?
Otherborn is set in a world where no one dreams. Most of the population live in poverty and need, while the few who hold power thrive and live in excess. London's father is presumed dead and her mother drinks day to night and they barely have anything, but London has a secret. London can dream, and London can create. Her 'gift' leads her to other teenagers who possess the same talents and they start to call themselves Otherborns- people who write new songs and poems and create original works of art in a world where everything is reprocessed.
London was an interestingly written character. She would go from strong to fragile, from caring to selfish. But that was it- she was just written. Her character didn't jump from the pages and I couldn't connect to her, or to any of the characters for that matter. Sure, there were inchlings of the connection that I craved for, but it just wasn't enough. I didn't hate the characters, but they just failed to make a mark on me.
The worldbuilding definitely made up for the lack of character depth, though. The writing conjured so many vivid images in my head of what their world was like. It was like seeing everything through London's eyes, and it was frightening and enlightening at the same time. I also loved the whole idea of the Otherborns' alternate selves, or 'Others'. There was romance and it was really cute but the story didn't focus on it too much, which I liked.
Otherborn is dark and gritty, but hopeful at the same time. It had a few shortcomings, but it definitely delivered on it's strengths. The book was imaginative, vivid, and original; Anna Silver knows how to create a realistic dystopian world and i'm definitely on the look out for more.
THE NUB AND GIST: 3 STARS
Anna Silver is an author and artist living in the greater Houston area with her family, pets, and overactive imagination. Her art has been featured in the Houston gallery Las Manos Magicas. She studied English Writing & Rhetoric at St. Edward’s University. She's freelanced for private clients and small publications like the Hill Country Current. OTHERBORN is her first published novel. She is represented by Rebecca Podos and Nicole LaBombard of Rees Literary Agency.
