The Otherlife
Binding: Paperback
Imprint: Andersen Press
Age 12+
Personal & Social Issues: Drugs & Addiction Personal & Social Issues: Death & Bereavement Crime & Mystery Fiction School Stories Fantasy & Magical Realism
I always get away with it when I try stuff like this. Partly it comes down to sort of assuming that I'm going to. I've got loads of confidence. And Loki got away with everything. Well, almost everything.
When troubled, quiet Ben begins at the ruthlessly competitive Cottesmore House, school to the richest, most privileged boys, he is befriended by Hobie: the wealthy class bully, product of monstrous indulgence and intense parental ambition.
Hobie is drawn to Ben because he can see the Otherlife: a violent, mythic place where gods and monsters roam. Ben has unnerving visions of Thor and Odin, and of the giant beasts that will destroy them, as well as Loki, god of mischief. Hobie is desperate to be a part of it.
Years later, Ben discovers someone very dear to him is dead. And he can’t help wondering if Hobie – wild, restless, dangerous Hobie, had something to do with it…
Beguiling, shocking and richly imaginative, The Otherlife is about the darkest impulses within us all.
Creators
Julia Gray is a writer and singer-songwriter. She studied Classics at UCL and has a diploma in Children's Literature and an MA in Creative Writing from Birkbeck, for which she received the Sophie Warne Fellowship. She has released three albums with the trip-hop/jazz collective Second Person, and more recently two solo albums, I Am Not The Night and Robber Bride.
Reviews
A bold, original and engrossing collision between the Norse gods and our high-pressured school system. I love books about gods in modern times and this one had me gripped. An auspicious debut.
Francesca Simon
Stunning… a searing satire on the pressures that privileged children are put under by pushy parents.
New Statesman
Grand and gripping
Literary Review
An intelligent and insightful read, this YA novel manages to merge Norse myth, competitive parenting, bullying, class issues and exam pressures into a taut and chilling thriller. Perfect for fans of Sarah Govett and Neil Gaiman.
BookTrust
A dark, gripping and unusual debut
The Bookseller
Persistently unsettling and unusual
David Owen, author of Panther
A striking and sophisticated book about myth, privilege, pushy parents and heavy metal music. Truly marvellous.
Inis, Children's Books Ireland
Super intriguing and instantly involving… It feels utterly frank in its tone
Katie Clapham, bookseller at Storytellers Inc.
Absolutely compelling… An intriguing, slicing read
Lovereading4Kids, July 2016 Debut of the Month
An exciting book with an unusual yet clever style of writing. It is action-packed and kept me gripped throughout.
Adam Goodman, age 13, for lovereading4kids.co.uk
The Otherlife is a truly amazing book
Rebekah Marsh, age 13, for lovereading4kids.co.uk
A powerfully written tale of teenage instability intertwined with Norse mythology.
The Bookbag
A real page-turner, with a poetic text and highly imaginative plot that touches on the pressures of school, friendship and Norse mythology
Title Sussex
