Read this book now: In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan

My review of In Other Lands was in the August issue of Locus magazine so I can finally talk about why I think this is one of the best books of 2017. Here's a bit of my 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 can’t 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. The protagonist, Elliot, directs his often peevish analysis and jaded perspective on everyone he meets and everything he sees, but his evolution from bratty thirteen-year old to soulful seventeen-year old is a thing of beauty to witness. Elliot’s transformation, along with his deepening relationships with friends Serene (Serene-Heart-in-the-Chaos-of-Battle!) and Luke, is the book’s heartbeat. As you can tell from my gushing, the characters are impossible to resist and combined with the engaging plot Brennan has worked a miracle with In Other Lands. Mark my words, folks; this author has  written what must be considered one of the best books of the year.

This is a fantasy that begins in our world when Elliot finds out (in the very first pages) that he is just magical enough to be offered a chance to study in the Borderlands at Border camp. Unlike the wonder that is Hogwarts however, (and the giddy way every student adores Hogwarts), Elliot is less than impressed with the place he ends up. He agrees to stay there because his mother left when he was a baby and his father has been disappointed ever since; in other words, no one will miss him back home. (An appropriate "your son has been offered a full scholarship to an excellent private school" story is easily accepted by his father.)

But Elliot is a bit of a smart ass, (actually a lot of a smart ass), and he gets pissed that there are no microwaves or computers or, for the love of God, post-it notes! He misses pens and pencils (what is the deal with quills?????) and he thinks a lot of what the Borderlands folks embrace is a bit nuts. So while he's there for the relief from endless boredom back home, the killer library and the potential to one day meet mermaids (hence the book's cover), he is not one to gloss over the shortcomings of the full-time fantasyland he is living in. This makes Elliot a bit of a grump but also also entirely relatable and from the very first few pages readers are going to love him.

Far more than just a story about a kid fitting into a magical world though, In Other Lands tackles a ton of other issues. Elliot makes friends with Serene, an elf who has her own issues with fitting in as elves don't typically attend the human training camp, and Luke who is the all-around gorgeous golden boy who everyone loves and comes from a great heroic family and is good at everything he does and ought to be a complete entitled ass but quickly bonds with Serene as warrior buddies in training and thus becomes friend with Elliot as well. (Even though Elliot tries really hard not to like Luke and is jealous of his every moment with Serene.)

Then there are the other classmates all of whom are interesting and carrying varying degrees of their own baggage and some interesting parents (especially Luke's) and teachers (some less appealing than others) and the biggest thing which is the Borderlands society that is a whole lot more focused on fighting and training to fight and preparing to fight then Elliot thinks makes sense. In  fact, as he trains to be a diplomat, (in the woefully under appreciated diplomats program), he gets to take a long look at what business as usual looks like in the Borderlands and that leads him to a few conclusions. Here's a bit of what he thinks as he works on a peace treaty:

He tried to put in things that would please the elves without hurting the humans, and vice versa. He argued with people who believed nothing should ever change, as if fixing something broken was sacrilege. Surely there was a better way to do things, out in his world, in the civilized world. 

Except there were still wars in his world. It was only in stories that there was one clear evil to be defeated, and peace forever after. That was the dream of magic land: that was what could never have been real. 

Everyone imagined a battle that would bring peace, and the only that ever worked, ever brought peace for even a heartbreakingly short time, in any world, were words.

And boom—Brennan treats her readers like adults and gives them smart tough things to think about and says out loud what a ton of folks think deeply about and man, she just nails the whole power of diplomacy.

Seriously, someone should gift every member of the State Department with this book.

Beyond the fitting in and war and peace there is also, of course, a lot of romance happening. It's high school after all and crushing and dating and sex happens. (Yes, sex happens. Thank you Ms. Brennan for not pretending that it doesn't!) Some predictable dating takes place and some very unpredictable dating takes place. There are straight romances and GBLTQ romances. And the big romance, the one the book builds up to in tiny little increments with each turning page, is WONDERFUL.

I mean it, this might be the best couple in YA fiction that any of us have read in AGES. (I won't spoil with names but man, will you ever cheer when they get together!!!!)

Also, Serene is the greatest feminist warrior badass in the history of teen fiction and the matter of fact way in which she addresses differences between the sexes sparks so many hilarious moments that I can't even pick just one to share. (Let's just say her take on getting your period is all the rainbow- sparkly-thank-you-patron-saints-of-all-women-everywhere goodness every teenage girl ever wanted.)

To sum up: great, unique characters, a traditional fantasy setting that is reinvented in an entirely fresh way, witty conversation that comes straight out of a Hepburn & Tracy movie, dazzling romance that does not overshadow the plot or involve the characters being stupid in the name of love, and a unicorn who scares the living shit out of everyone! (Not that unicorns must be scary, but this one is just so cool!)

When I finished In Other Lands it was with an enormous amount of respect for what Sarah Rees Brennan has accomplished. This brilliant novel becomes more and more intense and funny and engaging with each page and is so utterly enjoyable that it was the easiest thing in the world for me to fall in love with it. This is what we need more of in YA fantasy, this is what we need more of in YA fiction. Buy the book, read the book, recommend the book. In Other Lands is the real deal and by far what everyone needs to be reading this year.

I loved it. I loved every damn minute of this book and I'm so glad it is out in the world.