Among Others (2011) (edit title/settings)

• Rated 5 stars

“A weird mix of english boarding school, personal tragedy, fairies and magic, and loving science-fiction. Somehow it all works together brill (see book).”

• Rated 5 stars

“A genuine pleasure to read, Jo Walton has constructed a novel on the lines of the English boarding school memoir, with all the pains and annoyances and minor triumphs of coming-of-age. Added, however, are the twin distinctions of the main character being both the wounded daughter of a witch and a science fiction fan. Mor sees fairies, even communicates with them, which is how she and her deceased twin sister defeated their mother's attempt at some great magical coup, resulting in the sister's death and Mor's injured leg. Mor has run away finally from her mad mother and ended up in her father's care, a man who long ago left Mor's mother and now lives with his three eccentric sisters. He enrolls Mor in a boarding school where, as a girl from Wales, she has immediately troubles fitting in.

But Mor is a voracious reader and details the books she loves and why she loves them. She used them at first for escape and then as a bridge to a new set of friends and finally as her way to freedom.

This is the fourth novel by Jo Walton I've read and it is no disappointment. She writes beautifully and Mor's voice is strong and distinct. The "action" of the novel takes place over just five months as Mor enters the school and is immersive in the character, the milieu(s), and the relationships. Mor is a vibrantly alive 15-year-old, a bit advanced for her age, and instantly recognizable as a Reader and a Fan. There is magic, there are books, there is tragedy and triumph. Walton has created a classic novel out of decidedly un-classical materials.”

• Rated 5 stars

“This was a wonderful book. Everything about the concept I loved from the love of books to magic being everything in the world, but no magic system.”

• Rated 2 stars

“I should have followed my gut (and the result of the 80-page test) on this one. Absolutely boring. Why this got nominated for a Hugo award is beyond me, and leads me to doubt the credibility of the Hugos all together. Well written but so what? It's literary -- and BORING.”

• Rated 5 stars

“When a book has this many positive - ravingly good - cover blurbs by luminaries of the SF world, I approach it with caution. But it really was a wonderful read. Not least because it made me remember my own first readings of so much SF. Magic, coming of age, and loss entwined...”

• Rated 4 stars

“Technically, I listened to this book, which I think changes my reception of it. The amount of time it takes me to read is drastically altered (so the book felt a bit slow) but, conversely, the reader's Welsh accent was superb.
Now, what did I make of this book? I enjoyed it, certainly, but I always felt as though, as a book, it was slipping away from me. It's not that I didn't get it or couldn't appreciate it, I just never quite connected with the main character, for all that we were inside her diary and mind.
Still, it was a brilliant take on fairies and magic in our world and, best of all, left me with a whole new reading list.”

• Rated 3 stars

“Very interesting book, but I feel like the concept was better than the actual book...”

• Rated 0 stars

“couldn't finish it. ”

• Rated 4 stars

“I loved Mori. She's a thinker and a voracious reader. She looks at the people around her, sees what they are interested in and wonders if she belongs to the same species. That hit home. She pulled me into this story almost immediately. Too frequently authors use magic and fairies to solve problems or keep their story moving. If there's a problem, an insurmountable task, an impossible quest just use magic to make it work. That is not the case with Among Others. Yes, there are fairies and magic in this story, but using magic has consequences, sometimes serious ones. Fairies have their own lives which don't run parallel with human lives. What a refreshing perspective.”

• Rated 4 stars

“A great coming of age story about a girl with a tragic history. I enjoyed the main character, an outsider who is an avid reader and escapes by way of her love of reading. A good read!!!”