The Otherlife by Julia Gray

Otherlife by Julia Gray
Buy The Otherlife by Julia Gray at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Teens
Reviewer: Alex Mitchell
Summary: A powerfully written tale of teenage instability, depression and escapism intertwined with Norse mythology.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 416	Date: July 2016
Publisher: Andersen Press
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-1783444229
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Ben has a dark gift: he can see the Otherlife, a world of ancient Norse myths, wildness and danger. It means freedom from exams, warring parents, and everyone's impossible expectations.

Then Ben meets Hobie, a charming, ruthless bully. He's a born mischief-maker who always gets away with it. Hobie has everything he could possibly want.

Except the Otherlife. And he'll do anything to be a part of it. Anything.

When I first opened up the book, I didn't really know what I was expecting. I could tell by the blurb that this was going to be quite a dark book, but I didn't really expect it to be this dark or mentally demanding. It's a good book, nevertheless.

The protagonist is Ben, a sensitive teenager very into heavy metal and reading about Norse mythology. After a rather severe head injury, he has been addicted to painkillers. His best friend is Hobie (short for 'Hobart') Duvalle, the son of rich high-society parents, who has forever lived in luxury and is surprised by the rather simple lifestyle that Ben and his parents have. They both attend a very high-class school

The narrative is split between Ben's perspective, in the exam period of 2012, and Hobie's diary, in late 2008. The two complement each other very well, with Hobie's rather snobby and tough tone balancing out Ben's softer, more sensitive tone. They also help to accelerate the development of the plot, giving context to past events.

Ben's ability to see the Otherlife is not really central to the story; it's more that it provides a sort of symbolism, (Odin symbolising Ben, Loki symbolising Hobie). The steady progression of the myths as Ben sees them helps to show the advance of the story, and its inevitable conclusion on the day of Ragnarok.

Overall, this is a well written and sad story of teenage instability, depression and escapism ingeniously mixed with Norse mythology.

Further reading:

Afterlight by Rebecca Lim – another story of teenage trauma, with some fantasy elements mixed in.
Never Ending by Martyn Bedford – a similar story of teenage guilt and instability.

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You can read more book reviews or buy The Otherlife by Julia Gray at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy The Otherlife by Julia Gray at Amazon.com.

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