Otherborn Blog Tour: Review, Excerpt & Giveaway

Otherborn (Otherborn #1)

Author: Anna Silver

Genre: YA Science Fiction/Dystopia

Release Date: April 4, 2013

Publisher: Sapphire Star Publishing

Buy Links: Amazon 

Description:

London and her teenage friends live in a reprocessed world.

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?  

When she at last finished, London put down the guitar and said breathlessly, "I'm still working out the lyrics on that last part."

Pauly gave her a quizzical look, but didn't respond.

"So, what do you think?"

He nodded, "Not bad. But I've never heard that one. Who's it by? They can't be anyone I introduced you to. You got a disc Scrapper up your sleeve that I don't know about?"

London laughed. Pauly always shared his discs with her, which allowed her to save anything and everything she could to trade for illegal tech. He should know she wouldn't turn to a Scrapper for new music material, no matter where they managed to find the discs and sneak them into the city. "No old man. It's mine."

Pauly dropped his arms, his face serious now. "What do you mean yours?"

London shrugged, her loose sweater nearly dropping off one shoulder. "I mean I wrote it."

Pauly shook his head, his remaining wisps of hair dancing in the air above it. "Wrote it? You?"

"Yeah," London said, nonchalant. "What's the big deal?" But London knew exactly what the big deal was. Her song was New.

She hopped off the stage and sat her guitar at the end of the bar. "Come on, let's shine those glasses now." She pretended not to notice the dumbfounded expression on Pauly's face.

"London," he said quietly behind her. "That's impossible."

"Can't be. Just did it, didn't I?" She turned to give him a teasing smile, but when she saw his face, the smile faded. 

He was looking at her with a mixture of awe and fear, as though she'd sprouted another head right before his eyes.

"London, this is serious," he said in a low voice.

"I thought you'd like it," she replied, lowering her eyes, her disappointment at his reaction mounting.

"Doesn't matter if I like it, does it? H-how? When?" His normally open face was balled into a cluster of creases, one for every question.

"I dunno. Last couple of weeks, I guess. Rye helped."

Pauly put a thick finger beneath London's chin and lifted her face to the light. "You're special, kid. You know that, right?"

She rolled her eyes then nodded when his expression went sour.

"I want you to listen to me when I say this, okay? Listen good. Special ain't tolerated. Not here. Not nowhere. Not anymore."

Otherborn is the first book in a young adult dystopian series that follows teenage heroine London as she and her fellow Otherborns - teens that have the rare ability to dream and create things that are New - are targeted for being different. It begins when a new Otherborn is found murdered in the alleyway behind the bar where their band is playing. Next, London's surrogate father and owner of the bar, Pauly, is murdered. It doesn't take London and her friends long to figure out that they have been found out and are being taken down one at a time. Seeing no other way, they venture outside the walls of the city and into the Houselands, with only each other and their dreams to save them. Will they be able to figure out who's targeting them? Will their dreams be their salvation or their downfall?

This was a completely unique and captivating novel that went far beyond anything I could've imagined. The characters are so realistic with their flaws, strengths and their personalities. I loved each one of the Otherborns because they were so different from one another but they also complemented the others in the group. It was interesting to see how their group dynamic worked. London was an interesting main character - she had a lot of baggage and flaws, but she was also a devoted friend and a strong leader. The world that the author created was very dystopian and I loved learning as much about it as I could. The history of what happened - the Energy Crisis - and the following meltdown was really interesting and I could actually see it happening. I hope that we get to see even more of the history and backstory behind the world in the next book. The writing was fast paced with an effortless flow that had me eagerly turning the pages to see what was going to happen next. The plot was so original with the dystopian elements along with the dreams and the Otherborns with their dream selves - it was completely enthralling - I couldn't get enough. All the elements in the book came together to weave such an amazing story that it's hard to write a review about it without being super long. The book contained a mix of genres - from adventure, science fiction, action, romance, and dystopian elements - that fans of all types of fiction will find it appealing. This is a definite must read series for me and I am eagerly awaiting the next installment. Highly recommended for fans of YA dystopian or anyone who wants a great book with an amazing plot and intriguing characters.

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.

www.annasilverauthor.com 

twitter.com/saysannasilver

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