Book Name: Other (Other #1)
Author/s: Karen Kincy
Source: Bought
Publisher, year: Flux, 2010
Page total: 336
Date Read: December 16 to 19, 2010
Genre/s: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal
Synopsis/Description: Feathers unfurl from my skin. My plummet curves into a swoop, and I tuck my talons beneath my body. From girl to great horned owl in about a second. Pretty good, huh?

Gwen Williams is like any other modern teenager with one exception: she's a shapeshifter. Never having known her Pooka-spirit father, Gwen must struggle with the wild, wonderful magic inside of her alone—and in secret. While society may tolerate vampires, centaurs, and "Others" like Gwen, there are plenty of folks in Klikamuks, Washington, who don't care for her kind.

Now there's a new werewolf pack in town, and Others are getting killed, including Gwen's dryad friend. The police are doing zilch. In the midst of terrible loss and danger, Gwen meets a cute Japanese fox spirit who's refreshingly comfortable with his Otherness. Can Gwen find the courage to embrace her true self and find the killer—before she becomes the next victim?
First line of Book:I can't last much longer.

Review:I think what made me read other was not the romance, nor the Others, but the mystery. Because supposedly, this is a mystery/thriller. And it Is a mystery/ thriller, it simply has some other things in the middle, like the Others (which I really liked) and some relationship drama (which I liked too).
Gwen was a likable character, and I loved her need for shapeshifting, the way it called for her. Tavian was also a very likable character, and I appreciated the fact that he was not something you usually see (like werewolves, vamps, shapeshifters *yawn*) but a Japanese fox-spirit. How cool is that? I also think he balanced out Gwen's lack of comfort with her Otherness pretty well, and that he was so sweet!
Now, to the plot. I admit I was completely pissed of at Gwen when I was reading the story because - lets face it - it's obvious she was wrong. But I was not expecting to be wrong too. That I simply adored, it's so good when a book surprises us right?
The ending was good, and I can't wait for the next book, which I just read won't be about Gwen, which is great in my opinion because if you read the book, you know there's not much to go with. Just sayin'.
Rating: 4/5