ARC Review: Otherkin by Nina Berry

Title: Otherkin Book 1
Series: Otherkin 
Author: Nina Berry
Publisher/Date of Publication:Kensington (Kteen) July 31, 2012
Source: ebook from Net Galley




Summary:

Sixteen-year-old Desdemona Gray doesn't even bother with crushes on cute boys now that she's forced to wear a hard plastic back brace all day.  What guy would want to literally have to knock on a girl to be let in?  So she squashes down every impossible desire until an uber-awkward brush with a boy brings out all her frustration and she changes...into a tiger.  In that bewildering moment, she is captured by Ximon, the leader of a fanatical group hell-bent on wiping out the five remaining tribes of shape-shifters, known as the otherkin. 

With help from a handsome, mysterious fellow captive named Caleb, she escapes and goes on the run, finding allies and learning the truth behind the legends of wizards and were-creatures.  Then Ximon goes too far, and Dez must tap into all her buried desires to find her inner tiger and save herself, her new friends, and the boy she loves.

My Feelings:

Okay so everyone knows I love covers and if they are very special I just have to comment on them.  And this cover is pretty darn amazing, huh?

I love the tiger in the background, as it seems that the tiger is a part of the girl, patiently awaiting for her.  The girl herself looks like a tiger with the red hair, hidden in the grass, getting ready to pounce.  I love this cover!  

But with that being said, this cover is more provocative than what I think a young adult novel would be.  This cover is definitely pushing the limits on this one for just being a young adult novel.

This story just jumps into the action.  We find Dez, our heroine, very upset because a boy she likes touched her back brace.  She becomes extremely angry, ripping off the brace, and then she suddenly shifts into a tiger.  

Could you imagine what Dez was going through?  She never knew she was any different than the other kids but she just bam! shifts into a tiger!  The action really picks up from there and Dez is kidnapped by a religious order intent on the destruction of shifters.  

We get just enough of the background to have some idea of what is going on, but we are kept in the dark just as Dez is.  This is interesting because we find out things the same as Dez does which makes you feel like you are going through this roller coaster ride with her.  That endeared her to me.  

Another thing I loved about Dez is she isn't perfect.  She has to wear a back brace to keep her spine straight and this makes her so much more likable.  It made her more real to me.  

And Dez does grow as a character, even though I think she has a pretty good head on her shoulder to start with, realizing and coming to term with what she is.  

Caleb is different.  I liked him but I didn't fall in love with him.  But he is loyal  to those who deserve it.  

We meet a lot of characters in this story and I have to admit I really did like the teen shifters.  I really liked November, London and Arnaldo.  I think you will too but I don't want to give away their animal forms.  

Another thing I liked about this book was how we got a look into their actions and minds while they were in their animal forms.  These teens at the camp have to shift a lot to get used to it and do obstacle courses while in form.  I just really liked how they communicated without human voices with each other.  

Overall, Otherkin is a shifter story that has a little bit of romance in it but doesn't over do it with too much lovey dovey stuff.  I liked the plot, but I would have liked a little more understanding on more of what the shadows were and how they reacted.  I am hoping we get more of this in book 2.  

I gave Otherkin 4 hearts!