Jo Walton

'It doesn't matter. I have books, new books, and I can bear anything as long as there are books.' Fifteen-year-old Morwenna lives in Wales with her twin sister and a mother who spins dark magic for ill. One day, Mori and her mother fight a powerful, magical battle that kills her sister and leaves Mori crippled. Devastated, Mori flees to her long-lost father in England. Adrift, outcast at boarding school, Mori retreats into the worlds she knows best: her magic and her books. She works a spell to meet kindred souls and continues to devour every fantasy and science fiction novel she can lay her hands on. But danger lurks... She knows her mother is looking for her and that when she finds her, there will be no escape.

Among Others

Winner of the 2011 Nebula Award for Best Novel Winner of the 2012 Hugo Award for Best Novel Startling, unusual, and yet irresistably readable, Among Others is at once the compelling story of a young woman struggling to escape a troubled childhood, a brilliant diary of first encounters with the great novels of modern fantasy and SF, and a spellbinding tale of escape from ancient enchantment. Raised by a half-mad mother who dabbled in magic, Morwenna Phelps found refuge in two worlds. As a child growing up in Wales, she played among the spirits who made their homes in industrial ruins. But her mind found freedom and promise in the science fiction novels that were her closest companions. Then her mother tried to bend the spirits to dark ends, and Mori was forced to confront her in a magical battle that left her crippled--and her twin sister dead. Fleeing to her father whom she barely knew, Mori was sent to boarding school in England–a place all but devoid of true magic. There, outcast and alone, she tempted fate by doing magic herself, in an attempt to find a circle of like-minded friends. But her magic also drew the attention of her mother, bringing about a reckoning that could no longer be put off… Combining elements of autobiography with flights of imagination in the manner of novels like Jonathan Lethem’s The Fortress of Solitude, this is potentially a breakout book for an author whose genius has already been hailed by peers like Kelly Link, Sarah Weinman, and Ursula K. Le Guin. One of School Library Journal’s Best Adult Books 4 Teens titles of 2011 One of io9's best Science Fiction & Fantasy books of the year 2011

A Novel

Annika Arguemore

I expected so much more, to be honest. This book could have been so much more if the character decided to show instead of just tell most of the time. I mean, I was already halfway towards the end, but still nothing eventful was happening, and it just kept hinting that something would happen without there something actually happening. It just dragged.

Winner of the 2011 Nebula Award for Best Novel Winner of the 2012 Hugo Award for Best Novel Startling, unusual, and yet irresistably readable, Among Others is at once the compelling story of a young woman struggling to escape a troubled childhood, a brilliant diary of first encounters with the great novels of modern fantasy and SF, and a spellbinding tale of escape from ancient enchantment. Raised by a half-mad mother who dabbled in magic, Morwenna Phelps found refuge in two worlds. As a child growing up in Wales, she played among the spirits who made their homes in industrial ruins. But her mind found freedom and promise in the science fiction novels that were her closest companions. Then her mother tried to bend the spirits to dark ends, and Mori was forced to confront her in a magical battle that left her crippled--and her twin sister dead. Fleeing to her father whom she barely knew, Mori was sent to boarding school in England-a place all but devoid of true magic. There, outcast and alone, she tempted fate by doing magic herself, in an attempt to find a circle of like-minded friends. But her magic also drew the attention of her mother, bringing about a reckoning that could no longer be put off... Combining elements of autobiography with flights of imagination in the manner of novels like Jonathan Lethem's The Fortress of Solitude, this is potentially a breakout book for an author whose genius has already been hailed by peers like Kelly Link, Sarah Weinman, and Ursula K. Le Guin. One of School Library Journal's Best Adult Books 4 Teens titles of 2011 One of io9's best Science Fiction & Fantasy books of the year 2011 At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Janice Hopper

I'm not sure when I read this first, because I just checked the "Read" box here Some Time Ago. Guessing I probably read it not long after it came out?

Anyway, I'm reading it again for the our SFF book club. And I liked it considerably better than I remember liking it before, even though I'd marked it with 4 stars. Maybe age has given me a new perspective, or pandemic isolation and loneliness make a spicier sauce for the reading this time.

Natalie

This book is amazing and incredible and everyone should read it.

Pavonini

Obviously I've read this before. Would read it again. Would give 5 stars again. I am just completely in love with it.

Melanie Richards

To me, this book is the epitome of the unreliable narrator. Maybe that should make me like it more. In any case, on a visceral level, I didn't deeply enjoy this book. Possible reasons:

1. I don't know enough about science fiction to appreciate the references and possibly grasp some symbolism there.
2. The teenage voice was very realistic, which is a wonderful skill, but not necessarily always enjoyable ;]
3. Plot????
4. I didn't really find Mor to be very likable (her mother may have a point, Mor seems a tad manipulative and self-interested), or Wim for that matter. Are we supposed to like a boy who calls every girlfriend he's had an "idiot" or a "moron"? No thank you.

Nat Welch

Really weird book. More similar to classic literature than fantasy. Many ways to interpret.

Kayla Smith

Oh my God, I viscerally hated my experience reading this book. I've been recommended 'Among Other's quite a few times because it sounds right up my alley. Magical realism, witches, an unreliable narrator, and a character driven story. All of this technically is in this story but none of it is entertaining in the slightest. I was so bored reading this entire novel, I just had hope that it would pick up by the end and yet absolutely nothing continued to happen. I'm not sure how this won any award, especially the Hugo. Probably one of my newest least favorite books of all time.

Judy Hudgins

Although the book takes place in 1979-1980, it has a feel of a 'between the wars' novel. Young Welch girl, with a tragic past, and her diary at boarding school. A good read as you try and figure out how many of the books she is reading, you've read. And what actually happened with the death of her twin.

Drew Timms

Abby Beatrice Quick

Dennis Jacob Rosenfeld

Greg Copeland

Winner of the 2011 Nebula Award for Best Novel Winner of the 2012 Hugo Award for Best Novel Startling, unusual, and yet irresistably readable, Among Others is at once the compelling story of a young woman struggling to escape a troubled childhood, a brilliant diary of first encounters with the great novels of modern fantasy and SF, and a spellbinding tale of escape from ancient enchantment. Raised by a half-mad mother who dabbled in magic, Morwenna Phelps found refuge in two worlds. As a child growing up in Wales, she played among the spirits who made their homes in industrial ruins. But her mind found freedom and promise in the science fiction novels that were her closest companions. Then her mother tried to bend the spirits to dark ends, and Mori was forced to confront her in a magical battle that left her crippled--and her twin sister dead. Fleeing to her father whom she barely knew, Mori was sent to boarding school in England-a place all but devoid of true magic. There, outcast and alone, she tempted fate by doing magic herself, in an attempt to find a circle of like-minded friends. But her magic also drew the attention of her mother, bringing about a reckoning that could no longer be put off... Combining elements of autobiography with flights of imagination in the manner of novels like Jonathan Lethem's The Fortress of Solitude, this is potentially a breakout book for an author whose genius has already been hailed by peers like Kelly Link, Sarah Weinman, and Ursula K. Le Guin. One of School Library Journal's Best Adult Books 4 Teens titles of 2011 One of io9's best Science Fiction & Fantasy books of the year 2011

Among Others

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