Otherkin

Gr 9 Up—Desdemona is an overlooked California teen with scoliosis until the night she shifts into a tiger and her life changes forever. That same night, the Tribunal kidnaps her and she befriends a shadow caller named Caleb, who explains the world of the Otherkin. Refreshingly, her adoptive mother (Dez was found in an orphanage in Siberia) is supportive upon realizing that her daughter is a shifter and encourages her to flee to safety with Caleb. The pair heads to a small school for shifters, where the student body includes two girls (who become a rat and a wolf) and two boys (a bear and an eagle), as well as a mysterious teacher, Morfael. Although these teens are extraordinary, they still struggle to belong and trust one another. After a short time, Dez is able to bring everyone together in unity as they strive to protect themselves and create an alliance against the Tribunal. As the novel progresses, her insecurities about her shifting and her back brace fall by the wayside as she grows confident in both her own skin and in her love for Caleb. Although the beginning is a bit slow and the writing can be clunky at times, readers will be swept away by the romance and paranormal elements of this debut tale.—Lindsay Klemas, JM Rapport School for Career Development, Bronx, NY