REVIEW: Othergirl
Othergirl: Nicole Burstein, Anderson Press, 2015
What if there really were superheroes, who had emerged along with nuclear technology, known as Vigils? What if you were a fifteen-year-old girl at an ordinary secondary school, way outside of the popular group, short, easily embarrassed, diligent over your homework and you had a huge secret?
It’s not the secret you think.
Louise Kirby is best friends with Erica, the kind of best friends that call each other ‘sister’, the kind you turn to when you start developing superpowers. But Louise is not the one with superpowers, although she can knock up a superhero costume. Erica, on the other hand…
This book is very good on the big picture - the Vigils are modern day celebrities, with everyone looking at clips of them on YouTube and sponsors lining up for the good-looking ones with the most impressive powers. But the story is at heart about teenage girls and the friendship between them. Louise and Erica’s friendship is flawed and real, as well as deep-running. Erica is the type of teenager who likes shopping for clothes, is socially at ease, finding it easy to flirt with boys. She had naturally parted ways with the more studious and socially awkward Louise at secondary school. However, her parents divorced and her mother is…difficult, so it’s reliable Louise she turns to in her hour of need.
Book smart, but socially awkward, indeed, too afraid to stand up for herself, Louise is extremely sensible over Erica. A minor quibble, although Louise’s mother may not be as disappointed in her daughter as Louise, as narrator, makes it seem, Louise’s interests seemed to come from nowhere. Her mother thought she studied too hard (her mother didn’t know how hard Louise was ‘studying’ superheroes online.) The crafting seems to me the type of thing you’d learn from your mother or a family member. Still, Louise’s more stable home life means that she is wired to look after Erica, although Erica has amazing powers. As the girls have dreamed, they brings her to the attention of the Vigils, but not how they hoped.
Despite the superpowered scenario, it’s extremely relatable. Erica gets involved with an older guy who worries the more sensible Louise. Meanwhile, Louise flails around a boy who has been a friend until they returned to school after the summer, when he started giving her funny feelings in the stomach, even if he is fascinated by the famous well-known female Vigils. They also have GCSEs coming up.
Another minor, minor quibble is that I felt the author showed her age by making Erica obsessed with Britney Spears, in how she wrote about media consumption, and I felt there should have been more about social media in these characters’ lives. But mostly this is spot on about teenage anxieties, and credible in its world creation, with Erica and Louise worrying about the moral aspect of what people with powers can and should do. This type of story mostly revolves around teenage boys, with Peter Parker (Spider-man) being the prime example, telling the story of a girl who comes into powers through the point of view of her sidekick best friend, who needs to come into her own, less super, powers, is welcome.
This entry was originally posted at https://feather-ghyll.dreamwidth.org/155342.html. Please comment wherever you prefer to.
What if there really were superheroes, who had emerged along with nuclear technology, known as Vigils? What if you were a fifteen-year-old girl at an ordinary secondary school, way outside of the popular group, short, easily embarrassed, diligent over your homework and you had a huge secret?
It’s not the secret you think.
Louise Kirby is best friends with Erica, the kind of best friends that call each other ‘sister’, the kind you turn to when you start developing superpowers. But Louise is not the one with superpowers, although she can knock up a superhero costume. Erica, on the other hand…
This book is very good on the big picture - the Vigils are modern day celebrities, with everyone looking at clips of them on YouTube and sponsors lining up for the good-looking ones with the most impressive powers. But the story is at heart about teenage girls and the friendship between them. Louise and Erica’s friendship is flawed and real, as well as deep-running. Erica is the type of teenager who likes shopping for clothes, is socially at ease, finding it easy to flirt with boys. She had naturally parted ways with the more studious and socially awkward Louise at secondary school. However, her parents divorced and her mother is…difficult, so it’s reliable Louise she turns to in her hour of need.
Book smart, but socially awkward, indeed, too afraid to stand up for herself, Louise is extremely sensible over Erica. A minor quibble, although Louise’s mother may not be as disappointed in her daughter as Louise, as narrator, makes it seem, Louise’s interests seemed to come from nowhere. Her mother thought she studied too hard (her mother didn’t know how hard Louise was ‘studying’ superheroes online.) The crafting seems to me the type of thing you’d learn from your mother or a family member. Still, Louise’s more stable home life means that she is wired to look after Erica, although Erica has amazing powers. As the girls have dreamed, they brings her to the attention of the Vigils, but not how they hoped.
Despite the superpowered scenario, it’s extremely relatable. Erica gets involved with an older guy who worries the more sensible Louise. Meanwhile, Louise flails around a boy who has been a friend until they returned to school after the summer, when he started giving her funny feelings in the stomach, even if he is fascinated by the famous well-known female Vigils. They also have GCSEs coming up.
Another minor, minor quibble is that I felt the author showed her age by making Erica obsessed with Britney Spears, in how she wrote about media consumption, and I felt there should have been more about social media in these characters’ lives. But mostly this is spot on about teenage anxieties, and credible in its world creation, with Erica and Louise worrying about the moral aspect of what people with powers can and should do. This type of story mostly revolves around teenage boys, with Peter Parker (Spider-man) being the prime example, telling the story of a girl who comes into powers through the point of view of her sidekick best friend, who needs to come into her own, less super, powers, is welcome.
This entry was originally posted at https://feather-ghyll.dreamwidth.org/155342.html. Please comment wherever you prefer to.