In Other Lands – Young, Dumb, And Full Of Adventure

In Other Lands, by Sarah Rees Brennan, is a conundrum of a book. It is a standalone fantasy with a number of traditional tropes and elements I can’t usually stand. It’s a portal fantasy, YA, a coming-of-age story with a love triangle, and has an unlikable protagonist, among other things. In the dedication, Brennan seems to imply that this book was inspired by The Cruel Prince, a book Brandee loves but I personally didn’t care for much. All of this added up to a large slice of doubt when I was recommended this book by another reviewer I trust, which meant I was blown away all the further when I read In Other Lands, and it ended up being utterly phenomenal.

Elliot is thirteen years old, viciously clever, and generally unpleasant to be around. He has a mouth that never quits talking and a mind for cutting insults that would put a bard to shame. He is a little boy filled with pain and anger and determined to make it the problem of the people around him. He doesn’t want to be here; he hates it here. So, when his class goes on a field trip to a magical wall separating our world from others and is given the chance to go to school in the Borderlands, he goes.

The Borderlands “aren’t like anywhere else” (but if you have read any story about children ending in magical fantasy lands, they might seem familiar). There are elves, harpies, and—best of all, as far as Elliot is concerned—mermaids. Things are looking pretty exciting for Elliot, until it turns out that on the other side of the wall, classes involve a lot more weaponry and fitness training and fewer mermaids than he expected. He is going to have to make some friends if he wants to survive, something he is woefully bad at: someone like Serene, an elven warrior who is more beautiful than anyone Elliot has ever seen. Or, unfortunately, Luke: sunny, blond, and annoyingly likable. Can Elliot find a home and a future in this new world?

As mentioned, In Other Lands is a fully stand-alone story split into four parts, each representing one of the four years at this magical fantasy camp high school. The book starts with Elliot at 13 in his freshman year and goes all the way through his senior year. Upon arriving at the school, Elliot is given a choice. He needs to choose between one of two tracks to shape his magical career. The first is the martial, where warriors of legend are trained to become chosen heroes of prophecy and defend the homeland, win treasures and glory, and slay the countless magical creatures that get in the way of human expansion. The second is the diplomatic track, where you walk behind the heroes and do all their paperwork quietly. Elliot immediately and unflinchingly chooses the diplomatic track.

This critical choice symptomatically reflects the excellent kind of twisted tale Brennan is telling. Calling it a satire of the Narnia-style story feels wrong, as that implies a mocking tone and a presumed lack of depth. This is more of a deconstruction and inversion of that style of story, with a whole lot of extra weight and momentum packed into the narrative. Brennan is endlessly funny, and In Other Lands made me laugh constantly, but this isn’t just a humor book that is here to crack jokes.

Brennan’s modernization of YA portal fantasies is magical to watch. Elliot is a terrific character (who I will come back to) who is almost defined by his ability to say the quiet part out loud. So many portal fantasies sweep logistics and implications under the rug in favor of whimsy and discovery, but Brennan is all about asking big, hard questions of her characters and audience. Elliot’s first interaction when arriving in the other lands is to ask the humans if they are colonizing magical creatures. To attack their traditional fantasy gender norms and jobs. This is a book that pulls up the hoods of other stories in the genre and asks, “Have you thought of the implications of that?” The narrative feels very self-aware and reads as if you sent a millennial or Gen Z teenager to a magical land.

Brennan sets up her world to lend to these conversations easily with a blend of humor and witty commentary. An example of this can be seen in the elves, who have almost 1-to-1 reversed gender roles in our modern world. Through Serene, we get tons of hilarious bits about this reversal while also showing through simple flipping of the script how awful gender roles can be for both groups. This is the rare kind of book that feels like a fun, silly romp while also providing clear and well-communicated commentary. I cannot think of a book I would recommend more to a reader in the YA age range.

While this book does a fantastic job on themes and messaging, it is also just as strong in the character area. Elliot is fantastic, managing to be both deeply flawed and unpleasant but also funny enough that he is not off putting. He manages to walk this tightrope where you can intellectually understand that he has problems and needs to grow while also being entertaining, so you want to stick around and watch this growth. His personal issues are heartbreaking, and it is wonderful to see him work through them and greatly grow as a person over the course of a single novel.

At the same time, this is a romance story (and a bisexual one at that). Teen romances are often hard to make feel authentic to the age group and appeal to wider audiences, but once again, Brennan has found a magic zone to do both. It is a delight to watch Elliot fumble through his first romantic advances, and I adored the cast of supporting characters just as much. Serene and Luke are each given a huge share of the spotlight (and deserve it), but even the bit characters and antagonists are well-developed and interesting to be around.

In Other Lands is as magical as its setting. It’s funny, poignant, digestible, warm, emotive, and fun, all in a single package. I am very sad to be so behind the times in picking this fantastic read, but I am so glad that it was recommended to me. This is the kind of story that I badly wished someone had given to me when I was younger, and I hope that I can now be that person to those around me.

Rating: In Other Lands – 10/10
-Andrew