Obernewtyn - Isobelle Carmody

Before you read any further, please note that this review may contain spoilers.


I have to admit, I've had the Obernewtyn Chronicals on my shelf for a few years now but just never got around to reading them, making them the perfect choice for the PopSugar challenge item "a book you own but have never read".  After reading the first in the series, Obernewtyn, I wish I'd read them sooner, though I'll hold off on the rest of the series until I catch up on my challenge reads.

Set in a post apocalyptic future, Obernewtyn is a first person narrative centered around teenage protagonist Elspeth Gordie, who was orphaned when the overseeing governing body, the Council burned her parents for sympathising with people the Council called as Misfits.

Elspeth and her brother Jes, were sent to various orphan homes, and moved regularly, to prevent them forming any kind of bonds with other people.  Elspeth hides a terrible secret, she too is a misfit, with the power to read minds, talk to animals and humans telepathically, influence the actions of others and small amounts of telekinesis, she and Jes live in fear of her being discovered, which creates a rift between them.

Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, for the pair Elspeth is soon discovered, (though the blame is put on some water she fell in during an excursion early in the book, and not her inherent abilities) and sent off to the secretive, misfit treatment facility/farms, Obernewtyn.  Here Elspeth meets and befriends a couple of other misfits, and learns some horrible truths about the Obernewtyn farm.

Carmody began writing this series when she was 14, I think her youthfulness comes through in Elspeth, making the character much more believable, and far less pretentious than teen characters written by adults, (this could also be a cultural thing? many of the other young adult books I've read recently are by American authors, where as Carmody is Australian)

One of my favourite characters in this book is the cat, Maruman.  I'm a sucker for animals, and the neurotic Maruman, reminds me of my own fur baby.  There are many parallels between the fictional cat and my own, making it easy for me to imagine Elspeth's one true friend.

I am looking forward to reading the rest of this series, especially since the final book of the series, The Red Queen, is due out later this year.  If you're a lover of fantasy fiction, that has elements of science-fiction then this may be the book for you.

I gave Isobelle Carmdy's Obernewtyn 5 stars.