Customer Reviews

The Other Ones (Novel)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I thought that all of the characters in the book were potentially intresting and might have had ok personalities, but potential was all they had. Only the main character was really defined, and she in a predicatble way. The relationship between her and Greg should have been carried on. It was basically, she freaked and that was it. You'd think that might have some impact on her desision to accept herself, but it was just dropped. Also, the way she and Althea acted. While I can understand them being a little weird, considering one is a witch and the other a hawk, I'd say that it could be better developed. Great description though and the paralell between the way characters look and how they are is cool.

A story about accepting your path in life along with its responsibilities and rewards. In a fresh, imaginative, mystical, and often humorous way, Bridget's story unfolds. The confusion and emotions of adolescence combined with her efforts to force down her emerging powers in an attempt to be "normal" comes through with the appropriate honesty and bewilderment. Her threshold guardian xiii adds a running commentary of riddles which give Bridget hints, but never a clear view of her destiny. An engaging story for 9-14 year-olds.

This is by far my favorite book. The words are lyrical and almost like poetry. While it may not be completely developed, for fantasy lovers, this doesn't matter. I laughed aloud numerous times, it has comedic parts. Most of all- I could relate to the character and that is very important. A must read for all fantasy lovers.

It seems witchcraft has never been more in vogue. Many young people believe, whether correctly or not, that they have the "gift." Most of the time it is a delusion born of an intense desire to be special. Candles and incense are lit and they sit in circles, after the fashion of "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" and try so very hard to see the spirits and work "Magick." They dress in black and put out to the world that they are, indeed," magickal." In my play, "From All Things Evil," I say that "a public witch is probably a fake witch."
Jean Thesman, however, has it mostly right. In her lovely book, the Gift is not something that can be obtained, only accepted. You do not try to see spirits; they just show up. The effort is not so much to appear special as it is to appear normal.
In short, you cannot manufacture the Gift.
Like a talent for music or art, you either have it or you don't.
Bridget Raynes, a high school sophomore, has had the Gift as long as she can remember. She has a foot in two worlds, the five-senses world of her parents and most of her friends, and the Otherworld of her Aunt Cait. The tree spirits talk to her and she is particularly bedeviled by a shape-shifting faerie she calls xiii (pronounced Shhh). She is coaxed by these, as well as her equally gifted Aunt, to accept and learn to use her gifts, for truth denied will cause great harm.
There are, to be sure, the usual stock characters for a high school story: the vicious pretty girls, the tough bully, Woody; but the plain fact is that we all remember them from our own high school days and their existence in the book cannot be held against it. That her parents are so two-dimensional is, to me, more problematic. Perhaps it only appears to her that her mother is cold and distant and that her father is weak-willed, but more could certainly have been done with them to make them more human. If a character is primarily cold or weak, moments must be found in which they can be the opposite. Otherwise, they lack depth.
There is also the mysterious stranger, the girl Althea and her stranger parents living in a musty abandoned house on the hill whose mind it is impossible for Bridget to probe, and the lonely, unfortunate neighbor, the virtually orphaned Jordan, with whom Bridget shares a special relationship. These characters are filled out more completely, and the solutions of their respective mysteries is truly satisfying.
There are also the allies: people she runs into every day who seem to know a secret and help her in varied ways.
"The Other Ones" is a good page turner. You are first intrigued by and then empathetic to most all of the characters and interested in what becomes of them. The plot is solid and only occasionally seems forced as in the pastel ending, the circle of witches in the woods, which struck me as a little too Wicca, which is a late 19th and early 20th Century invention, and that also is a flaw, albeit a minor one.
The strong point is the admonitions of Aunt Cait not to use the Gift for revenge or to cause harm; there are more positive ways to protect oneself or one's loved ones.
This book is recommended with only slight reservations.

Its been 2 years since I read this book but it has stuck with me the whole time I mean it was an awesome story even though it was way too short. The characters like Jordan should have been introduced more,but hey! it was still great. Jordan's life was really really sad and I knew exactly how Bridget felt. I give this book 2 thumbs up ................go and read it...real touching

wow!!a great book for anyone!
the ending is a bit confusing but i'll read it again to clarafy it!!
please read this, and other work by jean, she is wonderfull, and i am going to be a life time reader!!
i loooovvvvvvveeeeeeee her work, and so will you, start with this book and youll be hooked!!

This is one of the worst YA novels I have ever read. It suffers from extraneous plotlines and mediocre writing. Bridget, the main character, is weak and unsympathetic. She is so worried about the troubled boy, Jordan, not liking her anymore, that she barely attempts to seek help for him through regular channels and then makes huge decisions about his life without even consulting him. Additionally, the author seems to be comepletely unfamiliar with the Wiccan faith that she is attempting to portray. I would not recommend this book to anyone.

A Review by Jessica
This book is about a girl named Bridget and her friends. This story takes place in Seattle, Washington. Bridget is in high school struggling. She is kind of like a witch in a way but not a bad kind. She has some powers, here's an example, she can see into other people minds, there thoughts. But when the new girl, Althea, comes Bridget trys to go into her mind but she blocks it off from her. During the book things seem to get more interesting and tense.

This book by Jean Thesman is a pretty good book. It's full of suspense, weird things, and friendships. Those are some of the things that I like about this book. It was a pretty funny book at some points but then it could also get serious. I like how Bridget had that one little sidekick xiii. I liked how he warned her about bad things are coming but she didn't know what bad things. The end turned out pretty good. It was kind of disappointing to me but it was pretty good in a way. I believe this book was an easy book to follow and read. It explains things very clearly and nicely. I still wanted the story to go on, I wanted the end to turn out differently because I didn't expect the ending as it was. I would read more of Jean Thesman's books if they sounded interesting because this one book was.

Jean Thesman is one of my faveorite authors, and The Other Ones is one of her best books, because it's more like a fantasy. xiii is really funny. The magic is awesome. And I loved the end!!!!!!

I loved this book. It was written well, and the characters where neat and alive. Aye it was predictible, but hey people always try to predict what they read anyway, so that gives those who want to predict it a chance~! Tis a well written book