Thank you Netgalley and Bloomsbury USA Children's Books for a free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Otherwoods by Justine Pucella Winans is a lovely middle grade fantasy novel about River Rydell, a nonbinary middle schooler just trying to lay low and live life as an ordinary kid. Unfortunately, nothing's ordinary for a River who sees spirits and monsters that others chalk up to the delusions of a troubled child. But when their classmate Avery gets dragged into the Otherwoods, the sinister supernatural realm that River has always avoided, they're forced to confront their fears to rescue their new friend and crush before it's too late.

The Otherwoods hits all the beats of a fun portal fantasy adventure with a lot of heart. Over the course of thes tory, River sheds their timid nature and gains the necessary confidence and trust in new allies to face their physical and psychological demons.

This is a middle grade that has a touch of dark fantasy to it and I just really love the cover. There’s a cat, and that’s really all it needed to be added to my current reads. So our main character River was born with the ability to see monsters and he’s able to travel to a different dimension called The Otherwoods though no one believes him. Until one day his friend Avery is kidnapped and brought to this strange place, River must fight through his nightmares to save her. It was a cute little story that is also kind of reminding me of Stranger Things a little bit but for a younger audience.

I totally loved it! I'm going to suggest it to all the kids I know. Pancakes is hands down my favourite character! So cute! But River was pretty cool too, I've got to admit.

Thanks, NetGalley for this ARC

Pucella Winans is a genius. Part Coraline, part Wizard of Oz, part Goosebumps, The Otherwoods had my attention from the first page to the last. Our narrator, River, is a nonbinary kid who sees spirits, monsters, shadows. This magic means they’re seen and summoned in a way others aren’t, to a brutal, tricky world that asks much of them—to save their friend, to navigate obstacle after obstacle, and to protect their very good cat, Mr. Fluffy Pancakes.

When I was younger, I would have torn through this book and slept with the nightlight on for a few nights. And then named it a favorite. As an adult, I read River’s story as an allegory for mental illness, or for the heavy things and strange in between worlds we must live in as queer people. This book is haunting but ultimately hopeful, joyful, and suspenseful all at once. Beautiful, clever prose, too

I think this one will be a satisfying read for the middle grade age group! It struck me as neither transcendent nor unpleasant, but somewhere in the middle. It's got many of the usual components of a scary fantasy adventure: reluctant magical protagonist, someone who needs rescuing, an animal companion, monsters and a frightening other world to traverse, and guides along the way whose motives are uncertain, and a few twists toward the end that are not mind-blowing to an adult, but definitely less predictable to younger readers with less experience of narrative structure. And the ending satisfies, so all in all it does what it needs to do!

The big highlight for me is the protagonist, River, who's nonbinary. It still feels pretty rare to get trans and nonbinary main characters in middle grade books, and I think the clarity with which River's identity is presented and explored is just about right for the target age--validating for the trans kids reading, and encouraging empathy and understanding in cis readers. This is definitely a good one for school libraries and middle grade rec lists trying to get more nonbinary representation!

I appreciate all that Justine Pucella Winans is doing with The Otherwoods. It’s a creative novel that is very, very, very, reminiscent of Stranger Things, Neverwhere, and other strange, dark fantasy tales. One of the major disappointments of the book was how much I felt that the main character, River didn’t feel like an authentic character. I mean, they’re the protagonist, but everything was second-guessed. Even to the end of the story, when the fit was hitting the shan, River still doubted themselves and didn’t even seem to be satisfied with the fact that they saved the Elseworld. I don’t buy that. I don’t buy that a character would be that self-deprecating and unsure of themselves, even when they are faced with death on multiple occasions and the lives of others are reliant on them.

I will say that whoever chooses to read this book be aware that it is narrated by a 12-year-old non-binary character named River (not their dead name, that comes into play later). I have a sneaking suspicion that the author based this character on themself. I get it. I remember reading Pattern Recognition by Willam Gibson and wanting to be a part of the book because Cayce Pollard was badass. But, I knew that it wasn’t my story and it’s impossible for me to be a part of that world. And that’s okay. Books are written for numerous reasons, one of them being escape. I want to escape into books. That doesn’t mean I’m going to write myself into the book as the main character (this is all conjecture anyway and probably comes across as a little bitchy, but I can’t help it). Anyway, off my tangent. River is a cool character, but very self-deprecating and that’s sad. Because whatever situation River finds themself in, they don’t think they can make a difference and get out of it. And they doubt themselves. And then things work out anyway and it’s like wow, I should’ve known all along. Anyway, it’s a minor thing and I don’t think it will take away from the enjoyment of reading this for the young’uns. This book is 100% not written for a 45-year-old. And, again, I’m okay with that. I want to have a selection of books for my students and I can see this being read by them with a lot of enjoyment and yes, even escapism.

By the end of the book I wanted Rivert to finally stand up for themself and be all, “Yeah! Eff you! I got this! You can’t stop me!” but that never really happened. I think that is the biggest disappoint for me. River could be a strong character, but aside from claiming their true name and identity, they really did doubt themself, a lot, and sadly, that takes away from the book a little bit. Regardless, whomever chooses to read this will most likely enjoy it for it’s storyline and similarity to other popular books and stories and that’s what it’s all about. Bring enjoyment to the people. And I can say that Winans does that. Because, when all is said and done, the book was enjoyable and I suspect there will be a sequel down the line for us to embark upon and see the further adventures of River and Co.

This book was great in terms of representation. I was so happy to see a non-binary character in a middle grade. However, the rest of the story I couldn’t get into for whatever reason. To me the beginning was very slow and a little confusing somehow. It did get better and I did enjoy the world building and characters there was just still something missing that I can’t quite explain.

This was such an amazing read! I loved this world and the creatures and the characters. It was was atmospheric and adventurous.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I loved Justine’s debut book and was so excited to read this one. I’m not one for middle grade books but this one was actually super interesting and had my attention the whole time. I even wanted to shed a tear or 2 at the end. More and more middle grade books are coming out that explore gender identity and I’m so glad that trans kids are getting more representation. I feel like now more then ever it’s so important.
Justine’s brand of humor is great and they have the “awkward loner kid” character down perfectly. Bianca and River both resonated with me.

Of course my favorite character was Pancakes. He’s so cute on the cover! I loved him! I also really loved River. Every character tugged at my heart honesty. I feel like these books are so good because I would have loved to have had them when I was in middle school. I would have loved to have a friend like River and a book like this where I could see different types of kids being the hero for once. The subtle horror would have also held my attention when I was a kid. I also got heavy Studio Ghibli vibes from the spirit world scene which Justine told me was a heavy influence for them. I loved that!

I think that everyone who has been different and wanted to see themselves as the hero should check this book out. Even if you aren’t a middle schooler, the themes are very relatable for all ages. I highly recommend this to all readers!

Justine Pucella Winans is one of the best children’s authors out there and that is a hill I will die on!

I read their literally unputdownable MG debut—THE OTHERWOODS—in one sitting. It is such a fun and wild adventure through a spooky world, complete with a nonbinary hero and some truly beautiful friendships.

You won’t want to miss this one!