Isobelle Carmody - Obernewtyn

Obernewtyn, by Isobelle Carmody, is about a girl called Elspeth Gordie, who was born with 'enhanced mental abilities', living in a post apocalyptic Earth. In the book, Elspeth's abilities are discovered by the Council, which rules over the land, and she is sent to an institution for 'misfits' - people with special abilities. While there, she makes new friends, and has to use her abilities - including communication with animals, telepathy, and the ability to control other people thoughts and actions - to discover the dark secrets hidden within the institute's walls.

Although the idea behind the book was great, I felt it could have been written better. The beginning was quite slow and confusing, and I found myself regularly looking back to the introduction to remind myself of the meanings of expressions such as 'Herder Faction' and 'Seditioners'. Elspeth didn't seem to be a very exciting character, and characters that seemed to have potential to be interesting were brushed aside. The way it was written also made it difficult to really get into it. However, it's likely that most books of this nature have to start slowly, as there is so much new information which needs to be explained before the story can actually start, so the slow beginning is understandable.

However, when Elspeth arrived at Obernewtyn, the institution for misfits, the story began to pick up. New characters were introduced, the majority of whom seemed quite mysterious and interesting, and Elspeth began to grow on me as a character. The mystery behind Obernewtyn slowly began to unravel, as Elspeth becomes aware of experiments being conducted on other misfits, and figures out that the people in charge are searching for something. The climax of the book was exciting, and saw the secrets of Obernewtyn revealed, but other, larger secrets still a mystery.

In conclusion, I liked the novel. Although it started slow, and was quite confusing until I got used to the new terms and expressions, the ending was gripping and exciting. The book is the first title in the 'Obernewtyn Chronicles', and the exciting climax, with lots of loose ends, makes me feel like the next books will be great reads, and I look forward uncovering the mysteries introduced in this book. So I would recommend the book, because I have a feeling the series is likely to be sensational.

Katie Chambers

Last modified: 02/06/2010 09:56:46