Otherworldly by F.T. Lukens (review)

Reviewed by: Otherworldly by F. T. Lukens Fiona Hartley-Kroeger Lukens, F. T. Otherworldly. McElderry, 2024 352p Trade ed. ISBN 9781665916257 19. 99 E-book ed. ISBN 9781665916271 10. 99 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 7-10 Seventeen-year-old Ellery, skeptic and diner dishwasher, has denied all things supernatural ever since their family's prayers and offerings failed to bestir the chthonic goddess to dispel an agriculturally disastrous five-year winter. Immortal familiar Knox, meanwhile, is freed from his latest contract with a human and spending some extra time in the human world before he'll inevitably return to his End Page 257 queen in the Other World and lose all his memories (again). Their paths cross at the diner, and the duo make a bargain: Ellery will tether Knox to the mortal world with a formal contract and help him fulfill his wish list of human activities (largely gleaned from teen movies), and Knox will help them gather information about the prolonged winter and figure out how to restore the cycle of seasons. A nice touch of Midwestern spookiness underlines a tale of classic crossroads bargains, first (and maybe lasting) love, thinly veiled climate anxiety, and chosen family. The mythic and the realistic are well balanced, and the relationships between characters will win over even the most grudging of romantics. Prickly Ellery and fun-loving Knox are an adorable grumpy-sunshine pair, and Ellery's chaotic cousin and her girlfriend, plus some supernatural figures, round out the background to their world-bridging romance. Largely angst-free, wryly funny, and emotionally satisfying, this novel is tailor-made for a Netflix adaptation. Copyright © 2024 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois