While not without its moments, this tale of a boy who becomes caught up in a magical conflict ultimately fails to deliver. The characterizations are undeveloped, and often make little sense. For example, although the main protagonist is only twelve years old, the author tries to give him involved in a romantic/sexual relationship. It never happens, but seriously, he's twelve. Many details are never adequately explained, for my taste, anyway. And the deus ex machina conclusion at the end was especially weak. There seemed to be the set up for a sequel that never happened. Nor should it. ( )

Edward Pollock is just a regular boy in an English boarding school until he stumbles upon an old book, the Other Book, which can bridge the gap to the Other World, a world filled with monsters and evil. Pollock must protect the book from those who wish to use the book for ill, to merge the Other World with the real one, and bring doom upon humanity.

I wasn't a fan of this one, I'm afraid. The writing is incredibly stiff and hurried, there isn't a lot of detail and the book moves from one scene to the next without ever stopping to consider the implications of what's happening. The characters all behave completely oddly, mostly to move the plot along, and none of it ever felt believable. It almost felt like reading a storyboard for a movie or something. "This happened, and then this happened, and suddenly this is happening." It just never succeeded at drawing me into the story, which made the whole book fall flat for me. Not recommended! ( )

Reviewed by Carrie Spellman for TeensReadToo.com

Oldstone Manor is a strange old place all by itself. When you add in a boarding school where Greek and Latin aren't dead languages, it gets just plain weird. But something particularly strange, even for Oldstone, is going on. The problem is that no one, other than Edward, seems to be noticing. Well, maybe not no one.

It started with the crazy recurring dreams. Dreams about places he recognizes even though he's never been there, people who seem familiar even though he's never met them. Then there's the strange Lady that suddenly comes to stay and teach. As intimidating as she is, her companion, Mrs. Phipps, is one hundred times creepier. And then there's the book. The one that calls to him, invades his sleep, and magically disappears as if Edward somehow absorbed it into his body.

If only someone would listen to him! That is, someone who wasn't locked up in an insane asylum or someone who wanted to kill him.

This is a creepy, dark book. There is magic, drama, danger, and chills. It may be a bit slow to start, but once it gets going... It's like a roller coaster; you might want to stop and get off, but there's no way you can. ( )

When Edward discovers a mysterious book in the library at his boarding school, he never imagines the turmoil it will cause in his life. Somehow he absorbs the contents of the book, and suddenly some of the teachers at the school are after him for the book's power. ( )

A boarding school, friends, mysterious magical happenings, suspicious teachers - does any of this sound vaguely familiar? Philip Womack's The Other Book combines each of these aspects into an intriguing and dark work that while perhaps lacking in originality, keeps the reader engaged. Edward Pollock, an avid reader, comes across a mysterious book in his school library. Soon after, things start getting wonky around the campus. Edward is ported to another dimension where he is instructed by a knight of the middle ages to protect the book from those who would use it to destroy the world. Edward reluctantly takes up the challenge, often alone and without the aids of his friends or even cousin. There are some rather detailed and gruesome scenes in this piece which I found interesting. Nothing too over the top - just enough so that readers might latch onto it and think awesome. I enjoyed The Other Book, but I also found it very similar to another well known YA series. ( )