Title: In Other Lands
By: Sarah Rees Brennan
Published: 2017
Target:  10+

Synopsis (via Goodreads):  

The Borderlands aren’t like anywhere else. Don’t try to smuggle a phone or any other piece of technology over the wall that marks the Border—unless you enjoy a fireworks display in your backpack. (Ballpoint pens are okay.) There are elves, harpies, and—best of all as far as Elliot is concerned—mermaids.

Elliot? Who’s Elliot? Elliot is thirteen years old. He’s smart and just a tiny bit obnoxious. Sometimes more than a tiny bit. When his class goes on a field trip and he can see a wall that no one else can see, he is given the chance to go to school in the Borderlands.

How I got it:   As I started compiling my To Be Read list last month, I realized that I had several books by Sarah Rees Brennan still to read.  I’ve been reading Brennan’s work since she was sixteen and am a huge fan but I’ve fallen behind and out of touch.  So I went to find out what she’s been up to lately.  I was shocked to learn of her recent health issues but relieved and delighted to find she still has her rapier wit and a new book out.  I had to buy it immediately.  Books by Sarah Rees Brennan are exempt from the Book Buying Moratorium.

When I got it:   December 2017

Why I want to read it:  Sarah Rees Brennan is the only writer who has ever made me spontaneously laugh out loud when I was reading her work.  She creates original characters with personalities that just leap off the page.  While I have yet to read her last series (maybe it’s the female lead that’s putting me off?), I am excited to start this one.