I really enjoyed this audiobook. It had some interesting and unexpected plot twists. I gave it 4 stars.

I enjoyed parts of this (the footnotes were fine for me) and would listen to another one if there is one eventually. (Kind of left open for a sequel.) But there were so many things that had the potential to be deep - that were just barely mentioned once and then never again. Like the feud between the families...was that just racism or something else? Or the awful step father/sherif? I could see my high schoolers enjoying this. Thanks to Netgalley for the audio!

Unfortunately, I didn´t quite like the story. In my opinion, it didn´t catch my attention quite well and I couldn´t keep up with the story.

4.5 out of 5 stars

"Imagining Elsewhere" is a YA thriller set in a (very) quirky upstate New York town in the 1980s. As a Gen X'er, I appreciated the author's footnote explainers of 1980s references throughout the book. I almost wonder if the footnotes were aimed at readers from my generation, as I laughed at nearly all of them, but then read reviews by younger readers suggesting that the footnotes may be condescending.

At any rate, I found the plot and writing engaging: a somewhat different take on the theme of adolescent bullying, where a bully herself gets bullied by a supernatural bully. The backdrop of the 1980s rings very true in this novel, and the author did an excellent job of capturing the essence of those troubled times. Although magic plays a role in Candi's bullying behavior, this character is not far off the mark from regular bullies, and the kinds of power they attain from the fear they inspire.

The ending was a bit abrupt and left some questions unanswered, but -- as suggested by the final footnote -- perhaps that is what a sequel is for. I think readers of YA novels with strong female leads will appreciate this novel. I appreciated it for a number of reasons, one of which is the way the book highlights how bad it can be for the target of a bully and also for the bully's so-called "friends."

Thank you to NetGalley and CamCat books for the audiobook for review. All opinions are my own.

Another great title for those that enjoy magical realism. Astrid thinks she has a chance to start over. Candi has a power to make people do what she says: get in the trashcan, slam your face on the table, sleep for 24 hours. What Candi wants Candi gets. Now she wants Astrid to be her best friend and help her bully the town's people.

When Astrid moves from New York City to elsewhere she is unprepared for the popular girl at school her name is Candy and she has sway unlike any teenage girl ever anywhere! She has power over the whole town and although Astrid tries her best to keep her head down it seems candy has made her her new mark the town does whatever this girl says. they’re not equipped with modern day conveniences and when she sees Astrid has a walk man (because the book is set in the 90s) Candy wants it and this is when Astrid learned her first lesson in her new town. Astrid makes a couple of friends and although they try to steer clear of candy and her football boyfriend it seems candy is always noticing her oh yes and want to move to elsewhere you can never leave. Someone needs to take candy down will that be Astrid? This was one of the strangest books I have ever read I totally enjoyed the story I found it funny strange and altogether a great read. I thought the narrator did an awesome job and this is a book I highly recommend I can’t say one bad thing about it if you love sci-fi mystery thrillers with a dash of horror you’ll love this book I certainly did and highly recommend it. I received this book from NetGalley and Comcat books but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Though I enjoyed the preface of the book, the references are often over explained. (Note: I listened to the audiobook version.) Nonetheless for a Paranormal Mystery which is not my usual genre it is pretty good. It’s hard for me to judge it well as this isn’t my usual genre but I still enjoyed it more than I thought I would.

For an audiobook, the narrator was okay. Not great voice changes or inflections, but I was able to speed it to 1.75x and handle the pacing.

The biggest issue was the constant footnotes. They were distracting and seemed to convolute the story rather than clarify it. If the 1980s was going to be such a struggle to use as a setting, I'd rather skip the footnotes and move on.

Astrid wasn't a very likeable character; we can't overlook the severity of her past transgressions. Candi is clearly the antagonist, and since Astrid voices early on WHY Candi is a threat, the story doesn't have many places to go... It's a shame because I think this is a story where various POV might have given more depth to the story.

I hoped for a twist that never came, so instead I'll chalk this one up as a miss.

Overall: 3 stars

I'll tell my students about: language, magic, death, mental health/trauma, violence

**Thank you to NetGalley and CamCat Publishing for the free ALC. All opinions expressed are my own.**

I received the audio ARC book from Netgally in exchange for an honest review.

Suggest having a look at the blurb of the book elsewhere as here are my thoughts and opinions only. Thank you

Was looking forward for a a bit of an 80s 90s nostalgia type of book, I sometimes feel like I don’t read enough of that, and having a new look into it, sounds like fun and I was in the right mood for it.

Generally speaking I enjoy the pace and the ideas about witchcraft the earth and stones, magical words, and maybe teen angst that was very stereotypically portrayed. Unfortunately the writing style was kind of annoying as the paced of the book was frequently interrupted by “foot notes”, having an audio version I wasn’t sure if the notes were put at the bottom of the page or were in the actual body of the text. So the flow of the ideas were cut , then explain something like whats a “tape” then continue with the story.

I wasn’t sure who was the target audience of this particular book, as there’s a bit of sex talk and drugs,nothing graphic that will outrage parents of a 15 year old, but parts of the book were way too childish that a 15 YO would be too old for the book. And as the main character keeps explaining what are things “back in the day” many YA would get very annoyed, as they don’t really need a “sassy” character over explaining herself. People now a days can easily find definitions of pretty much anything online. So I felt the readers were consider kind of thick, which never sit well with anyone.

The voice was a little robotic at times and I wasn’t sure if it was AI generated, or was an actual person, so it was kind of distracting at times too.
I really wish I could do a better review as as a whole I enjoyed the book but not enough to rate it higher.
This is an easy book, pallet cleanser type of book.

📚 📖 Review 📖 📚
Imagining Elsewhere by Sara Hosey is a story about a teen named Astrid who moves to a strange new town. Astrid was her old school’s biggest bully, and in this weird new town, she meets the bully of Elsewhere. Yup, that’s right, the bully of the entire town. Everyone is terrified of teen Candi. Astrid quickly notices this unfortunate situation isn’t just unfortunate, it’s sinister and life-threatening. Can Astrid help save herself, her family, and possibly the whole town? Or will everyone just end up going through the malicious motions?

I was lucky enough to receive an audiobook version of this story to review from CamCat Publishing and Netgalley for an honest review.

The narration was great! The narrator’s voice was perfect for these characters and this story, and the pacing was right on point!

The characters were well flushed out and believable as people. I strangely loved Candi’s mom and thought of her as a little bit unhinged from her many, many years of abuse from her daughter.

This was such a good story, however, I did think that Astrid should have noticed what was going on a tad earlier, but it wasn’t a slow read by any means. The last chunk of the book was un-put-downable.

I’ve heard that some people had a hard time staying in the story with all of the footnotes, but I liked it! Being an 80’s child myself, it was fun to remember all of the throwbacks and I found it helped me to remember the time frame. To each their own I suppose!

I could completely see this story becoming a movie! I would also love to see a sequel. The open ending left me imagining what could happen next, and the possibilities are intriguing! I also wouldn’t mind a prequel!

I gave it ⭐⭐⭐⭐

If you like supernatural stories and 80s vibes, this read could be perfect for you!

*Content warning* attempted suicide, bullying, violence

This book was really intrersting... the town where a teen girl rule it all, and eveyone have to do what she say or else.... the book was really not poseibole to put down..
love the nod to Stephen kings Carry...

The concept for this is great, however the execution left something to be desired. Every single 80's references were overly explained. I understand I'm not the targeted demographic but I don't need to be born in the 80's to know about classic films, music and fashion trends, so it's safe to assume that most people would have a general idea of the references given. Rather than explaining every reference maybe there could have been a list at the back of the book that explains them. Unfortunately it wasn't for me. I didn't get the feeling of not wanting to put the book down. The Narrator was great though!

A 2.75 star read.

So this book follows Astrid who has moved to Elsewhere after horrifically bullying another student and ends up being Candi's new play thing. Although Astrid doesn't want no involvement... she can't help but do everything Candi says.

Let's start with the positives: I could imagine what was happening so the descriptions were detailed and simple. laughed during this book with smart comments and I was also tense throughout some scenes (the head on table scene, if you know you know).

However, The plot of this book had such great potential but it fell flat multiple times and I felt bored sporadically throughout this book. I couldn't really connect with Astrid, her previous bullying ways was too far to feel any remorse or redemption for her, and I am still confused on who she liked out of her love interests).

The footnotes too, at times, were insulting. Explaining extremely basic things but can appreciate a younger audience may not know (I'm 25) but wasn't born in the 80s and understood all references.

The ending also fell flat... and it wasn't really an ending? I won’t be continuing with this if it does become a series

I had some problems with this book. Like why were the footnotes there? If the book started in the present & then went into the past it wild have made a little more sense. And then the end felt so rushed. Other than that though I did enjoy the book.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publishers for a copy of this book.

Audiobook Review - It took a few chapters, but this story really had me hooked!! Hosey creates a unique and darkly creepy world. Readers who enjoy creepy thrillers with a supernatural twist will really enjoy this book. A first purchase for all YA collections!

Thanks to NetGalley for this audiobook. The narration added to the 80s vibe of the story.

Imagining Elsewhere follows a mean girl who was forced to transfer to another school for her senior year due to some horrific bullying. Astrid has to learn how to have empathy when she Candy, the small down queen bee with actual supernatural abilities. Candy not only rules the school but the whole town. With lots of references to 80s movies and culture, this is a really fun story that tackles some serious issues. I would def recommend this to younger readers for its examination of teen girl relationships and the culture of bullying. I would also recommend it to anyone who likes John Hughes movies or teen movies in general.

Imagining Elsewhere is a creepy and dark YA set in the 1980's. Firstly I loved all the little notes from the author into 1980's history/facts which added a touch of realism to the story and I also thought the narrator created a perfectly creepy and tense atmosphere. Astrid was a great MC and I loved that she actually acts like a teenager, although we see a lot of character development, she makes mistakes and acts selfishly sometimes although she is mature at the same time. The main story was also really unique and interesting, the character of Candy was great and I couldn't wait to see where everything would go and for all the secrets to be revealed. Overall this was a great horror and I would recommend for anyone trying to get into this genre.

Imagining Elsewhere:

Well… this book wasn’t for me. My interest had sparked due to the cover at NetGalley … thinking that may be a good thriller/horror or something interesting. If I’m honest, the 1st chapter got me thinking it was a good choice. But then, it began to go in a way that was really boring. The only thing that I liked was the 80’s theme coming around.
But I really disliked the footnotes execution, it was somehow confusing.
I selected the audiobook at NetGalley and I wanted to share my very honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the audio version of this book. Lots of creepy (in the wrong way) characters and lots of humour. A modern dark fairy tale, this YA story is set in the 1980s, with a wicked teenager controlling a town and bullying everyone to carry out her wishes. Will history continue to repeat itself or can Astrid find a way to escape her past, and escape from Elsewhere? Thank you to CamCat publishing and NetGalley for the audio ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

Thanks to NetGalley and Publishers for the audio book of Imagining Elsewhere

Let me start this review by saying the narrator of this novel is really good and she had a voice that pulled you into the story. Her way of articulating the storyline and characters was really good and to be honest, I would listen to her narratoring another novel, I thought she was great.

The story itself was ok and I could see potential with it, if it weren't for all the footnotes. I felt those broke the flow of the storylines and they became excruciatingly annoying. Maybe this is because I was born in the 80s so I know all the references to the 80s/90s culture that was littered throughout the chapters I managed to read.

As I said this novel had potential, the narrator was spot on and anyone that was born after 80s/90s would probably get on well with the footnotes and delight in the odd culture we grew up with. The story was written well, but unfortunately was not for me.