Over My Head

Wildlings, contemporary/urban fantasy, Latino, African American, animal people, romance, racism

Life is complicated in the once-quiet beach town of Santa Feliz. Over the past six months many teens have inexplicably become animal shape-shifters known as Wildlings. The town is rife with fear, and Wildlings have quickly learned to keep their animal identities hidden or face persecution.

Now that Josh Saunders has a mountain lion living under his skin, his life seems to careen from one crisis to another. His best friends have just helped him narrowly escape cruel medical experimentation, and now that he's back home Josh wants at least a few more days of living like a normal teenager. But the FBI is tailing him, a vengeful school bully is out to hurt and expose him, and a formidable Wildling Elder has secretly arranged to have him killed by the hand of one of his own Wildling friends.

In Charles de Lint's dramatic follow-up novel to Under My Skin, Josh must confront all the inherent dangers of his new life, including violent street gangs and the threat of treachery on the part of some his very best friends. His longtime confidante, Marina, is once again keeping secrets from him, and as Josh discovers how to harness and wield his newfound powers, he faces crucial decisions about the bonds of leadership, love and loyalty.

Reviews:

Under My Skin is an action and emotion filled page-turner. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

            — Melissa Marr

Charles de Lint is the modern master of urban fantasy. Folktale, myth, fairy tale, dreams, urban legend—all of it adds up to pure magic in de Lint's vivid, original world. No one does it better.

— Alice Hoffman

Charles de Lint writes like a magician.  He draws out the strange inside our own world, weaving stories that feel more real than we are when we read them.  He is, simply put, the best.

— Holly Black

To read de Lint is to fall under the spell of a master storyteller, to be reminded of the greatness of life, of the beauty and majesty lurking in shadows and empty doorways.

– Quill and Quire

De Lint is probably the finest contemporary author of fantasy

– Booklist, American Library Association

Unlike most fantasy writers who deal with battles between ultimate good and evil, de Lint concentrates on smaller, very personal conflicts.  Perhaps this is what makes him accessible to the non-fantasy audience as well as the hard-core fans.  Perhaps it’s just damned fine writing.

– Quill & Quire

Easily Canada’s top fantasy scribe…a major international force in the genre.  Here is a biped who has steadfastly avoided stereotyping in his work from the beginning…de Lint has developed a considerable talent for injecting magic into everyday contemporary life.

– The Edmonton Journal

De Lint’s evocative images, both ordinary and fantastic, jolt the imagination.

– Publishers Weekly

It is hard to imagine urban fantasy done with greater skill

– Booklist, American Library Association

De Lint is as engaging a stylist as Stephen King, but considerably more inventive and ambitious

– The Globe and Mail

Charles de Lint's greatest strength...is his obvious love for his characters, and empathy for people generally.  ...he is showing us people living up to their potential, rather than down to it. And that is what makes de Lint's books rewarding.

– Locus Magazine

De Lint is a modern bard who knows how to use the poetry of the written word to entrance his reader.  In all of his work, there is a constant interplay between love and lament… A superb storyteller, de Lint can be a writer of great imaginative flights…

– The Vancouver Sun