2011 book 2

Isobelle Carmody's Obernewtyn
I really have enjoyed the other books by Carmody I've read, but this book--the first in a series--seemed more like straight-up fantasy and I kind of prefer stories set in the modern world that have fantasy elements (feel free to recommend any of those to me, by the way). But I figured I'd give this a go anyway after it was briefly mentioned in Saving Francesca, and it turns out it's not set in some fantasy land, but in the distant future, after the world has been destroyed (presumably by nuclear war). The remaining radiation causes mutations; if they are apparent at birth, the child is killed, but if the mutation is mental and isn't discovered until later on, the child is categorized as a misfit and sent away. Our protagonist, Elspeth, is living in an orphan farm after her parents' murder for sedition; she knows she's a misfit and tries hard to hide it, but of course things are never that easy. She has mind-reading powers and can talk to animals, which is pretty cool from my point of view. This first book does an excellent job of world-building, introducing the characters, and setting up Elspeth's path. I'm planning on reading the second one and then seeing if I want to delve into the rest. A-.