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Changers #1
Drew
Am ersten Highschooltag erwacht der 13-jährige Ethan plötzlich als junges blondes Mädchen. Seine Eltern erklären ihm, dass er ein „Changer“ ist. Wie sein Vater gehört er einer Gruppe von Menschen an, die sich während ihrer Schulzeit viermal in eine andere Person – Junge oder Mädchen – verwandeln, bevor sie eine feste Identität wählen.
Seine erste Identität als „Drew“ ist für Ethan nicht leicht: Sie muss sich mit den Regeln der Changers vertraut machen, verliebt sich und muss für diese Liebe kämpfen. Was werden die Gegner der Changers unternehmen? Und ist die Organisation, die sie unterstützt, wirklich so gut? Die wichtigste Frage aber lautet: Wer wird „Drew“ am Ende sein?
Übersetzt von: Manuela Knetsch
Seine erste Identität als „Drew“ ist für Ethan nicht leicht: Sie muss sich mit den Regeln der Changers vertraut machen, verliebt sich und muss für diese Liebe kämpfen. Was werden die Gegner der Changers unternehmen? Und ist die Organisation, die sie unterstützt, wirklich so gut? Die wichtigste Frage aber lautet: Wer wird „Drew“ am Ende sein?
Übersetzt von: Manuela Knetsch
352 pages, Hardcover
First published January 13, 2014
40 people are currently reading
1454 people want to read
About the author
T. Cooper
22 books54 followersT COOPER is the author of four novels, including the bestselling "The Beaufort Diaries" and "Lipshitz Six, or Two Angry Blondes," as well as a brand-new Young Adult book series entitled "Changers." Cooper edited an anthology of original stories entitled "A Fictional History of the United States With Huge Chunks Missing," and his most recent book is the non-fiction "Real Man Adventures" (just released in paperback from McSweeney's Books). He has also written for television, and is the co-founder of a new Empathy Project, Wearechangers.org.
T Cooper was born and raised in Los Angeles, attended Middlebury College in Vermont, and then taught high school in New Orleans before settling in New York City in 1996. He earned an MFA from Columbia University, and in addition to his books, Cooper's work has appeared in a variety of publications and anthologies, including The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Believer, One Story, Bomb, Electric Literature, The Brooklyn Review, The Portland Review, Document, and others. His short story "Swimming" was one of "100 Distinguished Stories" in The Best American Short Stories 2008 (ed. Salman Rushdie).
Cooper has been awarded residencies to The MacDowell Colony, Ledig House International, and The Millay Colony (where he was The New York Times Foundation Fellow). Not too long ago, he was a visiting faculty member at Middlebury College.
Cooper also adapted and produced a short film based on his graphic novel "The Beaufort Diaries." The animated short, directed by the book's illustrator Alex Petrowsky and starring actor David Duchovny, was an official selection at several film festivals, including Tribeca Film Festival, South By Southwest, The New Orleans Film Fest, The Worldwide Short Film Festival, and the Anchorage International Film Festival.
Cooper enjoys vintage airplanes, M*A*S*H, the great outdoors, world peace, buckwheat pancakes, and anything to do with pit bull advocacy. He lives with his wife and kids in New York and the South.
T Cooper was born and raised in Los Angeles, attended Middlebury College in Vermont, and then taught high school in New Orleans before settling in New York City in 1996. He earned an MFA from Columbia University, and in addition to his books, Cooper's work has appeared in a variety of publications and anthologies, including The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Believer, One Story, Bomb, Electric Literature, The Brooklyn Review, The Portland Review, Document, and others. His short story "Swimming" was one of "100 Distinguished Stories" in The Best American Short Stories 2008 (ed. Salman Rushdie).
Cooper has been awarded residencies to The MacDowell Colony, Ledig House International, and The Millay Colony (where he was The New York Times Foundation Fellow). Not too long ago, he was a visiting faculty member at Middlebury College.
Cooper also adapted and produced a short film based on his graphic novel "The Beaufort Diaries." The animated short, directed by the book's illustrator Alex Petrowsky and starring actor David Duchovny, was an official selection at several film festivals, including Tribeca Film Festival, South By Southwest, The New Orleans Film Fest, The Worldwide Short Film Festival, and the Anchorage International Film Festival.
Cooper enjoys vintage airplanes, M*A*S*H, the great outdoors, world peace, buckwheat pancakes, and anything to do with pit bull advocacy. He lives with his wife and kids in New York and the South.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 206 reviews
January 8, 2016
(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK and NetGalley.)
This was an okay, if slightly odd story about a boy who learns he is a ‘changer’.
It was easy to see why Ethan was freaked out when he woke up and found out that he had changed into a girl, and not only that but his parents thought it might happen! It was also a bit awkward with the whole learning to wear a bra and dealing with periods thing.
The storyline in this was basically about Ethan learning about being a ‘changer’, and his life in general over his first year of high school, including a crush on his best friend, and girl-problems like periods, and cheerleader try-outs. I did find that there was quite a lot of info-dumping in this though, and it didn’t hold my attention all that well either.
The ending to this was okay, although it would be good to find out what happens next and get more of a solid ending.
6 out of 10
“You’re a changer.”
This was an okay, if slightly odd story about a boy who learns he is a ‘changer’.
It was easy to see why Ethan was freaked out when he woke up and found out that he had changed into a girl, and not only that but his parents thought it might happen! It was also a bit awkward with the whole learning to wear a bra and dealing with periods thing.
The storyline in this was basically about Ethan learning about being a ‘changer’, and his life in general over his first year of high school, including a crush on his best friend, and girl-problems like periods, and cheerleader try-outs. I did find that there was quite a lot of info-dumping in this though, and it didn’t hold my attention all that well either.
The ending to this was okay, although it would be good to find out what happens next and get more of a solid ending.
6 out of 10
April 14, 2015
3,5*
Meine Rezension kommt am 14.04.15: http://youtu.be/j6h4SVmKQAk
Meine Rezension kommt am 14.04.15: http://youtu.be/j6h4SVmKQAk
June 21, 2014
I really wanted to like this book, but I just couldn't. The idea of living each year of high school as a different body (or with a different body) was fascinating, but the writing and plot couldn't maintain the idea.
First of all, you'd think a book about the same person a in a different body would be exploring how a person is perceived differently, and really making points about everyday sexism, or how similar people really are. Instead, you have gender steoretypes that are confirmed by the text. Ethan loves skateboarding more than anything else in the world, but as Drew never skates ANYWHERE or seems to miss it at all. There is relatively little body horror (If I woke up as a man tomorrow, I can tell you right now that it would take a lot longer than months for me to react as a man rather than a woman. And there are a lot more differences than having a period between male and female bodies), and you'd think a book that makes a lot of folks think about transgender issues would explore more the longing for your 'correct' body, or even explore what it feels like to be misgendered by everyone. But that's... not touched on at all.
Sexuality in this book wasn't really touched on. You know that the this Changer culture really values procreation, but what if you want to be a woman, and want to love another woman? What if you're bisexual? What if you aren't? None of the changer families seem to be anything other than heterosexual, and that probably should have been touched on.
What was with the swearing? It's far more distracting to put in fake swearing that it would have been to just avoid cursing. And for an American author, there were a lot of Britishisms. I would assume- I know for a fact that no one in America is going to call a sports bra a "jog bra" or tampons "cotton mice", and there were a few curses that are not of America either.
I hated how easily Ethan was let go of by Drew. Seriously. I hated it. This book seemed to exist on the premise that lady hormones would make you into a lady. And that's not true. Yes, our culture (which loves the idea of science explaining our cultural choices) loves the idea that woman were gatherers and men were hunters (probably not based entirely in reality- there are some interesting articles on this), and that it comes down to chemistry. But Drew was raised as Ethan, and that should have affected Drew's view of the world. And it didn't.
Okay, so basically, the biggest reason I didn't like this book is that I don't think it added anything to a debate about how people view the world, or how people relate to each other.
But the laziness of making your main character utterly uninterested in the BIGGEST CHAIN OF THEIR LIFE so that you don't have to get bogged down in plot and explaining how things work is awful. There was a lot of weird mini plot holes, or things that didn't quite jive, but you, the reader, have no idea if it'll ever be filled in because Drew doesn't fill you in. Drew reads the Changers Bible (which... really?) but you don't get excerpts or anything that freaks Drew out. You never meet other Changers of Drew's age (other than Chase- which is pretty weird. Why would you have mixers without making sure that people are mixing? Also, if this book is going to have four other parts, you can't go back to Drew's previous friends- unless they are staying at the same school for four years? That might be happening, not sure. But having other Changers would have allowed the changer world to get fleshed out more, which would have helped, because right now it's a creepy cult AND THAT'S IT. I dont' have any more canon information)
Anyway, plot holes and a reinforcement of gender stereotypes.
What fun.
First of all, you'd think a book about the same person a in a different body would be exploring how a person is perceived differently, and really making points about everyday sexism, or how similar people really are. Instead, you have gender steoretypes that are confirmed by the text. Ethan loves skateboarding more than anything else in the world, but as Drew never skates ANYWHERE or seems to miss it at all. There is relatively little body horror (If I woke up as a man tomorrow, I can tell you right now that it would take a lot longer than months for me to react as a man rather than a woman. And there are a lot more differences than having a period between male and female bodies), and you'd think a book that makes a lot of folks think about transgender issues would explore more the longing for your 'correct' body, or even explore what it feels like to be misgendered by everyone. But that's... not touched on at all.
Sexuality in this book wasn't really touched on. You know that the this Changer culture really values procreation, but what if you want to be a woman, and want to love another woman? What if you're bisexual? What if you aren't? None of the changer families seem to be anything other than heterosexual, and that probably should have been touched on.
What was with the swearing? It's far more distracting to put in fake swearing that it would have been to just avoid cursing. And for an American author, there were a lot of Britishisms. I would assume- I know for a fact that no one in America is going to call a sports bra a "jog bra" or tampons "cotton mice", and there were a few curses that are not of America either.
I hated how easily Ethan was let go of by Drew. Seriously. I hated it. This book seemed to exist on the premise that lady hormones would make you into a lady. And that's not true. Yes, our culture (which loves the idea of science explaining our cultural choices) loves the idea that woman were gatherers and men were hunters (probably not based entirely in reality- there are some interesting articles on this), and that it comes down to chemistry. But Drew was raised as Ethan, and that should have affected Drew's view of the world. And it didn't.
Okay, so basically, the biggest reason I didn't like this book is that I don't think it added anything to a debate about how people view the world, or how people relate to each other.
But the laziness of making your main character utterly uninterested in the BIGGEST CHAIN OF THEIR LIFE so that you don't have to get bogged down in plot and explaining how things work is awful. There was a lot of weird mini plot holes, or things that didn't quite jive, but you, the reader, have no idea if it'll ever be filled in because Drew doesn't fill you in. Drew reads the Changers Bible (which... really?) but you don't get excerpts or anything that freaks Drew out. You never meet other Changers of Drew's age (other than Chase- which is pretty weird. Why would you have mixers without making sure that people are mixing? Also, if this book is going to have four other parts, you can't go back to Drew's previous friends- unless they are staying at the same school for four years? That might be happening, not sure. But having other Changers would have allowed the changer world to get fleshed out more, which would have helped, because right now it's a creepy cult AND THAT'S IT. I dont' have any more canon information)
Anyway, plot holes and a reinforcement of gender stereotypes.
What fun.
January 10, 2016
I went into Changers with some preconceptions about what it would be like, and I’m pleased and surprised to say that those preconceptions were unfounded.
First, I thought that because this is a body-swap novel, it would be borrowing heavily on an already well-populated (at least, in the movies) trope. Body-swap movies are okay, but even the ones with a slightly-funny script (e.g. the one with Zac Efron, can’t remember what it’s called) tend to look a bit tired. This book, however, works on the basis that Ethan/Drew isn’t the only body-swapper, but one of a whole breed of body-swappers and that they’re all part of a big, secret society. It lifted the story into something a bit new and interesting.
Second, I thought that because Changers is the story of a boy who wakes up as a girl, it would be chock-full of boob gags, like some 300-page Inbetweeners episode. While I think The Inbetweeners is comedy gold, I didn’t know how well that brand of humour would work in a YA novel. Apparently, I was doing both the author and fourteen-year-old boys in general a great disservice, though. Obviously, Ethan does have an ‘Oh my god, I’ve got BOOBS!’ moment, but the author doesn’t over-egg the story with fourteen-year-old-boy-in-hot-girl’s-body jokes.
So the story revolves around Ethan, a fourteen year old boy who wakes up on the first day of high school to find he’s been transformed into a girl, Drew. Not only this, but his parents spring on him that he’s part of a secret breed of humans who transition their bodies every year for four years as adolescents in order to grow spiritually and hopefully save humankind and the world.
Drew obviously has some serious adjusting to do, not just in terms of finding out she is really part of a separate breed of humans, but also in the boy-to-girl transition. While this isn’t strictly a transgender novel (certainly not in the style of Lisa Williamson’s excellent The Art of Being Normal, anyway), it does definitely pick up on some transgender issues. Up until his first day of high school, Ethan was a boy - he had a male body and identified as male, too. Suddenly, he’s in a girl’s (Drew’s) body, but he still identifies as Ethan. He misses being in a boy’s body and now suddenly has to deal with a girl’s body. Gradually this changes until he identifies largely as Drew and the transition of his viewpoint was interesting and managed to have a lot of humour, too, although I think I can say with absolute certainty that if I, a cis woman, suddenly woke up with a penis it would take considerably longer than a few months to reconcile myself to this turn of events.
I did have some questions about the whole concept of Changers, which the book didn’t really answer (although maybe these questions will be answered in future books?) Changers seem to be really up on procreation and very heterosexual as a group, so I was wondering how homosexuality was viewed in this paradigm? If it turns out that they’re like No Gays Allowed, then I’ll not only be very upset, but also kind of confused as it doesn’t seem to fit with the whole Changers ethos. Also, I didn’t really understand why they would put a load of Changer teenagers in a room together (at the mixer) but also tell them that they’re not allowed to have romantic attachments with each other. Are they just trying to torture the poor kids, or something??
All in all though, this was a really good read and I’ll definitely be carrying on with the series.
First, I thought that because this is a body-swap novel, it would be borrowing heavily on an already well-populated (at least, in the movies) trope. Body-swap movies are okay, but even the ones with a slightly-funny script (e.g. the one with Zac Efron, can’t remember what it’s called) tend to look a bit tired. This book, however, works on the basis that Ethan/Drew isn’t the only body-swapper, but one of a whole breed of body-swappers and that they’re all part of a big, secret society. It lifted the story into something a bit new and interesting.
Second, I thought that because Changers is the story of a boy who wakes up as a girl, it would be chock-full of boob gags, like some 300-page Inbetweeners episode. While I think The Inbetweeners is comedy gold, I didn’t know how well that brand of humour would work in a YA novel. Apparently, I was doing both the author and fourteen-year-old boys in general a great disservice, though. Obviously, Ethan does have an ‘Oh my god, I’ve got BOOBS!’ moment, but the author doesn’t over-egg the story with fourteen-year-old-boy-in-hot-girl’s-body jokes.
So the story revolves around Ethan, a fourteen year old boy who wakes up on the first day of high school to find he’s been transformed into a girl, Drew. Not only this, but his parents spring on him that he’s part of a secret breed of humans who transition their bodies every year for four years as adolescents in order to grow spiritually and hopefully save humankind and the world.
Drew obviously has some serious adjusting to do, not just in terms of finding out she is really part of a separate breed of humans, but also in the boy-to-girl transition. While this isn’t strictly a transgender novel (certainly not in the style of Lisa Williamson’s excellent The Art of Being Normal, anyway), it does definitely pick up on some transgender issues. Up until his first day of high school, Ethan was a boy - he had a male body and identified as male, too. Suddenly, he’s in a girl’s (Drew’s) body, but he still identifies as Ethan. He misses being in a boy’s body and now suddenly has to deal with a girl’s body. Gradually this changes until he identifies largely as Drew and the transition of his viewpoint was interesting and managed to have a lot of humour, too, although I think I can say with absolute certainty that if I, a cis woman, suddenly woke up with a penis it would take considerably longer than a few months to reconcile myself to this turn of events.
I did have some questions about the whole concept of Changers, which the book didn’t really answer (although maybe these questions will be answered in future books?) Changers seem to be really up on procreation and very heterosexual as a group, so I was wondering how homosexuality was viewed in this paradigm? If it turns out that they’re like No Gays Allowed, then I’ll not only be very upset, but also kind of confused as it doesn’t seem to fit with the whole Changers ethos. Also, I didn’t really understand why they would put a load of Changer teenagers in a room together (at the mixer) but also tell them that they’re not allowed to have romantic attachments with each other. Are they just trying to torture the poor kids, or something??
All in all though, this was a really good read and I’ll definitely be carrying on with the series.
January 8, 2016
(I received a copy from Netgalley, In exchange for an honest review.)
I can't say I loved Ethan, but he was an okay character. I could understand why he was so freaked out when he woke up as a different gender.
This started out okay, but after a while I lost interest. The pacing was a bit too slow for me, so it dragged slightly, and there were parts where I just felt bored.
Overall, An okay read, but the pace was a bit slow.
I can't say I loved Ethan, but he was an okay character. I could understand why he was so freaked out when he woke up as a different gender.
This started out okay, but after a while I lost interest. The pacing was a bit too slow for me, so it dragged slightly, and there were parts where I just felt bored.
Overall, An okay read, but the pace was a bit slow.
July 14, 2016
Ethan has had a lot of changes in his life recently. Relocating to a new state, preparing to start high school and leaving everyone he knows behind. He never expected to wake up the first day of freshman year in a new body! With a new face, name and gender, Ethan (now Drew) has to acclimate to being a teenage girl and all which that entails. All the while knowing at the end of the year he will change again and have no idea who he will wake up as.
Changers in theory is the ultimate book on acceptance. Drew - the first book in the Changers series - endeavours to challenge our preconceived notions of gender identity and sexuality.
In theory I loved this book. The idea of promoting understanding between the sexes by having one character living as both. For that character to still have a core sense of who they are as a person regardless of gender is kind of cool. There is this sense of loving self and others regardless of the packaging they come in. That the self "transcends" gender.
However I didn't love Changers: Drew as much in execution as I wanted to. I felt that the characters fell back on gender stereotypes. Especially with regards Ethan and Drew. This amongst other things made Ethan/Drew feel like completely separate entities rather than one soul, different bodies.
I was confused by just how little support Drew was given. Waking up as somebody else and having no idea what was going on seems like it would be a little traumatic. Sending her off to school without even having a day to acclimate to having a new face, name and sex organs seems like it would be impossible to deal with. The Changers governing body felt a little cult like and more of a way to facilitate Drew's meeting Chase than anything else. There was quite a lot of information given and at the same time not enough regarding the secret organisation and Drew's situation. There were times when it felt like it was a bit of an information overload with all that we were learning. But it was more like an info-dump than a steady flow of learning.
And I had slight issues with Drew's parents. Her father - a Changer who himself went through what Drew is dealing with when he was a teen - lacked compassion and was shown to be treating Drew differently as a girl than he had treated Ethan. For a book which tries to show that the self transcends gender, I felt this was wrong. I felt like of all the people in Drew's life, her dad who knew his child as both and he himself has been male and female should have been the one character in this book to see the person underneath. But if this book has taught me anything it is that dads love their daughters like princesses and need sons to talk about baseball with. And mums all love to give daughters fashion advice...
Would I read the next book in the series? Yes. I'm curious to see what happens when Drew changes into her next version of self. There are a lot of unanswered questions I have about certain things in the book and the organisation of Changers which I hope to get answers to in future books in the series. And I'm eagerly awaiting to see if Drew's new version has to interact with friends she made as Drew and how things go from there.
Should you read Changers:Drew? Look, I think it's an interesting book with a great concept. But I think that the ideas this book wanted to challenge were somewhat contradicted by the way the story was written. Full of gender stereotypes, information overload and plot holes, this book could be a slight challenge to read at times. But I do believe this series will develop into something quite special. And plus - there's an author endorsement by John Green on the cover ("Fantastic and Poignant") so that's something.
Many thanks to Hachette Australia for the review copy.
Changers in theory is the ultimate book on acceptance. Drew - the first book in the Changers series - endeavours to challenge our preconceived notions of gender identity and sexuality.
In theory I loved this book. The idea of promoting understanding between the sexes by having one character living as both. For that character to still have a core sense of who they are as a person regardless of gender is kind of cool. There is this sense of loving self and others regardless of the packaging they come in. That the self "transcends" gender.
However I didn't love Changers: Drew as much in execution as I wanted to. I felt that the characters fell back on gender stereotypes. Especially with regards Ethan and Drew. This amongst other things made Ethan/Drew feel like completely separate entities rather than one soul, different bodies.
I was confused by just how little support Drew was given. Waking up as somebody else and having no idea what was going on seems like it would be a little traumatic. Sending her off to school without even having a day to acclimate to having a new face, name and sex organs seems like it would be impossible to deal with. The Changers governing body felt a little cult like and more of a way to facilitate Drew's meeting Chase than anything else. There was quite a lot of information given and at the same time not enough regarding the secret organisation and Drew's situation. There were times when it felt like it was a bit of an information overload with all that we were learning. But it was more like an info-dump than a steady flow of learning.
And I had slight issues with Drew's parents. Her father - a Changer who himself went through what Drew is dealing with when he was a teen - lacked compassion and was shown to be treating Drew differently as a girl than he had treated Ethan. For a book which tries to show that the self transcends gender, I felt this was wrong. I felt like of all the people in Drew's life, her dad who knew his child as both and he himself has been male and female should have been the one character in this book to see the person underneath. But if this book has taught me anything it is that dads love their daughters like princesses and need sons to talk about baseball with. And mums all love to give daughters fashion advice...
Would I read the next book in the series? Yes. I'm curious to see what happens when Drew changes into her next version of self. There are a lot of unanswered questions I have about certain things in the book and the organisation of Changers which I hope to get answers to in future books in the series. And I'm eagerly awaiting to see if Drew's new version has to interact with friends she made as Drew and how things go from there.
Should you read Changers:Drew? Look, I think it's an interesting book with a great concept. But I think that the ideas this book wanted to challenge were somewhat contradicted by the way the story was written. Full of gender stereotypes, information overload and plot holes, this book could be a slight challenge to read at times. But I do believe this series will develop into something quite special. And plus - there's an author endorsement by John Green on the cover ("Fantastic and Poignant") so that's something.
Many thanks to Hachette Australia for the review copy.
November 10, 2014
This is a book about choosing the person with whom you want to be "Mono" - no, not a romantic partner, but your own identity. This poor kid wakes up for the first day of high school and finds out that he is now a girl, and furthermore that he can expect to spend his four years of high school in four apparently randomly generated bodies and identities, after which he has to pick one of the four to stick with for the rest of his life. This is a totally normal thing to have happen during high school. Why are there not more books about this? Especially so well written and funny? On my personal reading list, the theme of a mission to reproduce one's own kind was recently encountered in The Righteous, and the theme of shapeshifting was recently encountered in The Weirdness. Later, I came across Remake which is similarly about teenagers getting to select their physical sex and gender role, yet takes a different perspective. A full review of Changers: Book One: Drew was posted to Disruptive Dissertation, a review that Calamus Books shared on FB (although it was posted to another site at the time). Thanks to Calamus for ordering the copy of the book for me!
Read
January 11, 2016Regrettably, DNF. I just can't get into it.
December 11, 2016
I've enjoyed this book as you follow the character Ethan through his very exciting life. I did not really enjoy this book at the start but it certainly grew on me, you just need to give it a chance.
August 18, 2018
I was drawn to this book after reading the blurb, as recently I watched the movie Every Day which was about a guy who woke up every day in a different body. In this book, we learn that Ethan comes from a line of Changers on his Dad's side and that is mum is a Static. On the first day of high school - is the time that parents discover whether their child will be a Changer or a Static. If they are a changer, it means that every year they will wake up as a different person for the four years of high school. This makes it hard for them as they can't make long-lasting friends or connections with their pasts for four years of their life. After the four changes, they will get to decide which of their 'changers" they will want to be for the rest of their lives. Ethan can't believe this is happening to him, especially when his first change makes him into a girl named "Drew." Now Ethan must navigate his first year of high school as a girl named Drew, what happens though when Drew starts to fall for Chase - another Changer who prior was a girl ? Especially when relationships between two Changers are strictly forbidden? Also, Ethan's best friend Andy keeps emailing him, can Ethan cut off contact for good? This was quite a good read, and now I am looking forward to reading Book #2 in this series and seeing who Ethan/Drew will become?
February 3, 2016
It’s 3am and I’ve literally just put down Changers. I just had to get my thoughts down right this minute before I explode and wake my husband up to tell him about this book. He’s not a reader and he will not be impressed believe me.
OK, so as most of you are aware I’m one of those readers who DESPISE cliff hangers. I’m also one of those readers who is far from the patient type and who really does get a gob on because we have to wait for the next instalment. And, I’m now one of those readers who want to punch Allison Glock-Cooper and T. Cooper in the face. Yes, I said it…
So, erm… Yeah, sorry about that. 3am and book hangovers and cliff hanger rage and all that. You know how it is. Anyway, you’re probably wondering why I want to punch them, right? Well, to keep it short and simple it’s because they’ve given me a book of power, a book of love, a book of random cliques, meetings and changers. They’ve given me something so new, so fresh, so exciting so fascinating and utterly brilliant. AND then after all that wonderfulness and the the way in which I’ve been coaxed along full of emotion and admiration they hit me with a (NOT) THE END! And that is why I want to punch them in the face. I didn’t know it was a series now did I?
(NOT) THE END) How can you do that to people? How can you give something so bewildering, something so deep and light. A book that confuses the hell out of you, with its meticulous writing and quirky, sarcastic, and funny characters. A book that takes you out of your world and give you a secret that nobody else knows. It puts you inside them pages with Ethan Miller, and you take this unexpected, unfamiliar and totally endearing journey together. Do not give me all that then take it away and make me wait. That is like ripping off the stupid plaster tape that is put on your arm after blood tests that stick so hard to your skin that when you rip it off you basically rip off your skin, and we all know how horrendous that feels.
Oh, I know, I’m such a brat. I want, I want, blah blah.
Anyway, now I’ve calmed down and feel a bit better about the whole (NOT) THE END saga! I’ll leave the lovely faces of the authors alone and instead tell them that this is a wonderful, empathic, inspiring, extremely clever book, and one I am going to rave about for a very long time.
Bring on book two. Oryon, I’m ready for you.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5/5
P.S.. Yeah, sorry for not writing a review and just ranting my feelings. I get like that when I’m excited about things. Oops!
P.P.S.. Allison Glock-Cooper, and T. Cooper. Please don’t be afraid, I can assure you I will not hurt you. I can also assure you that if I ever did try and punch you in the face, you’d laugh at my feeble attempt. Your book is awesome by the way :)
P.P.P.S.. I really need to go to sleep.
OK, so as most of you are aware I’m one of those readers who DESPISE cliff hangers. I’m also one of those readers who is far from the patient type and who really does get a gob on because we have to wait for the next instalment. And, I’m now one of those readers who want to punch Allison Glock-Cooper and T. Cooper in the face. Yes, I said it…
So, erm… Yeah, sorry about that. 3am and book hangovers and cliff hanger rage and all that. You know how it is. Anyway, you’re probably wondering why I want to punch them, right? Well, to keep it short and simple it’s because they’ve given me a book of power, a book of love, a book of random cliques, meetings and changers. They’ve given me something so new, so fresh, so exciting so fascinating and utterly brilliant. AND then after all that wonderfulness and the the way in which I’ve been coaxed along full of emotion and admiration they hit me with a (NOT) THE END! And that is why I want to punch them in the face. I didn’t know it was a series now did I?
(NOT) THE END) How can you do that to people? How can you give something so bewildering, something so deep and light. A book that confuses the hell out of you, with its meticulous writing and quirky, sarcastic, and funny characters. A book that takes you out of your world and give you a secret that nobody else knows. It puts you inside them pages with Ethan Miller, and you take this unexpected, unfamiliar and totally endearing journey together. Do not give me all that then take it away and make me wait. That is like ripping off the stupid plaster tape that is put on your arm after blood tests that stick so hard to your skin that when you rip it off you basically rip off your skin, and we all know how horrendous that feels.
Oh, I know, I’m such a brat. I want, I want, blah blah.
Anyway, now I’ve calmed down and feel a bit better about the whole (NOT) THE END saga! I’ll leave the lovely faces of the authors alone and instead tell them that this is a wonderful, empathic, inspiring, extremely clever book, and one I am going to rave about for a very long time.
Bring on book two. Oryon, I’m ready for you.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5/5
P.S.. Yeah, sorry for not writing a review and just ranting my feelings. I get like that when I’m excited about things. Oops!
P.P.S.. Allison Glock-Cooper, and T. Cooper. Please don’t be afraid, I can assure you I will not hurt you. I can also assure you that if I ever did try and punch you in the face, you’d laugh at my feeble attempt. Your book is awesome by the way :)
P.P.P.S.. I really need to go to sleep.
January 24, 2016
When I first saw this book on NetGalley the synopsis alone drew me in, with its unusual description I had to find out what this was all about. But as soon as I began reading I will admit to having a moment where I was wondering what I had left myself in for, but the more I read the more that moment went away and I enjoyed what I was reading. Getting to experience this change at the exact same time as Drew somehow made you experience her feelings and thoughts, which looking back on it now really worked.
Drew was someone who took me a while to like, but based on the circumstances of her arrival, it did take Drew a while to like herself too, I loved the feelings of confusion and anger and loss and how they were portrayed within the pages of the book, I would probably have reacted in a similar way if I had gone asleep a female and woken up a male.
Drew makes you think about a lot of things when reading it. How your perception can change the minute you wake up the opposite sex. Seeing how Drew saw the world as 'Ethan' before, and how it's perceived as 'Drew', the looks, the stares, even down to the way she initially dressed. However, activities that Ethan used to do no longer appeal to Drew, and while I did like seeing some of these new activities, some made me sad to see them lost. I'm a lefty, and seeing Drew give up on skateboarding just because of a fall (switching genders also brings with it the possibility of switching dominant hands) made me question why it was abandoned so fast, why not get back on that board and try again, I'm pretty sure the first attempt to skateboard by Ethan wasn't met with a perfect ride. I was glad to see Drew branch out and try out for cheerleaders, although given the description we have Drew, she seems like the perfect fit, and that she fell into it too easily.
I liked the friendships and dynamics between the characters in the book, although I do think Audrey was just a tad too needy for my liking. I enjoyed taking this journey with Drew, not only learning about herself, but also about the Changers society and those opposed to it. Once she got over the shock, Drew made an effort to carry on with this life, although I do think it was slightly mean of her parents to not even drop a little hint about what may happen.
Overall Drew was an interesting read, and I'm eager to see the other forms that are to come, and which one remains after it all.
Drew was someone who took me a while to like, but based on the circumstances of her arrival, it did take Drew a while to like herself too, I loved the feelings of confusion and anger and loss and how they were portrayed within the pages of the book, I would probably have reacted in a similar way if I had gone asleep a female and woken up a male.
Drew makes you think about a lot of things when reading it. How your perception can change the minute you wake up the opposite sex. Seeing how Drew saw the world as 'Ethan' before, and how it's perceived as 'Drew', the looks, the stares, even down to the way she initially dressed. However, activities that Ethan used to do no longer appeal to Drew, and while I did like seeing some of these new activities, some made me sad to see them lost. I'm a lefty, and seeing Drew give up on skateboarding just because of a fall (switching genders also brings with it the possibility of switching dominant hands) made me question why it was abandoned so fast, why not get back on that board and try again, I'm pretty sure the first attempt to skateboard by Ethan wasn't met with a perfect ride. I was glad to see Drew branch out and try out for cheerleaders, although given the description we have Drew, she seems like the perfect fit, and that she fell into it too easily.
I liked the friendships and dynamics between the characters in the book, although I do think Audrey was just a tad too needy for my liking. I enjoyed taking this journey with Drew, not only learning about herself, but also about the Changers society and those opposed to it. Once she got over the shock, Drew made an effort to carry on with this life, although I do think it was slightly mean of her parents to not even drop a little hint about what may happen.
Overall Drew was an interesting read, and I'm eager to see the other forms that are to come, and which one remains after it all.
April 13, 2020
I really enjoyed this and it wasn't what I was expecting at all! As a girl, I loved Ethan's thoughts on various things once he became Drew, especially the part when s/he got his/her period!!
March 30, 2015
// Worum es geht //
Der 14jährige Ethan wacht am Morgen seines ersten High School Jahres auf und ist plötzlich ein Mädchen. Sein ganzes Leben ist auf den Kopf gestellt.
Ethan ist jetzt Drew und erfährt, dass sie ein Changer ist.
Während ihrer High School Zeit muss sie vier solche Veränderungen durchleben. Sie wird vier Mal ihre Identität wechseln und sich am Ende für eine dieser Personen entscheiden.
Die Regeln der Changers sind streng. Man darf sich niemandem anvertrauen. Man darf seine Macht, die einem gegeben wurde, niemals missbrauchen. Und am Wichtigsten: verliebe dich niemals in einen anderen Changer.
// Was ich davon halte //
Der Start ins Buch ist mir unglaublich leicht gefallen. Der Prolog führt ein wenig in die Gedankengänge von Ethan ein, der zunächst noch er selbst ist. Der Schreibstil ist sehr leicht und locker und das gesamte Buch lässt sich wirklich schnell lesen, ohne dass man etwas verpasst.
Für mich als Leser war es zunächst sehr schwierig Ethan als Mädchen, also als Drew zu sehen. Erst im Laufe der Geschichte habe ich mich immer mehr an das Mädchen gewöhnt und irgendwann habe ich Drew auch nur noch als "sie" angesehen. Also wenn ich hier in meiner Rezension von "sie" spreche, dann meine ich eigentlich immer Ethan/Drew.
Schon von Beginn an bin ich großer Fan von Ethan bzw. Drew. Die Gedankengänge und Überlegungen über das Leben als Mädchen gefallen mir richtig gut.
Ich habe mir selber über so vieles noch nie Gedanken gemacht, weil ich es als selbstverständlich erachte. Es jetzt aus der Sicht eines Jungen zu lesen, der im Körper eines Mädchens steckt, ist wirklich total interessant.
Allerdings hat er mir am Anfang schon sehr Leid getan. Es ist echt schrecklich, wenn einem klar wird, dass man niemals mehr die Person sein wird, die man 14 Jahre lang war. Denn die Changers können sich am Ende der vier Jahre nur für eine der vier Versionen entscheiden, in die sie sich verwandelt haben. Nicht aber zurück in die Person, die sie die ersten 14 Jahre ihres Lebens waren.
Ich denke gerade für 14jährige Jugendliche ist so etwas schon hart. Man steckt mitten in der Selbstfindung und schwups plötzlich ist man ein Mädchen. Eine sehr heftige Erfahrung, mit der man erst einmal umgehen muss.
Zu Beginn ist Ethan/Drew natürlich noch sehr verwirrt und hat mir unglaublich vielen Problemen zu kämpfen. Trotzdem habe ich das Gefühl, dass sie ganz gut mit der gesamten Situation umgeht und sich sehr schnell an ihre Situation gewöhnt und sich anpassen kann.
Was mir bei ihr allerdings etwas gefehlt hat, ist die Neugierde. Sie hat sehr wenig Fragen über die Changers Gesellschaft gestellt, obwohl sie diese Gesellschaft erst mit ihrer eigenen ersten Veränderung kennen gelernt hat. Ich wäre vor Fragen nur so geplatzt und hätte unglaublich viel in Erfahrung bringen wollen. Drew hingegen gibt sich mit den kleinen Häppchen zufrieden, die ihr zugeworfen werden, was mich als Leser etwas enttäuscht hat.
Die Rolle des Mädchens verkörpert Drew sehr schnell und sehr gut. Im Laufe des Buches wird immer deutlicher, dass sie sich in ihrem Körper wohler fühlt und sich auch mit der Veränderung sehr gut abgefunden hat. Am Anfang hatte ich sehr große Bedenken, dass es möglicherweise schwieriger werden würde.
Von allen Changers wird verlangt, ihre vier Veränderungen mit Hilfe einer Chronik festzuhalten. Das heißt, sie müssen gedanklich festhalten, wie ihre Tage als eine der Versionen von ihnen verlaufen sind. Also ihre Gedanken, Erlebnisse, einfach alles. Diese Gedanken werden in ihrer Chronik aufgenommen und mit Hilfe dieser Aufzeichnungen sollen sie am Ende ihrer vierten Veränderung herausfinden, für welche Person sie sich letztlich entscheiden.
Und genau so ist dieses Buch geschrieben. Wir lesen sozusagen die Aufzeichnungen von Drew, welche sie für die Chronik macht.
Das heißt, der Fokus liegt eindeutig auf ihr. Wir erfahren alles aus ihrer Sicht und nur ihre Erlebnisse und Gedanken informieren uns. Daher hätte ich mir mehr Gespräche mit ihren Eltern gewünscht, um den Lesern mehr Informationen über die Gesellschaft der Changers geben zu können.
Gleichzeitig bleiben auch die übrigen Charaktere recht blass. Während Drews Eltern kaum eine Rolle spielen bekommt man nur einen kleinen Einblick in das Leben von ihrer Freundin Audrey. Sie ist ein freundliches junges Mädchen das Drew vor allem in ihrer Anfangszeit sehr zur Seite steht.
Audrey ist es auch, die widersprüchliche Gefühle in Drew weckt, schließlich ist sie im Inneren noch zum Teil ein Junge. Das erwartete Gefühlschaos bleibt aber zunächst aus.
Während eines Changers Treffen, welche regelmäßig stattfinden, lernt Drew Chase kennen, der ihr schnell ans Herz wächst und ein guter Freund wird. Doch auch er lässt ihre Gefühle aufwallen und plötzlich weiß sie nicht mehr, ob sie dem Rat der Changers und ihren Regeln standhalten kann.
Eigentlich wäre diese Ausgangssituation eine perfekte Vorlage für ein wunderbares Teenager Gefühlswirrwarr. Allerdings wird dieses nur sehr kurz zum Thema. Die Auflösung dieser Situationen kann ich natürlich hier nicht nennen, aber für den ersten Teil war es mir eindeutig zu wenig. Es hätte zwischen den Jugendlichen mehr passieren können. Ein bisschen mehr Drama hätte dem Buch aufjedenfall nicht geschadet.
Im allgemeinen blieb das Buch eher vage und oberflächlich. Unfassbar viele Fragen wurden nicht beantwortet und der Informationsfluss über die Gesellschaft der Changers war mir persönlich zu wenig.
Die Idee dahinter bietet so unglaublich viele Möglichkeiten und doch kratzen die Autoren nur an der Oberfläche, so als würden sie sich nicht ganz trauen ihre Idee weiter auszubauen. Es gibt zwar Stellen, die zum Nachdenken anregen, aber diese waren mir einfach zu wenig.
Trotzdem habe ich Changers gerne gelesen und hatte Spaß daran, denn der Humor darin hat genau meinen Geschmack getroffen. Ich hoffe sehr darauf, dass die nächsten Teile der Reihe etwas mehr Fragen beantworten und auch etwas Reifer werden. Wobei ich mir sehr gut vorstellen kann, dass dies der Fall sein wird. Schließlich wächst Drew in diesen Folgebänden heran und wird sicherlich auch reifer und lernt sehr viel dazu.
// Fazit //
Changers - Drew ist ein Buch, welches sich locker und leicht lesen lässt. Es gibt einiges zu lachen, viel zu schmunzeln aber der große Knall bleibt aus. Es ist nur begrenzt spannend und wirft mehr Fragen auf, als es Antworten zu bieten hat. Trotzdem werde ich mir die Folgebände ansehen, um möglicherweise von ihnen die Antworten auf all meine Fragen zu bekommen. Gleichzeitig bin ich natürlich auch gespannt darauf, wer Drew als nächstes sein wird und vor allem wie es mit ihr und Audrey sowie mit ihr und Chase weiter gehen wird. 3 / 5 Sterne für diesen interessanten Auftakt, der Lust auf mehr macht.
Der 14jährige Ethan wacht am Morgen seines ersten High School Jahres auf und ist plötzlich ein Mädchen. Sein ganzes Leben ist auf den Kopf gestellt.
Ethan ist jetzt Drew und erfährt, dass sie ein Changer ist.
Während ihrer High School Zeit muss sie vier solche Veränderungen durchleben. Sie wird vier Mal ihre Identität wechseln und sich am Ende für eine dieser Personen entscheiden.
Die Regeln der Changers sind streng. Man darf sich niemandem anvertrauen. Man darf seine Macht, die einem gegeben wurde, niemals missbrauchen. Und am Wichtigsten: verliebe dich niemals in einen anderen Changer.
// Was ich davon halte //
Der Start ins Buch ist mir unglaublich leicht gefallen. Der Prolog führt ein wenig in die Gedankengänge von Ethan ein, der zunächst noch er selbst ist. Der Schreibstil ist sehr leicht und locker und das gesamte Buch lässt sich wirklich schnell lesen, ohne dass man etwas verpasst.
Für mich als Leser war es zunächst sehr schwierig Ethan als Mädchen, also als Drew zu sehen. Erst im Laufe der Geschichte habe ich mich immer mehr an das Mädchen gewöhnt und irgendwann habe ich Drew auch nur noch als "sie" angesehen. Also wenn ich hier in meiner Rezension von "sie" spreche, dann meine ich eigentlich immer Ethan/Drew.
Schon von Beginn an bin ich großer Fan von Ethan bzw. Drew. Die Gedankengänge und Überlegungen über das Leben als Mädchen gefallen mir richtig gut.
Ich habe mir selber über so vieles noch nie Gedanken gemacht, weil ich es als selbstverständlich erachte. Es jetzt aus der Sicht eines Jungen zu lesen, der im Körper eines Mädchens steckt, ist wirklich total interessant.
Allerdings hat er mir am Anfang schon sehr Leid getan. Es ist echt schrecklich, wenn einem klar wird, dass man niemals mehr die Person sein wird, die man 14 Jahre lang war. Denn die Changers können sich am Ende der vier Jahre nur für eine der vier Versionen entscheiden, in die sie sich verwandelt haben. Nicht aber zurück in die Person, die sie die ersten 14 Jahre ihres Lebens waren.
Ich denke gerade für 14jährige Jugendliche ist so etwas schon hart. Man steckt mitten in der Selbstfindung und schwups plötzlich ist man ein Mädchen. Eine sehr heftige Erfahrung, mit der man erst einmal umgehen muss.
Zu Beginn ist Ethan/Drew natürlich noch sehr verwirrt und hat mir unglaublich vielen Problemen zu kämpfen. Trotzdem habe ich das Gefühl, dass sie ganz gut mit der gesamten Situation umgeht und sich sehr schnell an ihre Situation gewöhnt und sich anpassen kann.
Was mir bei ihr allerdings etwas gefehlt hat, ist die Neugierde. Sie hat sehr wenig Fragen über die Changers Gesellschaft gestellt, obwohl sie diese Gesellschaft erst mit ihrer eigenen ersten Veränderung kennen gelernt hat. Ich wäre vor Fragen nur so geplatzt und hätte unglaublich viel in Erfahrung bringen wollen. Drew hingegen gibt sich mit den kleinen Häppchen zufrieden, die ihr zugeworfen werden, was mich als Leser etwas enttäuscht hat.
Die Rolle des Mädchens verkörpert Drew sehr schnell und sehr gut. Im Laufe des Buches wird immer deutlicher, dass sie sich in ihrem Körper wohler fühlt und sich auch mit der Veränderung sehr gut abgefunden hat. Am Anfang hatte ich sehr große Bedenken, dass es möglicherweise schwieriger werden würde.
Von allen Changers wird verlangt, ihre vier Veränderungen mit Hilfe einer Chronik festzuhalten. Das heißt, sie müssen gedanklich festhalten, wie ihre Tage als eine der Versionen von ihnen verlaufen sind. Also ihre Gedanken, Erlebnisse, einfach alles. Diese Gedanken werden in ihrer Chronik aufgenommen und mit Hilfe dieser Aufzeichnungen sollen sie am Ende ihrer vierten Veränderung herausfinden, für welche Person sie sich letztlich entscheiden.
Und genau so ist dieses Buch geschrieben. Wir lesen sozusagen die Aufzeichnungen von Drew, welche sie für die Chronik macht.
Das heißt, der Fokus liegt eindeutig auf ihr. Wir erfahren alles aus ihrer Sicht und nur ihre Erlebnisse und Gedanken informieren uns. Daher hätte ich mir mehr Gespräche mit ihren Eltern gewünscht, um den Lesern mehr Informationen über die Gesellschaft der Changers geben zu können.
Gleichzeitig bleiben auch die übrigen Charaktere recht blass. Während Drews Eltern kaum eine Rolle spielen bekommt man nur einen kleinen Einblick in das Leben von ihrer Freundin Audrey. Sie ist ein freundliches junges Mädchen das Drew vor allem in ihrer Anfangszeit sehr zur Seite steht.
Audrey ist es auch, die widersprüchliche Gefühle in Drew weckt, schließlich ist sie im Inneren noch zum Teil ein Junge. Das erwartete Gefühlschaos bleibt aber zunächst aus.
Während eines Changers Treffen, welche regelmäßig stattfinden, lernt Drew Chase kennen, der ihr schnell ans Herz wächst und ein guter Freund wird. Doch auch er lässt ihre Gefühle aufwallen und plötzlich weiß sie nicht mehr, ob sie dem Rat der Changers und ihren Regeln standhalten kann.
Eigentlich wäre diese Ausgangssituation eine perfekte Vorlage für ein wunderbares Teenager Gefühlswirrwarr. Allerdings wird dieses nur sehr kurz zum Thema. Die Auflösung dieser Situationen kann ich natürlich hier nicht nennen, aber für den ersten Teil war es mir eindeutig zu wenig. Es hätte zwischen den Jugendlichen mehr passieren können. Ein bisschen mehr Drama hätte dem Buch aufjedenfall nicht geschadet.
Im allgemeinen blieb das Buch eher vage und oberflächlich. Unfassbar viele Fragen wurden nicht beantwortet und der Informationsfluss über die Gesellschaft der Changers war mir persönlich zu wenig.
Die Idee dahinter bietet so unglaublich viele Möglichkeiten und doch kratzen die Autoren nur an der Oberfläche, so als würden sie sich nicht ganz trauen ihre Idee weiter auszubauen. Es gibt zwar Stellen, die zum Nachdenken anregen, aber diese waren mir einfach zu wenig.
Trotzdem habe ich Changers gerne gelesen und hatte Spaß daran, denn der Humor darin hat genau meinen Geschmack getroffen. Ich hoffe sehr darauf, dass die nächsten Teile der Reihe etwas mehr Fragen beantworten und auch etwas Reifer werden. Wobei ich mir sehr gut vorstellen kann, dass dies der Fall sein wird. Schließlich wächst Drew in diesen Folgebänden heran und wird sicherlich auch reifer und lernt sehr viel dazu.
// Fazit //
Changers - Drew ist ein Buch, welches sich locker und leicht lesen lässt. Es gibt einiges zu lachen, viel zu schmunzeln aber der große Knall bleibt aus. Es ist nur begrenzt spannend und wirft mehr Fragen auf, als es Antworten zu bieten hat. Trotzdem werde ich mir die Folgebände ansehen, um möglicherweise von ihnen die Antworten auf all meine Fragen zu bekommen. Gleichzeitig bin ich natürlich auch gespannt darauf, wer Drew als nächstes sein wird und vor allem wie es mit ihr und Audrey sowie mit ihr und Chase weiter gehen wird. 3 / 5 Sterne für diesen interessanten Auftakt, der Lust auf mehr macht.
December 17, 2023
-ˏˋ⋆ Changers Book 1: Drew ⋆ˊˎ-
13/12/2023
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Themes:
●Identity
●Gender expression
Tropes:
●First year of highschool
●Friends-to-romance
●coming of age
Review:
This was SO CUTE!! This book begins with Ethan, a teenage boy ready to start his first year of his new high school. He likes skateboarding, sports and wants a girlfriend. That is... Until he wakes up on his first day, looks into a mirror...
and sees a pretty girl looking back at him, wearing his T-shirt.
Ethan, now Drew, is a changer, a special race of human being that spends each year of high school as a different person.
Drew needs to navigate the complicate world of teenage-girl-hood, while experiencing a whole range of new emotions, rules and more.
This book gives a whole new meaning to self-discovery, and I can't wait to see who Ethan/Drew will turn into next.
TW: SA, sexism, bullying.
13/12/2023
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Themes:
●Identity
●Gender expression
Tropes:
●First year of highschool
●Friends-to-romance
●coming of age
Review:
This was SO CUTE!! This book begins with Ethan, a teenage boy ready to start his first year of his new high school. He likes skateboarding, sports and wants a girlfriend. That is... Until he wakes up on his first day, looks into a mirror...
and sees a pretty girl looking back at him, wearing his T-shirt.
Ethan, now Drew, is a changer, a special race of human being that spends each year of high school as a different person.
Drew needs to navigate the complicate world of teenage-girl-hood, while experiencing a whole range of new emotions, rules and more.
This book gives a whole new meaning to self-discovery, and I can't wait to see who Ethan/Drew will turn into next.
TW: SA, sexism, bullying.
August 8, 2018
Gewiss für Menschen jüngerer Jahrgänge als meinen gedacht, aber trotzdem erstaunlich wenig peinlich, stellenweise witzig. Die Grundidee gefällt mir, auch wenn insgesamt alles etwas vorhersehbar ist. Eine nette kleine Unterhaltung für zwischendurch.
3,5 Sterne
3,5 Sterne
June 19, 2016
Actual rating: 1.5 stars 1 star.
There were so many things wrong with Changers, when there could have been so much right.
I didn't give it a square 1 star, because I read it quite quickly and straight through in almost one sitting - that speaks for something, right? On second thoughts, upon completing this review, I reduced my rating to 1 star.
I feel like the authors had a prime opportunity to quash gender stereotypes, and instead they went along with them. I anticipated some monumental statements, breaking gender/sexuality norms, but found none. This was a boy, a self-identifying, straight male, waking up in the body of a female. What stopped him from remaining true to his male self? Continuing to identify as male, inside a female body? Perhaps embracing his new female body, but choosing to identify as bi, or queer, or lesbian? These are pretty big questions for a young person in his situation, so I'll cut him some slack for not properly addressing any of them. Who I won't cut slack for are his parents! Nor the idea that this was supposed to be a science-fiction-type YA.
On the day he wakes up outside his usual body, his parents are particularly blase. They send him/her to school within the hour of their discovery, no doubt while the narrator is suffering from shock. Also, as it turns out, there's a whole cult-like commune "handling" the surprisingly common type of people, and our narrator is forced to attend this with their parents, where laid upon them are a series of incomprehensible and tough new life-rules. The way the cult was written was fairly whirl-wind. What really gnawed at me was the idea that these 'Changers' have been living among humankind as an ancient race, while their body change-overs are literally timed with the modern highschool term. It takes away from the mysticism of it, just a tad, and adds a whole lot of corny.
I don't think the authors are sci-fi writers - maybe sci-fi enthusiasts, who wanted some sort of explanation for the gender/person swap?
I don't know. I think they had something in mind, something that was probably going to work, and it slowly got lost through collaboration and editing. I like to think that they didn't set out to create Changers for what it is. Shrouded by misgiving and poor execution, I'm sure there lies within some good intentions. No matter, they're difficult to forgive, and I shall finish my review with quotes from the text that will explain why:
"The old me would have shot a joke right back, but then again, the old me wouldn't have been wearing a jog bra."
"I reach out to shake [hands], but realise I don't know how to as a girl."
"...stepping toward the car door, which I have to stop myself from opening for her."
I don't even need to commentate on those quotes. You don't need to be liberal-minded to see how stupid they are.
...On second thoughts, I reduce my rating to 1 star.
There were so many things wrong with Changers, when there could have been so much right.
I didn't give it a square 1 star, because I read it quite quickly and straight through in almost one sitting -
I feel like the authors had a prime opportunity to quash gender stereotypes, and instead they went along with them. I anticipated some monumental statements, breaking gender/sexuality norms, but found none. This was a boy, a self-identifying, straight male, waking up in the body of a female. What stopped him from remaining true to his male self? Continuing to identify as male, inside a female body? Perhaps embracing his new female body, but choosing to identify as bi, or queer, or lesbian? These are pretty big questions for a young person in his situation, so I'll cut him some slack for not properly addressing any of them. Who I won't cut slack for are his parents! Nor the idea that this was supposed to be a science-fiction-type YA.
On the day he wakes up outside his usual body, his parents are particularly blase. They send him/her to school within the hour of their discovery, no doubt while the narrator is suffering from shock. Also, as it turns out, there's a whole cult-like commune "handling" the surprisingly common type of people, and our narrator is forced to attend this with their parents, where laid upon them are a series of incomprehensible and tough new life-rules. The way the cult was written was fairly whirl-wind. What really gnawed at me was the idea that these 'Changers' have been living among humankind as an ancient race, while their body change-overs are literally timed with the modern highschool term. It takes away from the mysticism of it, just a tad, and adds a whole lot of corny.
I don't think the authors are sci-fi writers - maybe sci-fi enthusiasts, who wanted some sort of explanation for the gender/person swap?
I don't know. I think they had something in mind, something that was probably going to work, and it slowly got lost through collaboration and editing. I like to think that they didn't set out to create Changers for what it is. Shrouded by misgiving and poor execution, I'm sure there lies within some good intentions. No matter, they're difficult to forgive, and I shall finish my review with quotes from the text that will explain why:
"The old me would have shot a joke right back, but then again, the old me wouldn't have been wearing a jog bra."
"I reach out to shake [hands], but realise I don't know how to as a girl."
"...stepping toward the car door, which I have to stop myself from opening for her."
I don't even need to commentate on those quotes. You don't need to be liberal-minded to see how stupid they are.
...On second thoughts, I reduce my rating to 1 star.
September 24, 2017
Imagine just having moved house and you are anticipating your first day at a new school, your first day at high school no less. Feeling stressed yet? Now put yourself in Ethan’s shoes, you wake up and see a petite blonde girl in the mirror, that blonde girl isn’t a stranger, she’s you, you’ve been ‘Chosen’, even down to your name and backstory. And what’s worse your parents make you go to school anyway because this is just what happens to Changers.
When I first read about the concept of this, like others have said, it reminded me of Every Day by David Levithan. In that book the protagonist wakes up in the body of a new person every day. They have no choice over it though, just have to cause the least disruption to the person they displace.
Changers however, grow to the age of 14 in one body, then for the next 4 years they switch once a year to be a different person (different genders, races, etc. but all the same memories and the same family). Finally, at the end of this time they have to pick who they become permanently, but you can’t go back to where you started. What a perfect teen theme, identity, choosing who you have to become at still quite an early age, loss of innocence, loss of childhood.
There’s the Changers Council with their bible and branding, your Touchstone ‘fairy godparent’ to see you through the weirdness and the need to Chronicle the process. There’s a great quote in the book that says “It’s an essential human tendency to forget who we were on the way to becoming who we’re going to be.” Not everyone that knows about Changers is 100% positive about the process and I think that will continue to be explored.
I really enjoyed the read (4/5 stars) and it saw me through/contributed to a sleepless night. I definitely empathised with poor Ethan. There were aspects of the concept that I think need a little more clarification, however because this is the first in the series I am assuming some of that will come later (and lead to a re-read to make full sense of it all – but personally that’s what I enjoy about book series).
With gender identity and sexuality being growing issues in YA literature I am sure Changers will have a lot to contribute on the topic.
I received a review copy and this was originally posted on my blog - https://kirstyes.co.uk/2016/01/17/wea...
When I first read about the concept of this, like others have said, it reminded me of Every Day by David Levithan. In that book the protagonist wakes up in the body of a new person every day. They have no choice over it though, just have to cause the least disruption to the person they displace.
Changers however, grow to the age of 14 in one body, then for the next 4 years they switch once a year to be a different person (different genders, races, etc. but all the same memories and the same family). Finally, at the end of this time they have to pick who they become permanently, but you can’t go back to where you started. What a perfect teen theme, identity, choosing who you have to become at still quite an early age, loss of innocence, loss of childhood.
There’s the Changers Council with their bible and branding, your Touchstone ‘fairy godparent’ to see you through the weirdness and the need to Chronicle the process. There’s a great quote in the book that says “It’s an essential human tendency to forget who we were on the way to becoming who we’re going to be.” Not everyone that knows about Changers is 100% positive about the process and I think that will continue to be explored.
I really enjoyed the read (4/5 stars) and it saw me through/contributed to a sleepless night. I definitely empathised with poor Ethan. There were aspects of the concept that I think need a little more clarification, however because this is the first in the series I am assuming some of that will come later (and lead to a re-read to make full sense of it all – but personally that’s what I enjoy about book series).
With gender identity and sexuality being growing issues in YA literature I am sure Changers will have a lot to contribute on the topic.
I received a review copy and this was originally posted on my blog - https://kirstyes.co.uk/2016/01/17/wea...
July 30, 2014
I LOVED THIS. I don't even know what else to say other than READ IT. I was really excited to start this book. Such an interesting concept:
"Drew opens on the eve of Ethan Miller's freshman year of high school in a brand-new town. He's finally sporting a haircut he doesn’t hate, has grown two inches since middle school, and can't wait to try out for the soccer team. At last, everything is looking up in life. Until the next morning. When Ethan awakens as a girl. Ethan is a Changer, a little-known, ancient race of humans who live out each of their four years of high school as a different person. After graduation, Changers choose which version of themselves they will be forever--and no, they cannot go back to who they were before the changes began." This is book one, in which Ethan lives the year as Drew. Each book follows the protagonist through one year of high school - one change.
And what a dedication to kick it off: "For anybody who has looked in the mirror and not recognized the person s/he sees".
We choose who we want to be, and I think this is a very effective way of exploring that thought.
Just over half way through this story and I was officially obsessed with it. I think it should be required reading for school.
I can't wait to meet Orion in Book 2.
"Drew opens on the eve of Ethan Miller's freshman year of high school in a brand-new town. He's finally sporting a haircut he doesn’t hate, has grown two inches since middle school, and can't wait to try out for the soccer team. At last, everything is looking up in life. Until the next morning. When Ethan awakens as a girl. Ethan is a Changer, a little-known, ancient race of humans who live out each of their four years of high school as a different person. After graduation, Changers choose which version of themselves they will be forever--and no, they cannot go back to who they were before the changes began." This is book one, in which Ethan lives the year as Drew. Each book follows the protagonist through one year of high school - one change.
And what a dedication to kick it off: "For anybody who has looked in the mirror and not recognized the person s/he sees".
We choose who we want to be, and I think this is a very effective way of exploring that thought.
Just over half way through this story and I was officially obsessed with it. I think it should be required reading for school.
I can't wait to meet Orion in Book 2.
October 24, 2016
I loved the unique concept/plot in this story. Basically if your a changer on your first day of school you start your 'cycle' and get your first 'V', a 'V' being a different version of yourself (tall, short, skinny, black, white, boy, girl) You get four different 'V's', one for each year of highschool. Once you complete your 'cycle of V's you must choose which V you want to be for the rest of your life also known as your "mono" (and you can't pick the person you were before your first change). This book follows Ethans, a skater boy, go through his first change into Drew, a young , athletic blonde female.
The style of the book is diary/journal entry. It's told from Drew's perspective as he/she struggles with accepting his/her new life and all the new rules that come with being a changer.
I love that this book has been written in a great way that can give us an insight into how transgenders and their families feel/cope. While I love the concept, style and Ethan/Drew's attitude/humour I do feel like a lot of issues were "swept under the rug" or forgotten and not dealt with. But with that being said the story still had me hooked enough that I still want to know and read the next book.
The style of the book is diary/journal entry. It's told from Drew's perspective as he/she struggles with accepting his/her new life and all the new rules that come with being a changer.
I love that this book has been written in a great way that can give us an insight into how transgenders and their families feel/cope. While I love the concept, style and Ethan/Drew's attitude/humour I do feel like a lot of issues were "swept under the rug" or forgotten and not dealt with. But with that being said the story still had me hooked enough that I still want to know and read the next book.
September 20, 2014
Well, this is an odd one.
First, let's get the bad things out of the way. I only have two complains: 1) The plot meanders a little too much for my taste. It resembles more the account of a real teenager's life (sans gender-bending magic transformation), than a story with an overall arch. 2) The whole Changer world is never explained on full (probably gonna happen in later books so this isn't such a big of a qualm).
Now for what I liked: Exploration of gender and sexuality! It was really cool to see Drew figure out who she was and all the teenage messes she got herself into. This reads like a YA contemporary which only incidentally has some scifi (possibly fantasy?) elements, which makes it all so believable.
Drew (formerly Ethan) is such a compelling character, she has a very distinct voice, and you can't help but sympathise with her as she navigates such a confusing time in her life.
Overall very easy to read, fun, but with a deep message underneath about the power of identity.
First, let's get the bad things out of the way. I only have two complains: 1) The plot meanders a little too much for my taste. It resembles more the account of a real teenager's life (sans gender-bending magic transformation), than a story with an overall arch. 2) The whole Changer world is never explained on full (probably gonna happen in later books so this isn't such a big of a qualm).
Now for what I liked: Exploration of gender and sexuality! It was really cool to see Drew figure out who she was and all the teenage messes she got herself into. This reads like a YA contemporary which only incidentally has some scifi (possibly fantasy?) elements, which makes it all so believable.
Drew (formerly Ethan) is such a compelling character, she has a very distinct voice, and you can't help but sympathise with her as she navigates such a confusing time in her life.
Overall very easy to read, fun, but with a deep message underneath about the power of identity.
March 10, 2015
This book could have done some interesting things regarding the experience of sexism and issues of gender identity but alas it did not. The main character wakes up in a girls body that does not feel comfortable to him. Apparently that's just an experience he has to deal with without his consent for the betterment of the world (can you say deus ex machina?). It feels like the authors are trying to tell the story of walking a mile in someone else's shoes but Ethan/Drew never seems to gain any empathy from his experience. Perhaps the most disturbing part is that sexual assault is used as a plot device and none of the characters involved seem to need to process the trauma. Sure, recovering from trauma isn't the story the authors wanted to tell. However, that isn't an excuse for using a triggering experience to create drama and not addressing the physical and psychological damage suffered by victims of sexual assault.
April 12, 2017
Really well done book with a bit of a different premise. I steal from Cindy Sherman, "The premise is that a Changer becomes a different person for each of their four years of high school. The cheerleader, the nerd, the jock, the freak. Then they are able to choose which of the four they want to remain after graduation. They can't pick the person they were before the changes though." (Cindy has read 3 I think.)
It is fascinating to think through how it would be to change bodies (sex, colour, shape) but keep the same brain, and the prejudices that go along with it. Recommend to teenagers and parents of teenagers!
It is fascinating to think through how it would be to change bodies (sex, colour, shape) but keep the same brain, and the prejudices that go along with it. Recommend to teenagers and parents of teenagers!
May 11, 2020
I really liked the idea of a book where a 14 year old boy wakes up as a 14 year old girl, and has to deal with bullies, and creepy men, and periods. But there was so much cult-y drama with the Changers Council and all of the dogma bogged down the book. A lot of great ideas were presented and then went unexplored.
February 3, 2016
Many thanks to Hachette for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way impacted my views.
I went into Changers with some presumptions about the book; I thought I knew what to expect, what to anticipate. However, the way the unique concept of this book was presented worked pretty well to battle these preconceptions – though some still remained. Generally speaking, it’s safe to say that I enjoyed this, but my only problem was that some things didn’t quite work out with this story. The concept behind the plot was an attention-grabber, for sure, and the characters were interesting enough to read about, but the way the world was set up seemed jumbled up and vague to me. The book left me very curious and I do hope some of my questions will be answered in the second book.
One thing that’s undeniable about this book is that it’s very captivating; it’ll keep you turning pages until the very end. What makes it such a page-turner is the humor. At the beginning, I thought it was too forced and did not find it funny at all, but as the story progressed andEthan’s Drew’s character developed and grew, the wit did too. The writing style of the book also helped with this, it was conversational and served to portray the protagonist’s personality really well.
There are many notions that the book tried to tackle, namely gender fluidity and accepting who you are. I’m no expert, but the former wasn’t exactly portrayed accurately. The book tried – which is the keyword here – to push the boundaries between genders but all it ended up doing was showing us a 2D model of the characters. It was unrealistic how fast Drew forgot what it was like to be a boy and jumped into the role of being a girl. I mean, what happened to these 14 years of being a boy? How did he start to view the world in terms of being a girl in just a few months? To say the least, it was unrealistic and very disconcerting. It also didn’t help that the protagonist wasn’t very relatable, so I wasn’t able to sympathize very much. Everything just sort of fell flat. Despite all that, there is something I really liked – the fluid sexuality. I’m not sure if it’s meant to be a love triangle or what, but Drew falls in love with a Changer boy who used to be a girl AND there also seem to be feelings between Drew and her girl best friend. I totally loved the dynamic of that and am disappointed to see the characters go. Maybe they’ll reappear in the second installment? It’s definitely enough to keep me reading.
I mentioned previously that I wasn’t a fan of the way the world was set up. Nothing was explained properly and when an effort was made to explain things, it was just a confusing jumble of information dumping and vague statements. For example, what’s the role of Changers? “The Changer race is the last hope for the human race on the whole to reverse the moral devolution that has overcome it. Changers believe more Changers equals more empathy on planet Earth. And that only through empathy will the human race survive.” Say what? The whole story is riddled with vague, elusive statements like that. The world was never fleshed out properly, either, leading to a ton of questions about it that haven’t been answered.
If you’re looking for an interesting read with no depth to it, then this is your book. It had potential, but failed to fulfill it. This had more plot holes than the ozone layer and a world that wasn’t fleshed out properly. Despite all that, the book featured moral qualms such as accepting yourself and fluid sexuality, handling them pretty well, while failing to appropriately address the part about gender. It was a page-turner, alright, with a humorous protagonist and a chatty, conversational writing style. Many questions were left unanswered, but I still do have hope for the second installment.
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I went into Changers with some presumptions about the book; I thought I knew what to expect, what to anticipate. However, the way the unique concept of this book was presented worked pretty well to battle these preconceptions – though some still remained. Generally speaking, it’s safe to say that I enjoyed this, but my only problem was that some things didn’t quite work out with this story. The concept behind the plot was an attention-grabber, for sure, and the characters were interesting enough to read about, but the way the world was set up seemed jumbled up and vague to me. The book left me very curious and I do hope some of my questions will be answered in the second book.
One thing that’s undeniable about this book is that it’s very captivating; it’ll keep you turning pages until the very end. What makes it such a page-turner is the humor. At the beginning, I thought it was too forced and did not find it funny at all, but as the story progressed and
There are many notions that the book tried to tackle, namely gender fluidity and accepting who you are. I’m no expert, but the former wasn’t exactly portrayed accurately. The book tried – which is the keyword here – to push the boundaries between genders but all it ended up doing was showing us a 2D model of the characters. It was unrealistic how fast Drew forgot what it was like to be a boy and jumped into the role of being a girl. I mean, what happened to these 14 years of being a boy? How did he start to view the world in terms of being a girl in just a few months? To say the least, it was unrealistic and very disconcerting. It also didn’t help that the protagonist wasn’t very relatable, so I wasn’t able to sympathize very much. Everything just sort of fell flat. Despite all that, there is something I really liked – the fluid sexuality. I’m not sure if it’s meant to be a love triangle or what, but Drew falls in love with a Changer boy who used to be a girl AND there also seem to be feelings between Drew and her girl best friend. I totally loved the dynamic of that and am disappointed to see the characters go. Maybe they’ll reappear in the second installment? It’s definitely enough to keep me reading.
I mentioned previously that I wasn’t a fan of the way the world was set up. Nothing was explained properly and when an effort was made to explain things, it was just a confusing jumble of information dumping and vague statements. For example, what’s the role of Changers? “The Changer race is the last hope for the human race on the whole to reverse the moral devolution that has overcome it. Changers believe more Changers equals more empathy on planet Earth. And that only through empathy will the human race survive.” Say what? The whole story is riddled with vague, elusive statements like that. The world was never fleshed out properly, either, leading to a ton of questions about it that haven’t been answered.
If you’re looking for an interesting read with no depth to it, then this is your book. It had potential, but failed to fulfill it. This had more plot holes than the ozone layer and a world that wasn’t fleshed out properly. Despite all that, the book featured moral qualms such as accepting yourself and fluid sexuality, handling them pretty well, while failing to appropriately address the part about gender. It was a page-turner, alright, with a humorous protagonist and a chatty, conversational writing style. Many questions were left unanswered, but I still do have hope for the second installment.
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January 24, 2016
This is an ARC I received through NetGalley which has recently been published with this lovely new cover and which I noticed is now available when I saw it in my local Waterstones just last week.
Now, onto the review.
I have been unsure as to what to title this book since the book cover says Changers, but on Goodreads is says Drew (Changers #1), so I have gone with Goodreads, just because it has that extra detail. I think Changers simply refers to the series as a whole since it is all about this race of people (definition above) called Changers. Up until their first year of high school, Changers are just like everybody else, until that first day of school when they wake up as a different person. The parents aren't always certain if their child will be a changer or not and they have strict rules, so until is happens the child is in the dark about it all.
I haven't done much research into this book before reading it, or into the series. However, after reading this book I am assuming that there will be at least an additional three books after this. When the child wakes up a different person you see, it doesn't just happen once. They have to go through that whole year as a new person, then the start of the next year they're transformed into someone else, so they change four times in total through high school. This first books focusses on the first year and therefore the first person our main character turns into, so I think we can assume that the next three books will contain the next three identities.
I feel like I am just giving you loads of information which you can read from the book, but it's difficult to find an easier way to explain it, so I hope you're following, haha. In fact, I found that the book was a bit guilty of this too, just bombarding us with handfuls of information at times and if our main character is struggling to comprehend everything going on, it doesn't make it any easier for the reader. I like the idea behind this book, but I don't understand exactly what is going on at the same time since we were given a load of information at once and I'm not sure I'm interested in turning back to reread those sections.
One thing I definitely enjoyed was the characters and how they were written, especially Drew. By the end of the book you can really see how she has developed over the school year and for the most part come to terms with what is happening, even if she doesn't understand everything (for that I don't blame her, neither do I!).
Part of me is really intrigued to see where this story goes, but at the same time I don't feel fully interested, so I have very mixed feelings right now. Overall, I liked it and all the ideas, I just don't feel like I have the best understanding of everything going on. If I come across the sequel I reckon I will pick it up and hopefully it will clear things up for me (and Drew, or whoever she turns into in the next book). I also really hope the birthday thing is cleared up, haha, do they keep their birthdays? Because it kind of felt a bit like "happy birthday! Now, here is your new identity".
Now, onto the review.
I have been unsure as to what to title this book since the book cover says Changers, but on Goodreads is says Drew (Changers #1), so I have gone with Goodreads, just because it has that extra detail. I think Changers simply refers to the series as a whole since it is all about this race of people (definition above) called Changers. Up until their first year of high school, Changers are just like everybody else, until that first day of school when they wake up as a different person. The parents aren't always certain if their child will be a changer or not and they have strict rules, so until is happens the child is in the dark about it all.
I haven't done much research into this book before reading it, or into the series. However, after reading this book I am assuming that there will be at least an additional three books after this. When the child wakes up a different person you see, it doesn't just happen once. They have to go through that whole year as a new person, then the start of the next year they're transformed into someone else, so they change four times in total through high school. This first books focusses on the first year and therefore the first person our main character turns into, so I think we can assume that the next three books will contain the next three identities.
I feel like I am just giving you loads of information which you can read from the book, but it's difficult to find an easier way to explain it, so I hope you're following, haha. In fact, I found that the book was a bit guilty of this too, just bombarding us with handfuls of information at times and if our main character is struggling to comprehend everything going on, it doesn't make it any easier for the reader. I like the idea behind this book, but I don't understand exactly what is going on at the same time since we were given a load of information at once and I'm not sure I'm interested in turning back to reread those sections.
One thing I definitely enjoyed was the characters and how they were written, especially Drew. By the end of the book you can really see how she has developed over the school year and for the most part come to terms with what is happening, even if she doesn't understand everything (for that I don't blame her, neither do I!).
Part of me is really intrigued to see where this story goes, but at the same time I don't feel fully interested, so I have very mixed feelings right now. Overall, I liked it and all the ideas, I just don't feel like I have the best understanding of everything going on. If I come across the sequel I reckon I will pick it up and hopefully it will clear things up for me (and Drew, or whoever she turns into in the next book). I also really hope the birthday thing is cleared up, haha, do they keep their birthdays? Because it kind of felt a bit like "happy birthday! Now, here is your new identity".
January 15, 2016
It’s 3am and I’ve literally just put down Changers. I just had to get my thoughts down right this minute before I explode and wake my husband up to tell him about this book. He’s not a reader and he will not be impressed believe me.
OK, so as most of you are aware I’m one of those readers who DESPISE cliff hangers. I’m also one of those readers who is far from the patient type and who really does get a gob on because we have to wait for the next instalment. And, I’m now one of those readers who want to punch Allison Glock-Cooper and T. Cooper in the face. Yes, I said it…
So, erm… Yeah, sorry about that. 3am and book hangovers and cliff hanger rage and all that. You know how it is. Anyway, you’re probably wondering why I want to punch them, right? Well, to keep it short and simple it’s because they’ve given me a book of power, a book of love, a book of random cliques, meetings and changers. They’ve given me something so new, so fresh, so exciting so fascinating and utterly brilliant. AND then after all that wonderfulness and the the way in which I’ve been coaxed along full of emotion and admiration they hit me with a (NOT) THE END! And that is why I want to punch them in the face. I didn’t know it was a series now did I?
(NOT) THE END) How can you do that to people? How can you give something so bewildering, something so deep and light. A book that confuses the hell out of you, with its meticulous writing and quirky, sarcastic, and funny characters. A book that takes you out of your world and give you a secret that nobody else knows. It puts you inside them pages with Ethan Miller, and you take this unexpected, unfamiliar and totally endearing journey together. Do not give me all that then take it away and make me wait. That is like ripping off the stupid plaster tape that is put on your arm after blood tests that stick so hard to your skin that when you rip it off you basically rip off your skin, and we all know how horrendous that feels.
Oh, I know, I’m such a brat. I want, I want, blah blah.
Anyway, now I’ve calmed down and feel a bit better about the whole (NOT) THE END saga! I’ll leave the lovely faces of the authors alone and instead tell them that this is a wonderful, empathic, inspiring, extremely clever book, and one I am going to rave about for a very long time.
Bring on book two. Oryon, I’m ready for you.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5/5
P.S.. Yeah, sorry for not writing a review and just ranting my feelings. I get like that when I’m excited about things. Oops!
P.P.S.. Allison Glock-Cooper, and T. Cooper. Please don’t be afraid, I can assure you I will not hurt you. I can also assure you that if I ever did try and punch you in the face, you’d laugh at my feeble attempt. Your book is awesome by the way :)
P.P.P.S.. I really need to go to sleep.
OK, so as most of you are aware I’m one of those readers who DESPISE cliff hangers. I’m also one of those readers who is far from the patient type and who really does get a gob on because we have to wait for the next instalment. And, I’m now one of those readers who want to punch Allison Glock-Cooper and T. Cooper in the face. Yes, I said it…
So, erm… Yeah, sorry about that. 3am and book hangovers and cliff hanger rage and all that. You know how it is. Anyway, you’re probably wondering why I want to punch them, right? Well, to keep it short and simple it’s because they’ve given me a book of power, a book of love, a book of random cliques, meetings and changers. They’ve given me something so new, so fresh, so exciting so fascinating and utterly brilliant. AND then after all that wonderfulness and the the way in which I’ve been coaxed along full of emotion and admiration they hit me with a (NOT) THE END! And that is why I want to punch them in the face. I didn’t know it was a series now did I?
(NOT) THE END) How can you do that to people? How can you give something so bewildering, something so deep and light. A book that confuses the hell out of you, with its meticulous writing and quirky, sarcastic, and funny characters. A book that takes you out of your world and give you a secret that nobody else knows. It puts you inside them pages with Ethan Miller, and you take this unexpected, unfamiliar and totally endearing journey together. Do not give me all that then take it away and make me wait. That is like ripping off the stupid plaster tape that is put on your arm after blood tests that stick so hard to your skin that when you rip it off you basically rip off your skin, and we all know how horrendous that feels.
Oh, I know, I’m such a brat. I want, I want, blah blah.
Anyway, now I’ve calmed down and feel a bit better about the whole (NOT) THE END saga! I’ll leave the lovely faces of the authors alone and instead tell them that this is a wonderful, empathic, inspiring, extremely clever book, and one I am going to rave about for a very long time.
Bring on book two. Oryon, I’m ready for you.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5/5
P.S.. Yeah, sorry for not writing a review and just ranting my feelings. I get like that when I’m excited about things. Oops!
P.P.S.. Allison Glock-Cooper, and T. Cooper. Please don’t be afraid, I can assure you I will not hurt you. I can also assure you that if I ever did try and punch you in the face, you’d laugh at my feeble attempt. Your book is awesome by the way :)
P.P.P.S.. I really need to go to sleep.
March 14, 2016
When visiting the website for the book “Changers,” the first thing on the page is the definition of empathy. "Em•pa•thy: noun. The ability to understand and share the feelings of another."
If by including this definition, the authors of the book are implying that they are able to have any sort of empathy for a teenage audience, they sadly mistaken. Furthermore, the literal reduction of the phrase “walking a mile in someone else’s skin” is not only misinterpreted and confusing, but downright appalling.
The book is about a teenager named Ethan, who is a “Changer,” “one of an ancient, little-known race of humans who live out each of their years of high school as someone new, and then after graduation must select which of the four identities they’ve embodied to live the rest of their lives as.”
First of all, it doesn’t make any sense that changers are an “ancient race,” considering that high school isn’t an “ancient” establishment. But, the astounding number of plot holes in the book are the least of the problems I faced as a reader of this book.
Instead of tearing down gender and racial stereotypes as one might expect from this book, especially because one of the authors is transgender, “Changers” only enforces these stereotypes. It disregards the fact that gender is completely separate from sex, cramming them together on one spectrum of identity. At the start of the book, Ethan identifies as the boy, but when he is put in a girl’s body, he feels the urge to join cheerleading instead of soccer, dress in “jeggings,” and abandons many of his prior goals, including having “low-key” abs. It is completely ok to change your gender identity throughout life, as it is part of the process of going through puberty and experimenting with identity, but it is another thing to have a gender that is only fluid based on sex.
All in all, Changers was a book based on a seemingly interesting and stimulating topic, especially for a teen audience, but is simply not good. The authors seemed to have based the book not on experiences with their own children, but instead on watching “Mean Girls,” reading the entirety of the urban dictionary, and then deciding to write a book. By choosing the topics of identity and empathy as themes for the book, they definitely bit off more than they could chew, completely botching the execution, resulting in pages and pages of terrible writing by obviously misinformed and ignorant authors. All I have to say to T Cooper & Allison Glock-Cooper, who by the way won’t be coming back to Packer because they were offended, is to write another book in 10 years about how their 20-something year olds won’t talk to them.
If by including this definition, the authors of the book are implying that they are able to have any sort of empathy for a teenage audience, they sadly mistaken. Furthermore, the literal reduction of the phrase “walking a mile in someone else’s skin” is not only misinterpreted and confusing, but downright appalling.
The book is about a teenager named Ethan, who is a “Changer,” “one of an ancient, little-known race of humans who live out each of their years of high school as someone new, and then after graduation must select which of the four identities they’ve embodied to live the rest of their lives as.”
First of all, it doesn’t make any sense that changers are an “ancient race,” considering that high school isn’t an “ancient” establishment. But, the astounding number of plot holes in the book are the least of the problems I faced as a reader of this book.
Instead of tearing down gender and racial stereotypes as one might expect from this book, especially because one of the authors is transgender, “Changers” only enforces these stereotypes. It disregards the fact that gender is completely separate from sex, cramming them together on one spectrum of identity. At the start of the book, Ethan identifies as the boy, but when he is put in a girl’s body, he feels the urge to join cheerleading instead of soccer, dress in “jeggings,” and abandons many of his prior goals, including having “low-key” abs. It is completely ok to change your gender identity throughout life, as it is part of the process of going through puberty and experimenting with identity, but it is another thing to have a gender that is only fluid based on sex.
All in all, Changers was a book based on a seemingly interesting and stimulating topic, especially for a teen audience, but is simply not good. The authors seemed to have based the book not on experiences with their own children, but instead on watching “Mean Girls,” reading the entirety of the urban dictionary, and then deciding to write a book. By choosing the topics of identity and empathy as themes for the book, they definitely bit off more than they could chew, completely botching the execution, resulting in pages and pages of terrible writing by obviously misinformed and ignorant authors. All I have to say to T Cooper & Allison Glock-Cooper, who by the way won’t be coming back to Packer because they were offended, is to write another book in 10 years about how their 20-something year olds won’t talk to them.
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November 16, 2015This was interesting. I have a few uncertainties, and also some questions about the Changer world. For example, if they have their new body on the first day of school each year, how does this magic know when school starts? What if they're homeschooled? How does it work if they're not American and therefore 'high school' doesn't last for four years but instead five or seven? If a Changer had a disability before their bodies switched, would it stay with them? What about if one of the bodies they're given has one? Does that happen? These aren't criticisms of the book, they're just questions I want to ask, and which aren't answered in the text.
Uncertainties: are fourteen-year-old girls really like that in American schools? Believe me, there were plenty of bitchy girls in my class... when we were twelve. But by the time we reached year ten (aka the start of 'high school', I think) most people had got over it, and it certainly wasn't based on things as mundane as clothing choices. Then again, we had a uniform, and my school was also remarkably un-cliquey. I just wonder whether that's accurate. I can't speak for it as a stereotype or otherwise because sure, it doesn't match my experience, but I'm British and from a fairly atypical school, I think.
I liked the book on the whole; I wasn't expecting much, I just thought it'd be interesting to read something that explores gender fluidity and whatnot. But it didn't really blow me away. While it explores the idea of Ethan being someone who thought they were a guy and now is perceived as a girl, I felt that it stuck very much to binary divisions. Some people don't feel like a girl in a girl's body or even a girl in a boy's body or whatever, they don't feel like either. So I wish there was a bit more recognition of non-binary identities -- you'd think when a character is gender-fluid by definition that that would have been more of a thing. But no, he's now a girl and must as a result have long hair and do cheerleading. I mean, I had short hair through most of secondary school (like, really short), and did archery as often as I did ballet, and that had no bearing on my gender, y'know?
I'll probably write a proper review on my blog at some point, one that's more coherent and detailed, but this is what I've got at present. Oh yeah and I got the book from Netgalley. In case anyone cares.
Uncertainties: are fourteen-year-old girls really like that in American schools? Believe me, there were plenty of bitchy girls in my class... when we were twelve. But by the time we reached year ten (aka the start of 'high school', I think) most people had got over it, and it certainly wasn't based on things as mundane as clothing choices. Then again, we had a uniform, and my school was also remarkably un-cliquey. I just wonder whether that's accurate. I can't speak for it as a stereotype or otherwise because sure, it doesn't match my experience, but I'm British and from a fairly atypical school, I think.
I liked the book on the whole; I wasn't expecting much, I just thought it'd be interesting to read something that explores gender fluidity and whatnot. But it didn't really blow me away. While it explores the idea of Ethan being someone who thought they were a guy and now is perceived as a girl, I felt that it stuck very much to binary divisions. Some people don't feel like a girl in a girl's body or even a girl in a boy's body or whatever, they don't feel like either. So I wish there was a bit more recognition of non-binary identities -- you'd think when a character is gender-fluid by definition that that would have been more of a thing. But no, he's now a girl and must as a result have long hair and do cheerleading. I mean, I had short hair through most of secondary school (like, really short), and did archery as often as I did ballet, and that had no bearing on my gender, y'know?
I'll probably write a proper review on my blog at some point, one that's more coherent and detailed, but this is what I've got at present. Oh yeah and I got the book from Netgalley. In case anyone cares.
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