Changers was my most recent read.  It’s probably a book that I would describe as a fun and quick read and although, ultimately, I don’t think this one is for me I think others would probably find merit in it.  Basically, and to cut to the chase, I think this is probably targeted at a younger audience and while I do still enjoy some YA I tend to be a bit more careful about those choices.

The story starts off with Ethan.  Ethan is a changer and on the night we first make his acquaintance, the night before he’s about to start at a new high school, he basically changes.  When he wakes up in the morning he is a young girl – now called Drew.   Let me steal a little bit of the blurb to clue you in about Changers:

‘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.’

And, so Drew, dressed in her mum’s clothes and with rat tails in her hair and oversized sneakers, sets off for school.  As you can imagine the school queen bees are only too thrilled to be able to set her right on her fashion faux pas – thus ending a bit of a blundering start for Drew into the world of ‘female’.  The rest of the book is recounted by Drew as she makes a recording or journal of each day (we don’t actually read each day but jump forward occasionally and in this way we get more of a feel for the Changers and who their foes are.  We watch as Drew gradually becomes a little bit more comfortable with her new identity and makes friends and breaks friends and then, well, makes friends again.  If you enjoy reading a bit of high school drama mixed with the tension of never quite knowing whether your main character is talking to a potential friend or someone with a hidden agenda then this could be right up your street.  Plus I think the writing is very entertaining and I admit I had a number of laugh out loud not to mention cringe-worthy moments.

For me, however, I’m all about the detail and the reasoning and I’ve come away from the read not really knowing any more about Changers than when I started.  We’re told that they’re here to help the world be a better place but apart from being ‘told’ that’s the reason we don’t really see any evidence to support the statement.  On top of that I think Ethan/Drew was a little too accepting of the change – he’s lived for the past fourteen years as a boy – and he’s now a girl.  Okay, his mind and basic essence is still the same, simply in a different wrapper, and it does reinforce the idea of beauty being on the inside – because the person inside stays the same.  But, let me be clear – if I woke up tomorrow and was now a male instead of a female I’d be asking A LOT of questions, probably in a voice on the verge of hysteria. This is definitely a life changing moment and why on earth this change has to happen on the very day you start school is a mystery – although I must admit that it does add to the drama.

Part of me can really see into the concept and what the authors are trying to do, and I do appreciate the book in that respect.  But, I just wanted something a bit more substantial.

That probably sounds very critical which isn’t really my intention.  On the whole this is a good, fun, entertaining read but for me personally it just left too many questions.  To be fair, I imagine that the next books – presumably another three with similar identity changes, will explore all this a little more but I think I’ve probably already come to the conclusion that I’m the wrong audience for the series.

If you like the idea of a high school drama, an unusual concept and a storyline with potential for more new identities as the series progresses then this could be perfect for you.

I received a copy of this courtesy of the publisher through Netgalley for which my thanks.  The above is my own opinion.

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