Oryon

February 15, 2015
The body-swapping Changer who spent her freshman year of high school as Drew (Changers: Drew, 2014) now spends his sophomore year as Oryon.Changers spend each year as a different version, or V, and must keep their true nature hidden from non-Changer Statics. For Oryon, this means remeeting Audrey, the girl he fell in love with last year as Drew, as a stranger. The only people who stay in Oryon's life are his family, his Changer mentor, Tracy, and Chase, another Changer Oryon's age who is part of the Radical Changer movement that challenges the Changers Council's stringent rules. This sequel's worldbuilding still leaves questions unanswered, but Oryon's winning and witty narrative voice is consistently engaging. Unlike Drew or his parents, Oryon is African-American, and much of what he observes is about race: He is newly welcome at the Black Table in the cafeteria, for instance, but treated with suspicion when he brings the family pit bull to a dog park. Oryon's budding (or rebudding) romance with Audrey raises thought-provoking questions and creates tension with the Changers Council. An abrupt climax, however, interrupts the plotline and leaves both the romance and the sudden climactic action unresolved. A mixed bag plotwise, but Oryon's humor and insight will keep readers turning pages. (Science fiction. 12-18)

June 1, 2015

Gr 7 Up-In Drew (Akashic, 2014), Ethan woke up on his first day of high school to discover that overnight he had transformed into a beautiful girl named Drew. Now it's his sophomore year, and he wakes up as a Black teen named Oryon, which is going to raise a whole new set of problems. But being a Changer means that the high school years are going to be even more of an adjustment than it would be for normal ("static") students. Oryon learns the hard way that all the benefits of being a pretty white girl evaporate overnight. Most people liked and trusted Drew without question, but now Oryon becomes very aware of how many people are making assumptions about him because of the color of his skin. Complicating matters even further is Audrey, the girl that Drew fell in love with last year for whom Oryon also has strong feelings. This is an excellent sequel, because it takes the original premise and expands upon it, sinking readers further into the protagonist's head while making them more aware of the forces that are fighting for and against the Changers race. This installment raises the stakes, making the story not just about physical and emotional transformation, but about survival. VERDICT Fans of the first book will want to follow up with this volume, which will leave them even more eager to read the next series entry.-Andrea Lipinski, New York Public Library

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