Oryon

Let's get this out of the way up front - Hannibal could drive his army through the plot holes in this series. And yet, I'm oddly willing to overlook them (so far) in the interests of following through with the main character. The premise is that Changers are an ancient race of humans who live 4 different lives in each year of high school. In the first Changers book, we meet Drew, a white girl, who had previously been a white boy who was completely unaware of his Changer heritage. For sophomore year, Drew becomes Oryon, a black boy who must contend with knowing everyone around him while no-one knows who he really is. Drew encounters some fairly predictable attitudes from the "queen bees" at school, as well as some harassment from the show more boys, and Oryon is exposed to racism as he never even thought about it before.

But the main focus of the series seems to be more about the relationships s/he forms and the choices s/he makes. Does s/he toe the Changer line and keep the secret, or tell the truth in the interest of preserving her/his friendships and relationships from one identity to the next? These aspects of the story are what will keep me reading until the conclusion of the series. show less

The Changers series proves that first impressions are not always accurate. My initial reaction to book one was not entirely favorable. The story felt like it was a heavy-handed lesson in tolerance. My skepticism began from pretty much page one. Ethan is a 14 year old boy about to start high school in a new town. On the morning of his first day he wakes up as Drew, a pretty blond girl, and discovers that he is part of an “ancient race of humans” called Changers. Aptly named because they change into a different person during each year of high school. Their mission is to help create a better, more tolerant world but it is not quite clear how that will happen since they hide their existence from the rest of humanity.

I was first bothered show more by the way Ethan accepted his new life as Drew, which is to say pretty easily. After discovering that she was no longer a boy and part of a secret society Drew gets dressed and goes to school. No major freak out, no disbelief, nothing. Not that I would want to read pages and pages of a fourteen year old complaining about her difficult life, but the breezy acceptance was hard to swallow. I also did not understand how the change coincides with each year of high school. How is that biological? If one student’s school starts later would they change later?

The moral lesson was obvious. Experiencing the world through someone else’s life helps foster a better understanding of the inequality and injustice faced by many people in America. A worthy message in our supposedly “post-racial” society. I just had a suspicion that it would come on too strong. However, as I progressed further into the story I found myself forgetting the message and growing more attached to the characters and their struggles.

The first book focused on the challenges of life as a teenage girl, including bullying, relationships, and sexual assault. As Drew starts high school she meets Audrey, a fellow freshman and a static (Changer speak for someone that is not a Changer) Drew and Audrey begin a highly emotional relationship, part friendship part something more. Audrey has a violent and intolerant brother Jason that disapproves of their relationship and spends his time making both girls miserable. Drew’s attraction to fellow Changer Chase complicates her love life even more as Changer on Changer relationships are forbidden.

In book two Drew wakes up as Oryon, a black skater boy. He attempts to rekindle his relationship with Audrey as this new person and quickly finds himself at odds with Jason who refuses to allow his sister to be part of an interracial relationship. Oryon experiences many of the problems that young black men in America face - discrimination, unwarranted police attention, and hostility. Oryon also begins to learn more about the Abiders, Statics that are anti-Changer, and the Radical Changers who want to out their race to the rest of humanity. The book’s cliffhanger ending will keep readers anxiously awaiting the third book in the series and the main character’s endearing personality will have readers hooked until the end when we find out which incarnation he will choose to remain for the rest of his life. show less

This series really surprises me. There are so many things about it that typically turn me off: overt moral message, improbable plot points, little explanation for farfetched premise, cliche high school dynamics. Yet somehow, I really liked both books so far. I'll definitely be reading book 3 when it comes out.

This series really surprises me. There are so many things about it that typically turn me off: overt moral message, improbable plot points, little explanation for farfetched premise, cliche high school dynamics. Yet somehow, I really liked both books so far. I'll definitely be reading book 3 when it comes out.

In this second installment, Ethan changes into Oryon - a black skateboarding teen. Cooper and Glock-Cooper highlight what it's like to live as a black teen, but they only skim the surface. Like their last book, they never delve too deeply into touchy subjects. As a whole, I enjoyed this book. The story is intriguing and I enjoy watching Ethan grow and adjust to how society and his classmates react to each new face. And after that ending, I cannot wait to find out what happens next in book three!

In book two, Ethan, the main character and a Changer, has just completed his first year living the life of a teenage girl, his first change. When he wakes on his birthday, Ethan has become Oryon, a black teen skater boy. Even though there were portions of the book that I thought could have been developed more, Changers book two did provide a little more insight into this world. The ending had me fiending for book three!!

I was so excited to receive this ER book, since I had gotten and read Book One from ALA two years ago. The series follows one Changer, a member of an ancient species who live each year of high school as a different person - different sex, race, sexual orientation. I enjoyed Book Two as much as Book One - and am anxious to see what comes next. At the end of the four years, the Changer gets to chose which person they want to live as for the rest of their lives. It's a wonderful book and a tremendous approach to the always present questions teens struggle with daily.
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