Game Changer
Football player hits alternate dimension in exciting sci-fi.
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this book.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Neal Shusterman's Game Changer chronicles a high school football player's quest to find his way home after he is concussed into another reality. The novel raises questions about gender, race, and identity. Characters talk about their lovelives, but there are no graphic descriptions of sex. There are violent scenes -- a boy assaults his girlfriend, Ash's friend is beaten with a bat, Ash fights some criminals. Ash's family deals drugs in more than one reality.
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What's the Story?
As GAME CHANGER begins, high school football player Ash Bowman takes a hard hit to the head and wakes up in an alternate universe, one where the stop signs are blue and Ash's family is wealthy. Unsure what's happening to him, Ash looks for clues from a set of mysterious, identical skateboarders. They tell him that the universe literally revolves around him, and that if he wants to get back to his normal life, he needs to make corrections. As he moves through universes, Ash sees how the actions he takes have consequences. Can he follow-through without destroying reality itself?
Is It Any Good?
Finding a fresh twist on parallel universes is difficult, but this thoughtful, suspenseful tale brings heart and originality to the endeavor. In Game Changer, Ash Bowman is a likable main character -- sensitive, driven, intelligent -- and he is surrounded by a diverse cast of supporting characters. It's fun to see author Neal Shusterman put Ashby through a series of mind-bending changes that question the nature of reality. There are no easy answers for why the world works as it does. Readers who want a challenging science fiction tale with philosophical underpinnings will be surprised and excited by Game Changer.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Game Changer addresses the possibility of alternate dimensions. What kinds of changes would you make to your life if you could change overnight?
Why is it difficult for some teens to come out to their friends and families?
Do women and men view the world differently? What assumptions are made about people of color?
Book Details
- Author: Neal Shusterman
- Genre: Science Fiction
- Topics: Activism, Sports and Martial Arts, Great Boy Role Models, High School
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Quill Tree Books
- Publication date: February 9, 2021
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 13 - 18
- Number of pages: 400
- Available on: Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: April 2, 2021
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