*I received a physical/audio copy from the Colored Pages Book Tour via Feiwel & Friends. All reviews are my own.*
"When you reach round a dark corner to switch on a light, be careful. Slenderman will often run his finger over the back of your hand. This is the first signal of his interest in you" – Jack Goldstein.
"If it was left to her, Ife Adebola wouldn’t be starting at Nithercott School. Because despite being in the Urban Achievers scholarship program, her parents can barely afford the tuition. No matter who, like her classmate Bijal, is trying to be friends with her or how much the prestigious boarding school tries to pull her in, Ife is determined not to get caught up in any of it.
But when another student, Malika, begins acting strange, Ife can’t help but wonder if there’s more going on at Nithercott than she realizes. Could there be any truth to the school’s decades-old legend of the Changing Man? Is there any connection to the missing older brother of her classmate, Ben?
As more questions arise, Ife has no choice but to team up with Ben and Bijal to investigate. But can the trio act quickly enough to uncover who is behind everything, before one—or all—of them is the Changing Man’s next victim?"
I'm back with another hot take on the latest YA thriller, The Changing Man by Tomi Oyemakinde. It's a cool melting pot mixture of the lore of Slenderman, Get Out, Body Snatchers, and doppelganger activities. Black horror is rising, and I'm grabbing popcorn and a flashlight to prepare for the spookiness that's sure to come … right?
I tackled this book via audio, with Afolabi Alli and Fola Evans-Akingbola narrating the scenes. I won't beat around the bush; this book is very much YA. I didn't realize how young it read until I was about five chapters in. The story itself was dragging. It took a while before the pace started picking up, but by then, I had already decided how the story would turn out. I ended up DNFing about 80% in. I tried to hang in there and give it a fair shot, but I felt like I got the gist of the story, and there was no reason for me to continue.
Overall, I rated this book 3-stars. I don't know if it was because of the narration or the story, but it couldn't keep me entertained. It had its moments, but nothing that made me want to stay. I liked the idea of the premise, especially since there was a real-life case on this subject, but it's a no for me. Just like with I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me, I'm always rooting for everyone black.
The Changing Man is available now!
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