About the Book
-
Author:
- Neal Shusterman
- Genres:
- Contemporary
- Science Fiction
- Voices:
- Cis Boy
- White (Non-Specified)
Cover Story: Mind-Blowing
BFF Charm: Ya
Talky Talk: Mo’ Universes, Mo’ Problems
Bonus Factor: Alternate Universes
Anti-Bonus Factor: Abuse
Relationship Status: Conflicted
Content Warning: There are instances of racism and emotional and physical abuse by a significant other in Game Changer that might be triggering for some readers.
Cover Story: Mind-Blowing
Until you’ve read the book, this cover looks sort of generically science fiction, with its illustration of a head being broken up into pieces and people. It’s a much more literal interpretation of the story within than you might expect, however; I really dig the larger meaning behind the simplicity.
The Deal:
Ashley “Ash” Bowman is a pretty typical high school guy. White, middle-class, and friends with a variety of folks, he tries to do his part to make his world a better place by going to protests against racism and generally not being an asshole to those around him. But then he makes an impressive tackle during a football game, and everything goes sideways. He doesn’t think he has a concussion, but weren’t stop signs red, not blue?
Things get even weirder when he makes another hit during the next game. His family’s now rich, and he’s maybe a drug dealer. But he can still remember a time when/place where stop signs were red, and he drove a beater, rather than a shiny BMW.
Thanks to some multi-dimensional beings, Ash eventually discovers that he’s become the “center of the universe” and must figure out how to get things back to normal before the changes become irreparable.
BFF Charm: Yay
For a white guy with a lot of privilege, Ash is a pretty OK dude. Through the alternate universes he experiences, he realizes just how much privilege he has, and how easily things could change for his friends and people around him, given just slight differences in history. He’s got a bit of a savior complex (which adds to my conflicted feelings about this book, given that he’s a straight white dude …), but he does try to see from other people’s perspectives and unpack the various ways he’s bought into what society tells him is “normal.” I appreciate that about him—and the way he’s extraordinarily relaxed about the situation he finds himself in, which would be very hard to come to terms with for a lot of other folk.
Swoonworthy Scale: 3
When Ash first starts shifting through alternate universes, he’s not dating anyone. He might have some feelings for someone, but he wasn’t in a relationship. He finds himself in relationships as he shifts into the different versions of his own life, but only one of them is all that swoony, and it’s unfortunately somewhat short-lived. And I also have to average the scale out with a relationship that is decidedly in the negative range.
Talky Talk: Mo’ Universes, Mo’ Problems
Game Changer is a unique book that can be read very differently by different people. I’ve long been a fan of Shusterman’s books and the way he tackles societal and cultural issues in unique ways. But I’m not sure that this book, which attempts to tackle a lot of issues in a short period of time, exactly meets the mark.
Through his various “shifts,” Ash comes to examine white privilege, classism, racism, sexism, homophobia, and more. In my mind, the science fiction aspects of the book make it an interesting way to examine these issues, but Ash being literally the center of the universe is a bit side-eye-causing. And I found myself questioning how folks who are not me—a white, cis woman—feel about the various experiences Ash has throughout the book. (Because, #vaguespoilers, they’re not all the perspective he started out with.) Shusterman certainly tries to point out Ash’s privilege as often as he can, within the confines of the plot, but, again, I’m probably not the best person to judge.
That said, I really love Shusterman’s writing, and how deftly he mixes science fiction elements with real-world ones. Game Changer, in particular, felt very Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy in places, which was extremely amusing. For example:
He told me that the universe tended to center on individuals of sapient species (that is, species capable of intelligent thought) which were scattered throughout the universe—and since most shifts happen millions of light-years away, they don’t even affect us here on Earth.”
“Since intelligent life appeared on Earth, there have been about forty sub-locs here,” Ed told me. “Of course half of those times, it was a dolphin.”
(Please note: I pulled this quote from an ARC, so it might not match the final quote in the book.)
Bonus Factor: Alternate Universes
I’ve always loved the idea of alternate universes, i.e., seeing what big changes happen in the present with the slightest shift in the past. Shusterman’s idea of why Ash experiences these alternate universes is interesting and unique, and the way Ash navigates through them—and the dimensional beings that lead him on the way—makes for a really interesting read.
Anti-Bonus Factor: Abuse
As Ash shifts through the various universes, some constants remain slightly unchanged. Such as the town he lives in and certain members of his friend group. Sadly, one such constant is the quarterback of Ash’s football team, a guy who’s the epitome of terrible small town quarterback. He isn’t exactly an abuser, at least not physically, but there’s an underlying quality of something off about him and his relationship in every shift.
Eventually, Ash sees him for what he truly is, and it’s terrifying for both Ash and the reader.
… most abusers won’t leave a wide debris field that’s easy to spot, and therefore easy to avoid. They’re not nukes; they’re radiation zones. They’re not tornadoes; they’re balmy summer skies, where the morning sun makes you forget the thunderstorm that’s coming in the afternoon.
And Layton? He firmly believed that he was one of the good guys, because sometimes he was.
(Please note: I pulled this quote from an ARC, so it might not match the final quote in the book.)
Relationship Status: Conflicted
On the one hand, Book, we had a really great time together. You made me think and laugh in equal measure. On the other hand, I’m not sure you really met the aim of what you set out to do. At least, not in the way you went about doing it. I think I need to talk about you with a few more people before I can truly make a decision on where we go from here.
Literary Matchmaking
If you’ve never read any of Shusterman’s books, I’d suggest checking out Challenger Deep, which is a very unique take on mental health.
And his Arc of a Scythe series is a fascinating series about death and technology.
Claudia Gray’s Firebird trilogy also deals with different versions of the main character across dimensions.
FTC Full Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from Quill Tree Books, but got neither a private dance party with Tom Hiddleston nor money in exchange for this review. Game Changer is available now.
