The Changing Man

by Tomi Oyemakinde

Overview

A teenage girl is pulled into investigating the truth behind her new boarding school’s decades-old legend in The Changing Man, this debut Young Adult speculative mystery by Tomi Oyemakinde.

Face front. Watch your back. BE BRAVE.

Despite Ife Adebola being in the Urban Achievers scholarship program at Nithercott School, her parents can barely afford the tuition. No matter how much the prestigious boarding school tries to pull her in,
or who wants to be friends with her, like her classmate Bijal, Ife is determined not to get caught up in any of it.

But when another student begins acting out of character, 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—or what—is behind everything, before they become the Changing Man’s next victim?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250868138
Publisher:	Feiwel & Friends
Publication date:	09/26/2023
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	257,283
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.50(d)
Lexile:	HL580L (what's this?)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

Tomi Oyemakinde grew up in London, before being uprooted at the age of 6 to head across the North Sea to the Netherlands. He is committed to crafting stories centered on Black protagonists thriving across genres, audiences & worlds. When Tomi is not busy writing, he can be found daydreaming about his future dog (namely a Rottweiler named Pan) and geeking out over all things anime. The Changing Man is his debut novel.

Editorial Reviews

07/24/2023

When Leon, a scholarship student at the prestigious Nithercott School, receives a text from his crush, he heads into the woods to find her. There, Leon instead encounters and enters a mysterious orange mist and is never seen again. A month later, Nigerian American Ife, a new student attending Nithercott, learns of his disappearance through rumors from peers. Some suggest that it’s the handiwork of the violent Changing Man, the school’s harrowing urban legend who “preys on the lonely at heart.” Because of racist interactions with school administration and her anxiety attacks, Ife struggles adjusting to life at Nithercott, though she manages to befriend students Malika and Bijal. After Malika briefly goes missing and reappears with a seemingly different personality, Ife partners with Bijal and Leon’s younger brother Ben to investigate the strange happenings at the academy. In this mind-bending supernatural debut, Oyemakinde uses a dark academic setting to examine themes of loss, loneliness, friendship, and change. Ife’s developing bonds with Bijal and Ben help transform her from a withdrawn introvert into a fierce final girl as she navigates the narrative’s hair-raising horrors. Supporting characters are intersectionally diverse. Ages 14–up. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"In this mind-bending supernatural debut, Oyemakinde uses a dark academic setting to examine themes of loss, loneliness, friendship, and change. Ife’s developing bonds with Bijal and Ben help transform her from a withdrawn introvert into a fierce final girl as she navigates the narrative’s hair-raising horrors." —Publishers Weekly

". . .charmingly fun and heartwarming" —BCCB

"An interesting premise and some imaginative and horrific scenes. . . Ife's developing abilities to manage her anxiety are a highlight." —Booklist

". . .this debut offers highly visually evocative and eerie descriptions of characters and events and will appeal to fans of creature horror, social commentary, and dark academia. A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller. . ." —Kirkus

"Oyemakinde’s eerie and unsettling debut will have you checking your locks and looking over your shoulder. Get ready to welcome an exciting new voice in the world of horror!" —Caleb Roehrig, author of The Fell of Dark

"You'll be pulled headfirst into Ife's world as she and her friends discover that the Changing Man isn't the only malevolent entity stalking the ivied gardens and darkened halls of Nitercott...and the reality may be way more terrifying than any urban legend. A twisty, atmospheric thriller will leave you peering into dark corners with plenty of goosebumps and the smell of warm, wet pavement lingering in your nose." —Ginny Myers Sain, New York Times-bestselling author of Dark and Shallow Lies

"The Changing Man is clever, atmospheric, and horrifying in all the best ways. Tomi Oyemakinde deftly weaves a compelling story of isolation, fear, and ultimately friendship. This book will stick with you long after you’ve read the explosive final pages. I can’t wait to read more from this brilliant, and terrifying, new voice in YA fiction!" —Kathryn Foxfield, author of Good Girls Die First

"The Changing Man is compulsively readable and utterly thrilling. I devoured it and hugely enjoyed every moment—even when I was genuinely frightened! Tomi Oyemakinde is an exciting new voice in the YA thriller space and sure to be a huge hit with fans of dark academia, thrillers, and horror." —Katherine Webber, author of Twin Crowns

From the Publisher

2023-06-08
After a Nigerian British girl goes off to an exclusive boarding school that seems to prey on less-privileged students, she discovers there might be some truth behind an urban legend.

Ife Adebola joins the Urban Achievers scholarship program at pricey, high-pressure Nithercott School, arriving shortly after a student called Leon mysteriously disappeared. Gossip says he’s a victim of the glowing-eyed Changing Man who targets the lonely, leaving them changed. Ife doesn’t believe in the myth, but amid the stresses of Nithercott’s competitive, privileged, majority-white environment, where she is constantly reminded of her state school background, she does miss her friends and family. When Malika, a fellow Black scholarship student, disappears and then returns, acting strangely devoid of personality, Ife worries the Changing Man is real—and that she’s next. Ife joins forces with classmate Bijal and Benny, Leon’s younger brother, to uncover the truth about who the Changing Man is and what he wants. Culminating in a detailed, gory, and extended climactic battle, this verbose thriller tempts readers with a nefarious mystery involving racial and class-based violence but never quite lives up to its potential and peters out thematically by its explosive finale. However, this debut offers highly visually evocative and eerie descriptions of characters and events and will appeal to fans of creature horror, social commentary, and dark academia.

A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter. (Thriller. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews