Changers Book One: Drew Reviewed in the New York Times!

Changers Book One: Drew by T Cooper and Allison Glock-Cooper was reviewed by Benoit Denizet-Lewis for the March 16, 2014 issue of the New York Times Sunday book Review. Denizet-Lewis writes:

That sensation of being in the wrong body will be familiar to transgender and gender-fluid teenagers. Bisexual young people — and those unsure about their sexuality — should also relate to Drew, since she eventually falls for both a boy and a girl at her school. The boy is a Changer and is therefore off limits according to commandments put forth by the Changers Council, the authority also responsible for tracking Abiders, an underground group hoping to eradicate Changers.

Over the course of freshman year, Drew becomes a cheerleader (a thoughtful and friendly one, thankfully) and learns that being a 14-year-old girl is “exhausting.” She’s hit on by awkward, creepy boys. She feels fat. She’s shocked by how gossipy and mean girls can be. And she suffers the humiliation of getting her first period in front of a crowd at cheerleading practice. The prospect of enduring menstruation every month is boggling. “I can’t believe I survived a day without stabbing someone in the retina,” Drew says. “I take back every single time I’ve said (or even thought) that girls are annoying.”

. . . “Changers” should appeal to a broad demographic. Teenagers, after all, are the world’s leading experts on trying on, and then promptly discarding, new identities.

Fans of “Changers” will be heartened to know Drew has three more years of high school, which means the authors have planned three more books in the series. Having survived life as a cheerleader, Drew will go on to become a nerd, a jock, and an outcast. Stereotypes will undoubtedly be squashed. And some version of Drew will surely be assigned to detention. Because no series concerned with high school, identity and unexpected empathy would be complete without a nod to “The Breakfast Club.”

This New York Times review is only the latest in great praise given to Changers Book One: Drew. Changers has received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, who called it, “An excellent read for any teens questioning their sense of self or gender.” And O, the Oprah Magazine recently highlighted the authors’ Unselfies project, part of their ongoing empathy project, We Are Changers.

Congratulations, T and Allison!

Posted: Mar 14, 2014

Category: News | Tags: Allison Glock-Cooper, book review, Changers, Changers Book One: Drew, New York Times, New York Times Book Review, Review, T Cooper