from the description/cover, i assumed (i know) this would be a thriller horror story, but i was dissapointed to see how scifi it was since i dont really like that genre. None of the characters were likeable imho. If I had to hear "suck her teeth' one more time....the story was just okay. I didn't really enjoy it. I struggled to get through. if it wasnt an arc I would have dnfd.

Oyemakinde, Tommy, The Changing Man. Pgs. 384. Feiwel and Friends, 2023

Leon is a scholarship student at the prestigious Nithercott School. When he receives a text from his crush to meet them in the woods, he gets there only to find an orange mist. He is never seen again. A month later, Ife Adebola replaces him at the school. He hears about rumors of what might really have happened. Many think Leon was the latest victim of the Changing Man, a glowing-eyed myth that has persisted for decades. Malika, a fellow scholarship student, soon disappears as well. When she returns, she isn’t the same person she was when she left. Joining forces with his younger brother and another classmate, Ife tries to solve the mystery once and for all. Why do students keep disappearing? What is the connection that ties all the disappearances together?

Narrators, Afolabi Alli and Fola Evans-Akinbola masterfully draw the listener into the story. Their intonations and narrative pacing match well with the plot. The story is well-developed and impossible to put down. The characters are charming and pull help bring Ife’s world to life. Fans of thrillers, mystery, and new kid at a strange school fiction will want to pick this one up. Gr 8 and up, 5 stars