Game Changer
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- 7,49 €
Publisher Description
"A timely,
speculative thought experiment in perspective, privilege, and identity." —Kirkus
"The conceit
behind Shusterman’s latest is truly unique. While it exhibits the author’s
usual storytelling aplomb, it also manages to delve into more serious and
timely subject matter, such as racism, sexism, and homophobia. Despite these
heavy topics, the story still moves at a lively pace and, thanks to a zany
sci-fi twist, manages to pack in a few laughs as well." —Booklist
All it takes is one hit on the football field, and
suddenly Ash’s life doesn’t look quite the way he remembers it.
Impossible though it seems, he’s been hit into another
dimension—and keeps on bouncing through worlds that are almost-but-not-really his
own.
The changes start small, but they quickly spiral out of
control as Ash slides into universes where he has everything he’s ever wanted,
universes where society is stuck in the past…universes where he finds himself
looking at life through entirely different eyes.
And if he isn’t careful, the world he’s learning to see more
clearly could blink out of existence…
This high-concept novel from the National Book
Award-winning and New York Times-bestselling
author of the Arc of a Scythe series tackles
the most urgent themes of our time, making this a must-buy for readers who are
starting to ask big questions about their own role in the universe.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A straight, white, cisgender teen is confronted with his own privilege via iterative realities in Printz Honoree Shusterman's (Scythe) ambitious speculative novel. In the first game of his senior year, defensive tackle Ash Bowman feels a strange sensation while sacking the opposing team's quarterback. That night, he discovers that stop signs are now blue instead of red, and no one remembers otherwise. The next time it happens, Ash enters a wealthy existence where his family swaps tract housing for a gated community, and a third tackle has him attending an all-white high school in a world where segregation never ended. As each hit spins Ash further from the reality he knows, he finds himself grappling with realities of class, gender, race, and sexuality. Some gratifyingly complex character relationships help balance the action, but centering the privileged protagonist's limited perspective means that characters with more intersectionally layered identities come off as secondary. Shusterman's tackling of so many nuanced subjects fails to focus sufficiently on each, resulting in a thought-provoking work that only skims the surface. Ages 14–up. ■
