Kim

Gr 7 Up—This series takes the ultimate teen experience—not feeling comfortable in one's own skin—and folds it into a fantastical premise: with each year of high school, a young Changer wakes up as an entirely different person. Readers of the past installments have followed Oryon through experiences he never expected: menstruating, being sexually assaulted, and facing racial prejudice. In this title, Oryon is now Kim and has to deal with fat-shaming and homophobia. While living with new identities might encourage empathy for other people, the more immediate concern for many Changers is how to survive a year of high school. Readers will connect with Kim as she tentatively makes new friends; watches Audrey, the girl she still cares about, from afar; and struggles with who she is and who she wants to be, while finding comfort in the theater crowd. This strong entry in the series is a good choice for readers looking for books about friendship, identity, and LGBTQ issues.