• Book Review

    The Changing Man by Tomi Oyemakinde | Book Review

    The Changing Man by Tomi Oyemakinde | Book ReviewThe Changing Man by Tomi Oyemakinde
    Published by Pan Macmillan on September 7, 2023
    Genres: Young Adult Fiction / Horror
    Pages: 400
    Format: eBook
    two-stars

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

    Just because they let you in . . . it doesn't mean they'll let you out.

    When Ife joins Nithercott School through its prestigious Urban Achievers Program, she knows immediately that she doesn't fit. Wandering its echoing halls, she must fend off cruel taunts from the students and condescending attitudes from the teachers. When she finds herself thrown into detention for the foreseeable future, she strikes up an unlikely alliance with Ben, a troublemaker with an annoyingly cute smile. They've both got reasons to want to get out of Nithercott - Ben's brother is missing, and no one seems to be bothering to find him.

    For Ife, it's just another strange element of this school that doesn't care about its students. But as more and more people start going missing, including one of Ife's only friends, she starts to feel haunted.

    Who is the figure she's started seeing in the shadowy halls, who looks mysteriously like herself? And is there any truth in to the strange urban legend that travels the school like mist . . . the legend of the Changing Man?

    I mostly wanted to get my hands on The Changing Man because of the UK cover. I mean, look at that thing! It’s so creepy. I wanted a good creepy read for Halloween, and was super intrigued by this synopsis. Unfortunately I found that the book was too slow. The beginning focused too much on the private school drama and didn’t spend enough time on building the spooky atmosphere. This book would have benefitted from a change in pace to keep the reader interested after the strong start with a teenage boy disappearing.