Stranger (The Change Book 1)

A YALSA Best Book for Young Adults, Stranger captures the excitement of The Hunger Games, the immersive world of Shadow and Bone, and the special powers of The Darkest Minds. Described as "a first-rate page-turner" by Kirkus Reviews (starred review), this post-apocalyptic novel by Rachel Manija Brown and Sherwood Smith immerses readers in a world where people with mutant talents are powerful and hated, and even the trees can kill you.

In the walled town of Las Anclas, teenage loner Ross, wounded and hunted, walks out of the desert, bringing with him a mysterious ancient book, the rage of a vengeful king, and a deadly power he can't control. As he confronts prejudice and danger, he also meets the shy and brilliant teenage mechanic Mia, and the confident and passionate warrior Jennie. The last time Ross got close to anyone, disaster followed, and with his enemies closing in on him, he faces a perilous choice.

School Library Journal (starred review) praises the novel as "a fresh story with well-developed characters, fast-paced action, and a fantastical world," while YALSA (American Library Association) The Hub describes it as "Set against a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles that feels like a futuristic Wild West, this novel follows a diverse cast of characters in terms of both race and sexual orientation who must navigate a landscape full of telekinetic squirrels, man-eating trees, and a bounty hunter after an ancient book."

Kirkus Reviews (starred review) lauds the novel's "Infused with a generous spirit - call it a utopian dystopia" and "Characterization is rich and stereotype-free," while also noting the "Equally exceptional is the depiction of conflict" and that "The five dynamic narrators and action-packed plot deliver thrills while slyly undermining genre clichés. A first-rate page-turner that leaves its own compelling afterimage."

Publishers Weekly also praises the novel, stating that "Told in alternating third-person narratives by teenage citizens of Las Anclas (a desolate future Los Angeles), this dystopian novel follows a town's attempts to survive after a solar storm ravaged the world and mutated some of its inhabitants. The setting is both bizarre (deadly 'singing' trees can kill humans) and familiar - the story has a 'wild west' atmosphere as the town battles the elements and invaders with only basic weaponry. The story's characters and their tightly woven relationships are well developed, and Brown and Smith provide plenty of narrative diversity, making each character's entry feel fresh, distinctive, and unexpected. The buildup to the action-packed ending does not disappoint."

Don't miss any of Rachel Manija Brown and Sherwood Smith's The Change series: STRANGER • HOSTAGE • REBEL • TRAITOR.

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