Book Review of Game Changer by Neal Shusterman: A Well-Intentioned Story about the Importance of Empathy, Humility, and Kindness

Have you ever had to do something you felt woefully under-qualified for, like giving a presentation about electrons to a Nobel-Prize-winning Physicist? Or cooking a five-course meal for a world-renowned chef? Writing a review for Game Changer by Neal Shusterman feels kind of like that. It would be easier not to, which is exactly why I need to.

My Review of Game Changer

The Pros

💭 The Concept

Ash Bowman is just your average white heterosexual male – or at least, he was until he became the center of the universe. Now I know what you must be thinking: don’t all white heterosexual males think that they’re the center of the universe? Maybe. But due to some unexplainable cosmic mumbo-jumbo, Ash actually is. Now, every time he power tackles somebody on the football field, he launches the world as we know it into a different dimension.

“You, Ashley Bowman, have become the center of the universe.”

Alternate realities + mixed-up multiverses + mysterious interdimensional beings (with skateboards) + questionable quantum physics = an exciting equation for a unique YA Sci-Fi. But wait, there’s more! Shusterman takes it all a step further by mixing in pretty much every controversial topic you can think of – racism, classism, homophobia, and discrimination (based on race, gender, and sexual orientation), to name a few.

📢 The Message

In the Author’s Note, Shusterman said that this book terrified him, and I can see why. It takes all the controversial issues that society likes to sweep under the rug of comfortable complacency, hitches them to a Grade A firework display, and then rockets them into the sky in one loud, explosive show that nobody can turn a blind eye to.

“Honestly, I’m terrified of this book, because I’ve taken every gaping hot-button issue I can think of and shoved in a red-hot poker. But in the end, that’s the way you cauterize a wound, and we are a deeply wounded society, desperately in need of healing. My hope is that this book can aid in the healing.”

At its core, Game Changer is a story about empathy. It’s about the need for kindness, understanding, and the humility to listen and learn from those who have different life experiences than us. It’s about recognizing that in order to change the world – to make it better – we must be willing to let go of our selfish pride and make uncomfortable personal sacrifices. And I absolutely love that.

✍️ The Writing

If you’ve read any of the author’s other books, then this won’t come as a surprise to you, BUT DANG – the man knows how to write a compelling novel. He can twist words, spin phrases, craft sentences, and weave them all together into a masterful marvel that is a true credit to the English language. From page one, the engaging writing in Game Changer had me hooked like a fish on a line, and I was equally helpless when it came to escape. Shusterman was going to tell me his story and I was going sit there, completely immersed, until it all came to a crashing end.

“Was there ever a time in our history that we accepted each other as human beings? Was the line between ‘us’ and ‘them’ always a chasm we couldn’t bridge? We vilify the difference in others; we glorify the differences in ourselves. We put ‘them’ in a box, then create our own boxes. To define ourselves so we don’t get defined. To find our tribe and defend it from others. But that basic human need for identity is, and always has been, a double-edged sword. Because the closer to our feet we draw that line in the sand, the more we see everyone else as the enemy.”

The Woes

🏁 The Ending

And crash it did. While the first two-thirds of this book were well-paced and thought-provoking, the ending was rushed, choppy, and oddly hollow. The way the plot wrapped things up left me feeling dissatisfied; I had been expecting a big fancy Thanksgiving feast, and instead was served a frozen turkey on a styrofoam plate. There was so much potential here, but instead of flourishing, the grand finale floundered and flopped in the arms of its own grand agenda.

“In the course of human history, there have been only nine individuals who survived being the subjective locus. You know their names, because they all went on to live extraordinary lives. Each one of them, in their own way, changed the world for the better…And you are the tenth.”

🛠️ The Execution

One of the main complaints I’ve seen about Game Changer is that it comes across as a bit heavy-handed and to some extent, I would agree. There isn’t a lot of nuance to the story, and it can feel overly preachy and in-your-face at times. But you also could argue that the time for subtly regarding these issues is long since gone.

In any case, perhaps Shusterman tries to tackle too many important topics here. Perhaps the book could have benefited from a few more rounds of edits. But whatever the reason, what the author wanted this story to be and what it actually is are two very different things.

The TL;DR

For most people, Game Changer by Neal Shusterman will be like a game of archery – it’ll either hit home or miss the target completely. But whether or not the sum of its parts works for you, at the end of the day this book is one man’s honest attempt to use his platform and his voice to call for change. It is a well-intentioned, earnest plea for a universe that’s a little kinder, a little more empathetic, and a little more accepting. And while I’m not 100% sure if this was a hit or a miss for me personally, I appreciate the courage it took to put it out into the world.

TODAY'S WAFFLE RECIPE

Game Changer

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Quotations are from an uncorrected proof and are subject to change upon final publication.

From the Kitchen of: Neal Shusterman

Ingredients:

Published by Quill Tree Books on Feb 9, 2021

Classified as YA, Science Fiction

Cover art by Jim Tierney

Cover design by Joel Tippie

Obtained as an ARC

Cook Time: 400 pages
Cooking Directions:

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…

CLICK HERE TO SEE CONTENT AND TRIGGER WARNINGS

Racism (challenged), racial slurs, racist microaggressions (challenged), racial segregation, white supremacy (challenged), assault, sexism (challenged), unjust incarceration, gaslighting, abusive relationship (both emotionally and physically), discrimination based on race, gender, and sexual orientation (challenged), homophobia (challenged), forced outing of gay character, hate crimes, attempted murder, blood, PTSD, death of a loved one, drug use (off page), selling drugs.

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