SWITCHERS

Thompson has written a fantasy with the pacing of a suspense novel—an adventure written in poetic prose. In Dublin, Tess is being followed by the furtive, rat-like Kevin, 14, who astonishes her by saying, “I know what you do.” Tess has a secret: She can change herself into any animal, a power that she first realized when she was seven or eight; in fear of others’ discovery of her gift, she remains purposely friendless. Kevin, too, is a switcher, and their shared abilities render them unlikely companions, as he pushes her to join him in a great undertaking which is nothing less than saving the United Kingdom from a cataclysmic weather pattern that is crushing the northern climes with killing blizzards. A wise elder imparts cryptic guidance to the two as they embark on their deadly mission; other authority figures in the book are completely at sea as they struggle to cope with the strange blizzards that spell doom and the strange creatures on their radar screens: Kevin and Tess in altered states. Thus, in a satisfying manner, the two are constantly succeeding, but only by the seat of their pants, finding new reserves of ingenuity to accomplish their goal. The suspense never wavers, while integral to the story are the author’s deft observations on independence and human relationships, on death and loss, and more, in an atmospheric and authentic fantasy world. (Fiction. 12-15)