The Shapeshifter’s Guide to Gym Class by Kai Cheng Thom - OPTIONAL
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The Shapeshifter’s Guide to Gym Class by Kai Cheng Thom, 322 pages. Simon and Schuster, 2026. $18. Language: G (0 swears, 0 ‘f’); Mature Content: PG (discussion of transgender); Violence: BUYING ADVI...
Language: G (0 swears, 0 ‘f’); Mature Content: PG (discussion of transgender); Violence:
BUYING ADVISORY: MS - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SOME
13yo Maia and her friends live a nice life in the small town of Nor Numinem. Even if some of them are shapeshifters, all feel welcome and accepted. Then one day one large garden plot withers and dies and some adults around town start talking about The Rot and how shapeshifters are the cause. As the Rot begins to spread, anti-shifter sentiment becomes louder and more violent. And just when they need each other the most, Maia and her friends group split apart.
Thom gives us a thinly veiled look at anti-LGBTQ sentiment in our modern society. The title is misleading, as very little happens during gym class. I hate to say it, but I was underwhlemed.
Characters on the cover are multi-ethnic, but within the book their actions default white; some are shapechangers. Two characters are transgender, another is mentioned as non-binary
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
