Imposter: A Variants Novel

Gr 7 Up—The first book (Razorbill, 2013) in Winnacker's new series has an intriguing premise: What if there was a secret agency within the FBI called Forces with Extraordinary Abilities (FEA) that employed agents with supernatural powers? Tessa, a teenager with the FEA, is a shape-shifter. After touching someone, she can absorb his or her DNA and turn into that person's physical replica. After two years of training, she's assigned to her first case: she has to assume the body of a murdered girl named Madison, who the agency pretends has had a miraculous recovery in the hope of catching a serial killer. The assignment turns out to be trickier than Tessa imagined. Madison had loving parents, a protective twin brother, a best friend, and many secrets. Tessa finds herself enjoying Madison's life, grateful to be a part of a real family, but feeling guilty about the deception. Suspects emerge and Tessa has to rely on her shape-shifting ability in order to save her life. Emily Rankin does a wonderful job reading the first-person narration. The book has been optioned by Warner Brothers for a TV series. Give this to fans of paranormal thrillers and X-Men.—Julie Paladino, East Chapel Hill High School, NC