by Wendy McLeod Macknight (Author)
Ali has always acted like a copycat to make friends, but when she unexpectedly inherits the ability to change her appearance at will, fitting in seems impossible! Luckily, with the help of her family, new friends, and a touch of magic, Ali might just survive middle school after all. Ali and her parents have moved at least once a year for as long as Ali can remember. She's attended six different schools, lived in dozens of apartments, and never really felt at home anywhere.
But Ali's parents say living in Saint John, New Brunswick, will be different. They've moved in with Ali's great-grandmother, a lively ninety-nine-year-old with a quirky old house and room for all of them. Ali wants to believe it will be their last move, but everything seems too perfect to be true. To Ali's surprise, things are different this time, but not in the way she'd hoped. She's inherited the Sloane family power: the ability to change her appearance into any living thing. Ali is a Copycat. Literally. And being the new kid at school is hard enough without worrying about turning into your teacher. Luckily, Ali's new friends are eager to help. But as Ali soon learns, being a Copycat is no substitute for being yourself.
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Set in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, this lightly fantastical novel explores themes of belonging, self-awareness, and individuality with a unique premise about inherited shapeshifting abilities. The author admirably steers her 12-year-old protagonist, the indecisive but determined Ali, through the fog of coastal Saint John as well as her confusing middle school social life. After Ali's family moves in with her grandmother, she unexpectedly gains the ability to turn into anyone or anything—a skill her father and grandmother possess, but is believed to have passed over Ali. Her newfound power forces her to confront her desire to be accepted by her peers. Add in a longstanding family feud, a secret about her uncle's death, and the terrors of making friends at a new school, and readers are presented with a story brimming with angst, magic, and drama. Though the narrative is slow to start, once Ali embraces her abilities and takes charge, the action comes fast, with MacKnight mining Ali's special skill for comedy and suspense. MacKnight also writes from a deep understanding of the push and pull between wanting to stand out and wanting to fit in. As Ali struggles to figure out the right things to do, readers will grow to admire her, even as they relate to her growing pains. Voracious readers will also appreciate that, in her lonely moments, Ali takes solace in kid-lit mainstays like Stuart Little and The Golden Compass. VERDICT A fun and fast-paced romp with a relatable protagonist and a touch of the supernatural.—Abigail Garnett, Brooklyn Public Library
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