The Shapeshifter's Guide to Gym Class

By Kai Cheng Thom

For fans of Judy Blume and Lee Knox Ostertag, a heartfelt and hilarious MG debut from Kai Cheng Thom about learning to listen to that quiet, bold voice in your heart.

In every generation, a special few of Nor Numinem are born shapeshifters. Unfortunately, being one of the "special few" does not get you out of gym class.

Nor Numinem. A town of hope and beauty. A place where freedom for all blooms as abundantly as the flowering vines that cover the buildings on every street. Yet even in this beautiful town, a kid like Maia's got problems.

Maia is a shapeshifter.

And worse, she's starting middle school.

In every generation, a special few of Nor Numinem are born shapeshifters: children who develop the mysterious ability to transform into a part-animal shape. Unfortunately for Maia, her ability is merely this: to grow giant moth wings that grow uncontrollably out of her back whenever she's excited, or upset, or for some reason, whenever her new classmate Luke looks at her in a particular way. Worse than worse? Maia's wings are useless. Weak and fragile--unlike her talented friends.

But Maia's problems are about get much harder than even she knows. A strange illness is spreading through the gardens of Nor Numinem. The very gardens that feed and sustain this once-perfect town. Worse still, some of the adults think the shapeshifter children are to blame. A rumors turn into hate, life gets tougher for those who aren't seen as "normal". Maia and her friends will soon discover that there is a dark rift in Nor Numinem, one that will take all their talents, known and unknown, to heal.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1668210878
• ISBN13: 9781668210871
• Release Date: September 2026
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 288 Pages
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7