The Type Changer (PB) (2022)

Long ago, unseen beings placed a curse of division on humanity because of ancestors making a pact with an evil sea creature. Now the worth of a person's life is determined by the texture of their hair. Oluwa, a troubled, confused inner city teen witnesses how herself and other Kink people with 4C hair are invaluable in society, making her want to fight for unity and equality.

After the tragic death of her mother, Oluwa finds refuge in the arms of her ambitious boyfriend, Tumelo, a budding Kink nationalist orator and organizer of a community movement. At first, Oluwa follows his lead, but after a heated argument, she realizes Tumelo is just as intransigent as the prejudiced society he is warring against.

When Oluwa's dad hears about the death of his ex-wife, he forces Oluwa to live with him across the bridge in Govi. But Oluwa doesn't want to leave East Saint Louis because she's afraid of how his new wife and the other 1A type people will discriminate against her.

Oluwa is surprised to learn her new baby sister is a 3C and the first offspring of a 1A person procreating with a 4C person. While at a store in Govi, Oluwa is called a derogatory term for the first time by a 1A male who adds insult to injury by telling her she must enter through the back door since she is not wearing the mandatory wig issued for all 4Cs in Govi territory.

This traumatic experience provokes such a deep emotion for Oluwa that she discovers her hair can change textures. Afraid of exposing this shapeshift ability, she runs away and hitches a ride back to East Saint Louis. She arrives at Tumelo's apartment where she is quickly put to work growing his movement. Once again Oluwa sets aside her misgivings and helps the campaign. Unexpectedly, Tumelo is captured and detained for testing across the bridge for Govi's plan to breed their new designer race of 3Cs.

The next day, Oluwa bumps into Kink Queen, the wise 4C woman she'd hitched a ride with. Kink Queen becomes her mentor and places Oluwa in a trance where see's four people who look identical to her but with different hair types. Each hair type represents her different abilities. Straight 1A types represent the organizational structure of society, 4C types represents the power it takes to build a city, and 3C types represent unity. When Oluwa wakes from her trance, Kink Queen tells her she is the chosen one and her mission is to destroy texturism (racism) and bring unity to a divided world. She plucks a strand of hair from Oluwa's head and places it in a vial. Oluwa agrees to her mission and heads back to Govi's high security base to pour the vial's contents into the main water tower. But before she arrives, her mother reappears after faking her own death, kidnaps her and forces her onboard a ship sailing to Alkebulan, an apparent utopia for Kink people.

During a brief struggle with her mother, Oluwa's vial is shattered, leaving her feeling like the answer for texturism is destroyed. She attempts to end her life by jumping overboard. Her mother saves her, and Oluwa realizes the answer is within her, a part of her DNA.

Determined, Oluwa heads back to Govi, but before she is able to finish the mission, she breaks out an apathetic Tumelo from his holding cell. After she shows him her ability to transform her hair into different types, he begins to trust that Oluwa is the answer to texturism. Together, they complete the mission and texurism is abolished.