C hanging the Prophecy charts the further adventures of Doshmisi, Denzel, Maia, and Sonjay from The Call to Shakabaz through a siege of Big House City, the dungeons of the Final Fortress, Compost’s garbage labyrinth, an alien-run prison camp, an attack of flying tacos, a voyage to the bottom of a dying ocean, and more. They and their friends must apply themselves to the task of overturning an ancient prophecy and preventing the environmental destruction of the land by mysterious alien creatures in cahoots with the malevolent enchanter Sissrath. Introducing the Prophet of the Khoum, a reformed geebaching who tries hard not to laugh, and a resourceful Latina friend, this year’s return to Faracadar finds the Four taking action rather than accepting defeat as a foregone conclusion. While the danger of environmental destruction in Faracadar threatens to undermine hope, the heroes and heroines of Changing the Prophecy refuse to allow the doomsayers the last word.

Changing the Prophecy is an imaginative, thought-provoking, and at times hilarious story written for children ages nine to fourteen. It embraces African American cultural constructs, values, idioms, and language, and steps outside the ordinary, inviting the reader to follow. Wachspress asks the reader to confront tough issues, such as how to value everyone at the table for their contribution, the nature of forgiveness, how to create a sustainable environmental future, the importance of honoring our artists and musicians for revitalizing us with their creativity, how to live in harmony with our natural world, and the essential importance of spirituality in everyday life. Wachspress says that she needed a fantasy story in which environmental disaster is averted because such a story reminds us to hope that could happen. Perhaps the children coming up will find ways to reverse damage done to Earth and ways to manage the evolving environment that will be the reality of their future. Changing the Prophecy is a testament to Wachspress’s continuing hope for that change and their future.