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Cycler (Cycler #1)

by Lauren McLaughlin (Goodreads Author)

3.27 of 5 stars 3.27 · rating details · 631 ratings · 140 reviews

AS FAR AS anyone at her high school knows, Jill McTeague is an average smart girl trying to get her dream date to ask her to the prom.

What no one knows, except for Jill’s mom and dad, is that for the four days Jill is out of school each month, she is not Jill at all. She is Jack, a genuine boy—complete with all the parts. Jack lives his four days per month in the solitude...more

Hardcover, 250 pages

Published August 26th 2008 by Random House Books for Young Readers (first published August 25th 2007)

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Feb 25, 2012 Phoebe added it

Shelves: speculative, young-adult

The premise of Cycler recalls an old, bizarre childhood favorite of mine--the inappropriately titled film Something Special in which a girl wishes she could be a boy to earn her father's love and wakes up with a little, um, something special. In her pants. As was the case with that 80s gem (?), Cycler by Lauren McLaughlin appears to have a premise that embraces genderqueerness and explores gender roles--but I'm not sure if we've really progressed all that far from the 80s, when the differences...more The premise of Cycler recalls an old, bizarre childhood favorite of mine--the inappropriately titled film Something Special in which a girl wishes she could be a boy to earn her father's love and wakes up with a little, um, something special. In her pants. As was the case with that 80s gem (?), Cycler by Lauren McLaughlin appears to have a premise that embraces genderqueerness and explores gender roles--but I'm not sure if we've really progressed all that far from the 80s, when the differences between boys and girls seemed to be all about how one holds one's schoolbooks.

In Cycler, the gender-bending is a curse, not wish fulfillment. Heroine Jill grows a ween during the period (heh) of time when most girls would be courting Aunt Flo. We're introduced to this premise in a nightmare-inducing opening sequence where Jill wakes up mid-transformation and feels her penis first split in half then get sucked inside her. Um. Ow. Worse, her parents watch (!) and scream at her to intone that she's "all girl" over and over again, like some kind of embarrassing mantra. Apparently they've encouraged her to sublimate the boy-side of her personality (called, predictably, Jack) during the rest of her cycle and instead embrace the most over the top feminine aspects of herself instead.

Jill relents. Unfortunately. The sections of narration from her perspective are like a bad stereotype of a high school girl. She's boy-obsessed, shallow, hung up on the prom, shopping, clothes, the prom, boys. She speaks in a bizarrely affected version of teen-girl speak (for some reason, she's really fond of the word "mal"--it appears dozens of times in the text, though, I suspect, never, ever in real life). She hates Jack, the male side of her personality--but only because he might prove to be a wrench in her prom plans.

Jack's chapters, meanwhile, are all about porn. And jacking off. And boobs. Uh. But at least there's some compelling tension within them, because Jill's mother hates Jack so much that she locks him in what's essentially a prison and refuses to let him speak or interact with anyone. This is over the top, but at least it's interesting--a genuine conflict. His crush on Jill's best friend Ramie is likewise organic and mildly interesting.

I can't say the same thing about Jill's character conflicts. Her primary problem is that the boy she likes is bi. Um. And, you know, bi guys are just "gay in training." Um. And it must mean that he doesn't really like her, or something. I don't know. There was a lot of underlying biphobia, and I found reading about it really uncomfortable.

You would think that Jill, what with her own inherently genderqueer nature, would be more accepting, or maybe even (gasp!) happy that her boyfriend likes both ween and vag but instead she acts like a pretty big jerk about it. There's an understated theme about integrating and accepting the non-gender-conforming parts of one's sexual and gender identity, but none of those threads are really developed. When it comes down to it, Jill (and her mother's) bigotry are insufficiently challenged by the development of the text. Instead of exploring these themes, Lauren McLaughlin gives us a girl in a suit. At prom. After this girl told us she had no desire to go to prom. Because she hopes a boy she schtupped might be there. When it comes down to it, prom really is that important, I guess.

McLaughlin had the space here to resolve all of these plot threads in a way that could have been really progressive. But Cycler is really short and ends mid-climax. I don't mind cliff-hangers, but this felt like gratuitous sequel bait. There's no denouement, no resolution. Progressive readers like me, who really aren't totally down with rigid gender stereotypes in our gender-bendy YA, are supposed to have faith, I guess, that the characters grow--in the next book.

But this book didn't really do it for me. I guess you could say it lacked nuance, depth. It could have been a truly groundbreaking exploration of gender for teens. Instead, it's nothing special.(less)

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Nov 17, 2012 Jennifer Wardrip rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: trt-posted-reviews

Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com

CYCLER is one of those rare storiess that can transcend one genre of book. Touted as a science fiction story, it can easily pass for a contemporary teen novel, with a little bit of mystery and even horror (if the concept of the story creeps you out!) thrown in.

Jill McTeague is a normal high school girl. She's got good friends who are helping her to snag a date to the prom. Not any date, though. She's been asked by her science lab partner but brushed him of...more Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com

CYCLER is one of those rare storiess that can transcend one genre of book. Touted as a science fiction story, it can easily pass for a contemporary teen novel, with a little bit of mystery and even horror (if the concept of the story creeps you out!) thrown in.

Jill McTeague is a normal high school girl. She's got good friends who are helping her to snag a date to the prom. Not any date, though. She's been asked by her science lab partner but brushed him off saying it was too early to plan for the prom. She'd rather go with Tommy Knutson. They have Calculus together and she catches him looking at her throughout class.

There's only one small glitch in her plans. As long as her cycle stays on course, she can attend the prom as Jill. But if there is even a slight miscalculation on her part, she may be Jack at the time.

Jack is the person she becomes for four days prior to her period each month. The cycling from female to male started three years ago. She and her mom have been to all the doctors and had all the tests done, but no one can explain it or give her any help. So the McTeague family has taken matters into their own hands. When Jill becomes Jack, he is forced to stay home from school (they've created an ongoing need for blood transfusions each month for Jill by way of explanation) and denied access to the outside world. Jack has no access to the Internet, or a cell phone. His only stimulation comes from the piles of books, DVDs and porn Jill or her mother procures for him (thanks to the sticky notes he leaves for Jill when he's visiting).

Things are going along smoothly for Jill and her crush, Tommy, has started noticing her, no thanks to the crazy J-bar incident at the local ski slope. Now Jill just has to get him to ask her to the prom. However, in the meantime, Jack has snuck out of the house on his latest visit to peek at a sleeping Ramie, Jill's best friend. Jack is obsessed with Ramie. Mrs. McTeague strips Jack of all privileges and locks him in his room.

As the prom gets closer and closer, the cycling becomes more complicated for Jill and Jack. Jill has a harder time forcing Jack's residual thoughts into oblivion, and being around her best friend draws conflicting emotions within her.

CYCLER is a unique story that has many surprising elements within its covers. There is a lot of graphic sex talk, so those easily offended should refrain from picking this one up. My only complaint about the novel was the repetitive use of the world "mal." It was used quite often throughout the story and seemed to hamper the flow, rather than assist it. However, that being said, the entire concept is fascinating and kept me spellbound throughout the entire novel. It's not until the prom arrives does everything finally come together with the appropriate conclusion.

CYCLER is Ms. McLaughlin's first published novel, and according to the bio at the end of the book, a sequel is in the works. I know I for one will be keeping my eyes open to see what happens with Ramie, Tommy, Jack, and Jill!
(less)

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Nov 18, 2008 Trin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, queerlit, ya, american-lit, genderfuck

Once a month, teenager Jill McTeague turns into a boy for three days. Whereas I would be like, “OMG! Best period alternative ever!”—especially since Jill is lucky enough to have a cute bisexual boy fall in love with her—Jill is less than psyched by this little bit of genderfuckery. In fact, thanks to the influence of her cartoonishly evil mother, Jill has totally sublimated her male side, causing him to split into a separate personality called Jack. And Jack’s starting to get pissed.

Frankly, I d...more

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Feb 18, 2010 Natalie Rosario rated it 1 of 5 stars

I'm not really sure what I think about this book. It took a lot of odd turns that... are just that.. odd. I can't really describe a whole lot of the book with out giving away a good chunk of the plot. However i'll try to.

Jill is a 17 year old girl with a unique condition. Every month about the time "aunt flow" would come to visit she would turn into a 17 year old boy named Jack. Jack was hated by Jill's mother, and as a result was forced to live in her room the four days a month he existed (thus...more

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Mar 11, 2009 laaaaames rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people who like gender in neat little boxes but think they're open-minded

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Holy effing crap this book was a disappointment. I am bursting with so much to say that I'll try to stay organized but I am not making any promises.

Firstly: the concept is so, so good. Why isn't this a better execution? In fact, I almost gave the book two stars just because the concept is awesome, but, no, sorry. One star for you.

I find it very interesting that in Lauren McLaughlin's bio, she mentions being passionate about women's rights. How odd, then, that she litters the girl POV with, you k...more Holy effing crap this book was a disappointment. I am bursting with so much to say that I'll try to stay organized but I am not making any promises.

Firstly: the concept is so, so good. Why isn't this a better execution? In fact, I almost gave the book two stars just because the concept is awesome, but, no, sorry. One star for you.

I find it very interesting that in Lauren McLaughlin's bio, she mentions being passionate about women's rights. How odd, then, that she litters the girl POV with, you know, girlie crap, clothes and boys and prompromprom while the boy POV is dick this and cock that and wankwankwank. There have been studies done that most YA-aged boys are not reading YA, and therefore most boy POVs are going to be read by girls (and this book is definitely marketed for girls anyway) so I feel it's incredibly irresponsible to fill girls' heads with the idea that while they're thinking a billion things, guys are just thinking about their insert-euphemism-where-now?. I mean. Yes, they are thinking about that. (The girls are too.) They're also thinking about their friends and their parents and school and college and, you know, whatever they're into. THEY ARE PEOPLE. And I am so, so sick of media that perpetuates that they aren't. I'm so frustrated that girls are raised by this standard that boys are walking dicks and they are the ones with brains and worries and OMG DID I MENTION PROM?

I try very hard to judge books on their own merits (or lack thereof) and not just how I'd write the book, but I must mention that I personally had thought the boy Jill becomes once a month would be her just, ya know, with boy stuff. But, no, it's a different person, which I guess I found less satisfying as a read. Also did he have to be so much STRONGER with MORE MUSCLES and BROADER and, ugh, I get it, ladies delicate, men not! Where the hell did you learn about women's rights, McLaughlin?

Also I don't get how if Jack and Jill are totally different people how cutting his hair would even affect Jill? I mean, he has a frigging penis and she doesn't. ??? Also Jill had to learn this HUGE MINDWIPE thing so that she doesn't have to remember all the grossssss things Jack does like BEING A BOY and NOT SHOWERING (because, you guys, duhhh, being clean is FOR GIRLS!) so why at the end when the public transformation takes place is Jill all WAIT WHAT JUST HAPPENED?

What else rang false?
--Jill tells her mom effing EVERYTHING even though her mom is known to overreact and freak and do things Jill doesn't like
--Why is Prom on 6/23? So the "cycle" lines up? Maybe you should have started the book a month and a half sooner, McLaughlin.
--If someone started walking funny and ignoring people, would they really develop ice queen status at a school they have attended basically their whole life?
--A shit-ton of the prose.

How ridiculous that at the end Ramie totally embraced Prom as IMPORTANT even though she'd been railing against it the whole time? I guess that's what girls eventually realize. Who needs ideals when there is FASHION? Yes, Ramie was a fashionista but she either would have already looked to Prom as some sort of oasis of FASHION! or would have ended up dismissing it for the same reasons she had from the beginning of the book.

Total disappointment.(less)

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Feb 24, 2009 Coffeeboss rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: festival-of-the-gays, young-adult

For me, Cycler started out as light teen reading, but the book actually improved as the story went along, becoming much more emotionally complex. High school student Jill has a rare, strange problem where on her monthly cycle, she actually physically morphs into a teenage boy named Jack. This "problem" is stated as rather matter-of-fact in the story, which is fun, but when Jack develops a crush on Jill's best girlfriend, and Jill herself crushes on a boy who admits that he is bisexual, well, thi...more

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Sep 08, 2008 Becky rated it 2 of 5 stars

McLaughlin, Lauren. 2008. Cycler.

This book is blurbed by Scott Westerfeld, one of my favorite authors, "Artfully fractured and wickedly smart. A brilliant screwball comedy about love, self-knowledge, and the secret identities inside all of us." Part of me is curious what book he read, because that sure wasn't my take on Cycler. Proof yet again that reading is subjective.

I have mixed feelings on this one. I'll try to explain the pros and cons as I see them throughout my review.

First sentence: "I...more

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Apr 04, 2009 Tessa rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary

First of all, I will credit this book for its premise. I think I first read about it on Jezebel or something and thought it might be interesting, even for a young adult novel.

But it was absolutely maddening. Harder to read than Twilight, even if possible. I know that teenage girls can sometimes be unbearable (I was one at one point!) but wow. For being such a gender-bending premise it was incredibly stereotypical. It was as if to say, "look at how with the times we are! There are characters in t...more

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Aug 25, 2008 Lacey Louwagie rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people interested in social constructs of gender, people looking for bisexual-positive YA Lit

Shelves: youngadult

I fell for this book based entirely on the premise: that the main character goes through a 4-day "cycle" of being male every month the way other girls go through their period. I expected this to be a pretty gimmicky book, and it looked as if it were going to start out that way: both Jill and Jack (her 4-day male alter-ego) start out reduced to the lowest common denominator of their genders. Jill is obsessed with getting the boy she's crushing on to ask her out to the prom, and Jack spends his 4-...more

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Oct 17, 2008 Sue rated it 2 of 5 stars

I picked this one up because the cover blurb intrigued me, and I wanted to see how the author handled the "cycling".

Sadly, the book failed to live up to the promise of its premise. The build up, establishing Jill as a normal high school student with a secret, went on for far too long and contributed little to the overall story. Jack's sections were far more amusing, if rather insulting to males in general.

So what saved it? The last third of the book, where tension actually began to build. The in...more

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Apr 11, 2008 Nancy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: april-2008, transgender-books, lgbt-books, young-adult-interest

While extremely far-fetched in its premise, this is an interesting look at gender and gender identity, and one of the rare books for teens dealing with bisexual characters. Every month, for four days, Jill's alter-ego Jack comes to the fore, complete with teenage male body and desires. Jill has learned to block out all memories of his takeover of her body, and until this year he has agreed to stay hidden at home. But now he has a crush on her best friend, and even window bars and a keypad lock s...more

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Aug 02, 2008 Debbie rated it 5 of 5 stars

A real surprise of a book. Okay, it's difficult to walk around in public reading a book with this cover, but there are always folders you could hide it in, or bigger books. Trust me, it's worth the hassle. This is a bizarre Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde / Cinderella / Frankenstein story for 21st century teens. It deals with identity and sexuality in an entirely unique way. The only negative comment I have is that some of the slang was used way too often and took away from a few scenes. Other than th...more

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Mar 25, 2009 jess rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009, yaf, fiction

I first heard about this book on the Boingboing Holiday Gift YAF list. They described it as "Smart YA novel about sex and sexuality." I like boingboing's recommendations, usually, so I checked it out. It was a complete "miss."

For a book that is supposed to be so smart about sex and sexuality, there was very little insight into gender expressions beyond the painfully stereotypical - boys like porn, girls like prom. It was like *headdesk* over and over again. The premise is interesting - girl bec...more

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Dec 27, 2008 Carrie rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: z-2008, glbt-queer, y-fiction

Jill's "terrible" secret is that four days out of every month, she turns into a boy. It's a clever idea that could have been a good book for teens interested in bi-sexuality or queer gender. Unfortunately, the attitudes towards queerness and gender are so stereotyped and/or offensive that I can't actually see it appealing to queer teens.

(It's okay though, the phrase "not homophobic" was used so many times it couldn't possibly *be* homophobic. Everyone knows if you say it, that makes it true.)

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Oct 16, 2012 Sabrina *The REAL Princess* rated it 1 of 5 stars

What the hell did I just read?

This book took me very little time to finish, it was not challenging and the writing was decent enough.

But don't let that fool you. Normally, I am one to read a book on whim. I won't go into an extensive search of reviews/ratings, I'll just see a book with a pretty cover* and think, "hey, let's read this!"

*Yes, I judge books by cover. BUT I KNOW YOU DO TOO!*

The actual content of the story included a lot of graphic sex talk and teenage drama and damned stereotypes!...more

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Jun 03, 2012 Kirsten rated it 1 of 5 stars

I picked this book up thinking it was a trans* YA novel. WRONG!

The premise was really good and very interesting. Girl turns into boy every month for four days before her period. Brilliant. So many good things could come from this! But, unfortunately the focus was on shallow dating/prom problems, though the author could've gone so much deeper and written a good, inspirational story for young and confused queer, trans and questioning individuals. While I was glad she tackled the Bisexual issue, I...more I picked this book up thinking it was a trans* YA novel. WRONG!

The premise was really good and very interesting. Girl turns into boy every month for four days before her period. Brilliant. So many good things could come from this! But, unfortunately the focus was on shallow dating/prom problems, though the author could've gone so much deeper and written a good, inspirational story for young and confused queer, trans and questioning individuals. While I was glad she tackled the Bisexual issue, I think it could've been handled more gracefully. It's two completely different things to actually be OK with dating someone who's Bisexual or to swallow all of your discomfort just to have the Prom date of your dreams.

Another problem I had was all the sex scenes, which weren't bad in and of themselves - she did get inside the mind of the teens, for sure. However, I would've liked to have seen some discussion (even in passing) of protection and safe sex. We all know how much today's world (especially teens!) needs it, after all.

I also found the characterization of Jill's mom especially strange. Yes, teenagers think they're parents are horrible, cruel beings. However... I think this was over the top, doing anything possible to keep the world from your precious baby girl, and locking up the boy when he comes around is really, overtly sexist and just not helpful for the story. Seriously, this woman is crazy... and for no purpose that I could tell.

So, as it stands, this book reinforces all of the old cultural norms about gender that I've been fighting to change my entire life. Girls only care about boys and looking pretty and boys only care about masturbating, sex and porn. The only reason I was even able to finish it was because I really, truly thought it would get better. There were some points in the story line where she could have made a really successful and helpful commentary about gender and the perception thereof. I thought maybe there was some sort of symbolism going on and Jill would come to embrace the masculinity that lies is all of us. But no. No useful social commentary. Just inane teen relationship drama. Needless to say, I was deeply disappointed.(less)

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Oct 19, 2009 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars

I saw a blurb on some website that this was a YA book about gender issues, and was intrigued enough to pick it up from the library. It's about a teenage girl, Jill, that turns into a boy once a month for 4 days (right before her period).This sense of otherness is too much for this teenage girl to handle, and she practices meditation techniques to wipe the experience completely, consequently creating a male split personality, Jack.

I've been thinking a lot since I finished it about HOW it dealt w...more

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Aug 15, 2009 Aaron rated it 4 of 5 stars

Jill is one of those kids everyone envies. She is a good kid. She gets good grades. Her friend Ramie is the type she can tell anything to ... or is she? You see, Jill has a secret. Once a month, she has to go into hiding for four days. Everyone at school, include Ramie, thinks she has a rare blood disease and that she takes the time out of school for blood transfusions. The reality is that for those four days, she is locked up in her bedroom.

You see, she was born a hermaphrodite, one of those pe...more Jill is one of those kids everyone envies. She is a good kid. She gets good grades. Her friend Ramie is the type she can tell anything to ... or is she? You see, Jill has a secret. Once a month, she has to go into hiding for four days. Everyone at school, include Ramie, thinks she has a rare blood disease and that she takes the time out of school for blood transfusions. The reality is that for those four days, she is locked up in her bedroom.

You see, she was born a hermaphrodite, one of those people who exhibits both male and female sexual traits. Once she hit puberty, her body started to develop in the usual ways, but she uses meditation and her own will to control it. For most of the time, she is all girl, which is interestingly enough her mantra. But once a month, her body seems to morph into all boy, and the sex-starved, all-guy Jack takes over. He holds all the memories of her experiences when he is hiding away in the recesses of her mind.

Unfortunately, their mother was so horrified by Jill & Jack's dual natures (or is it split personalities) that Jack is a non-being that only causes problems for Jill. Now, it is Jill's senior year, and she is looking forward to the prom. She has set her eyes on Tommy, an average sort of guy that she is just interested in. Things hit a bump in the road when he tells her that he is bisexual, which as you can imagine is horrible for Jill's mother, but she quickly comes to accept. Who can really blame her when she has her own dual nature.

Making things even more complicated is the fact that Jill's memories of her friend Ramie have awakened something in Jack. While he lusts after porn to the extent that the household doesn't even have Internet access, it is really to hide the fact that he cares for Ramie. He starts sneaking out of the house and pursuing her, only to find that she is also interested. She is a little put off because something about him seems familiar, but she knows she cares about Jack.

As the school year progresses and prom gets closer and closers, things become more and more complex for Jill & Jack. She is exploring her true nature as he learns that he wants not to just exist locked away in Jill's room and would rather have an opportunity in his own life. Her usual 28-day cycle starts to shift, making Jack's appearances occur more and more often.

As you can probably guess, everything comes to a head at the prom. The conclusion spares nothing in intensity, but the book ends up concluding pretty quickly, allowing very little opportunity or denouement. The resolution is basically left out to be included in the sequel, (Re)Cycler, which comes out later this month.

I have to admit that I was really drawn into the mix. I had been expecting an interesting and complex story relating to the challenges of being a hermaphrodite, particular those relating to gender issues. The fact that there are two distinct personalities involved and their shared body seems to "magically" shift between the sexes does add a bit of smokey reality to the story. At times, the reader does have to suspend belief as certain plot devices are used to stretch reality.

All-in-all, though, I found it an enjoyable read. I definitely want to get my hands on the sequel to see where things are going.

The book is interestingly enough, targeted for teens, though, the intense sexual situations makes the target audience on the older end of that range.(less)

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May 04, 2009 Susan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

With the vamp market hitting its saturation point, maybe it's time to tackle the popular metamorphosis theme a new way. Cycler does its best to do just that. Some girls feel like a completely different person during that particular time of the month, and then there's Jill...who literally transforms into a different person during that time of the month. For four days during her period, Jill becomes Jack, with all the accompanying equipment and social challenges that you might expect. McLaughlin c...more

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Apr 18, 2009 Kelly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, young-adult

Summary: Jill McTeague is a typical senior girl. Except for the tiny issue of how four days out of every month, she turns into a boy named Jack—in both mind and body.

Review: The premise of a cycling hermaphrodite made me think the book would be cheesy and induce frequent eye-rolling. But it was a great read.

This book made it fun to explore the themes of sexuality and homophobia without being hit over the head with a “message.” At first, the non-politically-correct language about non-straight cha...more

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Jan 14, 2012 BookChic Club rated it 4 of 5 stars

In this comedic take on the body switching plot, there's a twist as mentioned in the summary, which gives the book a fresh look at this used-before plot. Jill's side of the story is a bit bland as it's similar to some other chicklit novels that mainly talk about boys and how to get noticed by them, and then embarrassing situations abound, etc. but is still fairly fun to read because of McLaughlin's humor. But what really makes this novel is Jack's side- he is so very much a boy, and McLaughlin d...more

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Feb 10, 2013 Heather rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: novel

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 19, 2013 Marni rated it 3 of 5 stars

Walking the shelves at the library, the title Cycler drew me to check this out. Different, I thought, but if it's about bikes I'll puke. I picked it up and the front cover was a girl in a bra and boxers while on the back was a guy who looked like the girl and was also in the same boxers. Hmmmm.... Ok, interest piqued. I read the synopsis and though, ok, now here's something original. A girl who turns into a guy in every way, shape, and form, for four days out of the month.

On one side we have Jil...more Walking the shelves at the library, the title Cycler drew me to check this out. Different, I thought, but if it's about bikes I'll puke. I picked it up and the front cover was a girl in a bra and boxers while on the back was a guy who looked like the girl and was also in the same boxers. Hmmmm.... Ok, interest piqued. I read the synopsis and though, ok, now here's something original. A girl who turns into a guy in every way, shape, and form, for four days out of the month.

On one side we have Jill. Your average high school senior. She has a friend who is a bit out there and a crush whom everyone seemingly avoids. She has a secret too...Jack.

Now we have Jack. Complete opposite of Jill. Can't keep his hands off his junk, yep, you read right, and due to his porn addiction, has managed to get the internet removed permanently from the house. Oh, and he has desires for Jill's BFF.

The story seriously dragged for about half the book. The slang words such as "mal" and "deeply" were used so much you could create a game out of it. It took everything to keep me reading and for my family who was around me, they heard the groans everytime the slang words came up so they thought I was going senile.

Finally, halfway through the book, the author finally got to the meat of the story. At the same time the slang words diminished too. Almost like they were fillers.

Jill & Jack, opposites, started to fight for the power over the other. Jill, who learned to block Jack's life out, started to get unwanted glimpses of Jack's doings. At the same time, Jack, who was locked away in the bedroom during his 4 days, wanted to spend time with the person he wanted to be with. Yep, Jill's bff. You can imagine how Jill was feeling when she started realizing what Jack was doing/feeling. Things get crazy, many lines are crossed which lead the way to a scrumptious ending.

The ending, well, scrumptious fell flat. It went from a banana split sundae with all the fixings to a a plain vanilla cone. After finally bringing me to the point where I was finally glad I had kept reading the ending went into chaos. The storyline had some twists that made you wonder why the character would even do that and what did stay in place went by with a quickness that left me going, say what? After getting the story streamlined, I wish the author would have stayed that way and not rushed it. And the absolute ending, well, you kind of figure out what's going happen, but you are a bit surprised of where it happens.

Would I recommend it? Yes, but honestly, I love YA fiction but this just isn't up to par with what's out there and available for everyone, so I wouldn't suggest anyone go out of their way to read this right now. Now, my college going daughter read the sequel, "Recycler", and she said that the second book was way better than the first. I will have to check that our for myself. (less)

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May 21, 2011 Regina rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, sci-fi, lgbt

The corny names Jack and Jill were the only boring things about this book.

Jill is a seventeen year-old girl. All GIRL, as she has to say to herself. She spends a lot of time reminding herself of this because instead of the normal menstrual cycle that other girls have, Jill endures something more painful than cramps. For her cycle, she becomes Jack, a horny teenage boy.

She and her mother have been to all kinds of doctors over the past four years, trying to find a reason or solution but to no ava...more

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Dec 27, 2009 Julie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, gender

I totally should've reviewed this days ago when it was still fresh in my head and not crowded out by other things. But..

Older teen Jill turns into a boy once a month for 4 days before her period. This started with puberty, but she totally hates it, so she meditates to block out the memories. This has led to her boy self developing an identity of his own -- he's Jack.

But Jack is always trapped in the house because they don't want the secret to get out. So he spends the four days looking at porn a...more

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Aug 18, 2009 Steph Su rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: lgbtq

CYCLER is without doubt one of the most unique, thought-provoking, hilarious, and crazy stories that I have read so far this year. It’s an unforgettable mishmash of awkward teen love combined with the deeper implications of gender politics and identity.

A quirky story like CYCLER wouldn’t be successful if it weren’t for the incredibly real characters. Jill, Jack, and Ramie are delightfully well developed and memorable; their conversations crack me up, while some of their actions make me cringe wi...more

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Jul 16, 2009 Az rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: gender-etc, ya

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Apr 23, 2012 Erinn Batykefer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, fiction, sci-fi

Cycler can’t be read alone. You have to read it with the follow-up, Re-cycler; in my opinion they are one book, and if you only read one, you might leave with a bad taste in your mouth. More on this in a moment; first a brief synopsis:

Since she was 14, Jill spends 4 days every month as Jack. Yep, every month she undergoes a painful transformation into someone completely different-- a boy, complete with boy parts, and boy desires. During those four days, Jill/Jack stays home under the pretense of...more Cycler can’t be read alone. You have to read it with the follow-up, Re-cycler; in my opinion they are one book, and if you only read one, you might leave with a bad taste in your mouth. More on this in a moment; first a brief synopsis:

Since she was 14, Jill spends 4 days every month as Jack. Yep, every month she undergoes a painful transformation into someone completely different-- a boy, complete with boy parts, and boy desires. During those four days, Jill/Jack stays home under the pretense of some recurring medical treatment, and then, when the four days are up, Jill meditates on the idea that she is “all girl” and erases all her memories of “Jack time,” and then skips along for another 24 days like Jack doesn’t exist and she’s completely normal.

This works well for Jill and her paranoid, controlling mother, until Jack –who somehow has a fully developed personality—decides he’s not interested in spending his life locked in Jill’s room. He escapes one night and ends up making out with Jill’s best friend Ramie, who he’s been in love with since he and Jill were 14. See, Jack doesn’t erase Jill the way she erases him; he’s been plumbing her memories and learning who Ramie is as a friend for years.

All hell breaks loose, of course. The insane mother goes even more insane, Jack is locked up in the house for real the next time he visits, and then Jill’s neat little plan goes bust when Jack starts showing up early and unexpectedly out of cycle.

I really liked both books, and I read them back-to-back as a single story. I think the problem with the first installment is that it is deliberately written from an immature perspective for both characters (the narration oscillates from one voice to another):

Jill is terrified of the fact that Jack is a part of her—hence the ridiculous mantra of “I am all girl,” and the way she constantly wears pink and acts like an idiot to get attention from boys. She’s awkwardly playing at all the stereotypical aspects of being a girl because she’s afraid that she’s a freak. Case and point: She throws a homophobic fit when she realizes the boy she’s been crushing on is bisexual, and nearly throws up when she remembers a snippet of Jack time and realizes that she’s kissed Ramie. Her characterization of Jack is similarly reductive: in the beginning we meet him through her eyes and see nothing but a smelly, porn-obsessed jerk.

If you only read Cycler, you’d probably hate this book. Jill is insufferable and is seems like there are so many missed opportunities in story to explore sex, gender, and sexuality, not to mention social constructs around all three.

If you go on to read Re-Cycler, though, you end up with a much more nuanced picture of Jack and Jill as characters. I began to care about them in Re-Cycler, when I was mostly just fascinated by the premise in Cycler. They grow up a lot in the second book, and they begin to trust and accept that they are part of each other. Ultimately, this pair of books does a lot to demonstrate that people are complicated, and that stereotypical labels, whether straight, gay, boy or girl, are pretty useless, since no one can be accurately described with such reductive labels.

They’re not perfect, but Cycler and Re-Cycler will definitely make you think. They’re also pretty steamy, so I’d recommend them for older Teens and Adults who like sci-fi and teen lit.
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Jul 02, 2011 Sam a.k.a Rory rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult

La première fois que je suis passée devant ce livre à la FNAC, je n’ai même pas pu me résoudre à lire la quatrième de couverture tellement la couverture rose m’a fait mauvaise impression. Ce n’est que plus tard, sur Internet, que je me suis penchée à nouveau dessus.

Le fait est que j’ai toujours été attirée par ce genre de récits où une fille se fait passer pour un garçon comme c’est dans le cas dans le drama japonais « Hanazakari no Kimitachi e », les dramas coréens « The 1st Shop of Coffee Prin...more

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Jan 14, 2010 Amanda rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: no one

Shelves: women-authors, ya, fiction

I wanted to rate this higher because it's such an interesting concept, but I can't in good faith, because the actual book is a total disappointment. It's essentialist, bi-phobic, and not even well-written (if I read "deeply" or "mal" one more time I was gonna throw something, and seriously, YA authors, stop trying to create your own slang -- it didn't work for the Babysitters Club and it won't work for you). I wanted this book to be so much more than it was, but no one is really developed as a c...more

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About Lauren McLaughlin

I grew up in the small town of Wenham, Massachusetts. After college and a brief flirtation with anthropology I spent ten years in the film business as both a screenwriter (Hypercube, Prisoner of Love, Specimen) and producer (American Psycho, Buffalo '66, Vig, Stag, and others) before turning my attention to novels. I am the author of the teen novels, Cycler, (Re)Cycler, and Scored, as well as the...more

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“I'm all girl!!” — 3 people liked it

“Then I bring my lips very gently to hers and--without biting--let the whole world disappear into the dark magic of her mouth.” — 1 person liked it

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Cycler (Cycler #1)

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