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28th out of 800 books
—
2,125 voters
The Changeover
When her little brother seems to become possessed by an evil spirit, fourteen-year-old Laura seeks the help of the strangely compelling older boy at school who she is convinced has supernatural powers.
Paperback, 224 pages
Published
January 1st 1994
by Puffin
(first published 1984)
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311th out of 1,173 books
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4,758 voters
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I love this book so much that when I could no longer find it at a public library, I hunted it down on the used market. (That probably doesn't sound like a big deal, but it's been one of my public library repeat reads since I was a kid; it was like an every three years ritual for me.)
Do I still love this book now? Yes. It's scary, sensual (in a non-graphic way), smart, magical, empowering and in many other ways fabulous. Plus, it's set in New Zealand, which as a kid growing up in one of the landl...more
Do I still love this book now? Yes. It's scary, sensual (in a non-graphic way), smart, magical, empowering and in many other ways fabulous. Plus, it's set in New Zealand, which as a kid growing up in one of the landl...more
Read this in 2008 and was horrified at how bad this book was.
First of all, the plot seems dreadful to me : an evil spirit or whatever that creature was drains the main character's brother body of it of life energy, the main character loves her sibling, so she's willing to do whatever it takes to rescue him which brings her to Sorensen Carlisle (who's called Sorry throughout most of the book). Sorry!!! What kind of a name is that?! Either way, turns out the only way to help Laura is through a ch...more
First of all, the plot seems dreadful to me : an evil spirit or whatever that creature was drains the main character's brother body of it of life energy, the main character loves her sibling, so she's willing to do whatever it takes to rescue him which brings her to Sorensen Carlisle (who's called Sorry throughout most of the book). Sorry!!! What kind of a name is that?! Either way, turns out the only way to help Laura is through a ch...more
1 like · like · see review
Originally posted here.
The novel is set in the 80s in Gardendale, New Zealand, where Laura Chant lives with her mother, Kate, and her three-year-old brother, Jacko. The story starts with Laura getting a premonition, a warning of sorts that something terrible will happen. She tells her mother who shrugs it off as irrelevant. Laura is forced to ignore it and she goes to school. At the end of her school day, she picks up Jacko at the babysitter's and they pass by an antique store on their way home....more
The novel is set in the 80s in Gardendale, New Zealand, where Laura Chant lives with her mother, Kate, and her three-year-old brother, Jacko. The story starts with Laura getting a premonition, a warning of sorts that something terrible will happen. She tells her mother who shrugs it off as irrelevant. Laura is forced to ignore it and she goes to school. At the end of her school day, she picks up Jacko at the babysitter's and they pass by an antique store on their way home....more
3 likes · like · see review
I read this book WAY back in like 8th grade, (were talking over 20 years ago) and although i generally DESPISE romances, this book has always had a soft spot in my heart. Maybe because it has a subplot about Witchcraft at a time when i was becoming drawn to Wicca. Maybe because its "voice" was non patronizing and dealt with issues often not discussed in YA lit at the time, like child abuse,personal transformation, and all the hormonal confusion that comes with emerging sexuality for adolescents....more
6 likes · like · see review
YA Fantasy. An evil spirit has marked Laura Chant's little brother and the only place she can turn is to Sorry Carlisle, seventh form prefect and witch. I have read this book so many times I've lost count. It's the perfect mix of magic and romance and the mundane details of family life. It also takes place in New Zealand, which makes it all the more adorable to me, because Laura might find it boring but it's got a magic quality of its own. It's a very short book, but packs a lot in, and the endi...more
What I love most about this story about a girl who becomes a witch to save her brother is the way the heroine wakes up to the world throughout the book. Everything develops identity and importance, even telegraph poles and toasters.
"Every telegraph pole stood centred on a single leg gathering wires up, looping them over little stunted arms, and Laura felt her way into being a telegraph pole, or a roof rising to a ridge and butting against itself. The Baptist church squared its concrete shoulders...more
"Every telegraph pole stood centred on a single leg gathering wires up, looping them over little stunted arms, and Laura felt her way into being a telegraph pole, or a roof rising to a ridge and butting against itself. The Baptist church squared its concrete shoulders...more
2 likes · like · see review
Oct 19, 2007
Jackie "the Librarian"
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
smart girls
So great! Laura Chant's little brother gets marked by a creepy shopowner, and immediately becomes ill. He's being drained, and the only one Laura knows who might help her is Sorenson Carlisle from school. He's a witch, and so is his grandmother, and Laura has to become one, too.
I love the interplay between Laura and Sorry, with all his inappropriate comments not fazing her a bit. She's got more important things on her mind.
Set in New Zealand, I think, which adds to the otherworldly feel. Love th...more
I love the interplay between Laura and Sorry, with all his inappropriate comments not fazing her a bit. She's got more important things on her mind.
Set in New Zealand, I think, which adds to the otherworldly feel. Love th...more
Aug 07, 2007
Jessica
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction,
young-adult
One of my favorite and most-read books from my childhood. I always thought a very dark, semi-gothic version of this could be turned into an interesting screenplay idea. I loved the relationship between the two main characters. The 'weird boy' from school turning into some sort of personal guide for Laura's changeover to save her brother. Although I always got kind of a 'Wizard of Oz' type narration from the book, it did nothing to deviate from the storyline of an original and fascinating tale.
This deals with some well trodden issues rather well. It blends genres superbly. It's a supernatual romance alright; but also one where you are drawn into the naturalism of it very strongly. If that sounds like a contradiction in terms then so be it. Maybe all true art is the exposure of paradox rather than the solving of it. Maybe also fantasy, supernatural and science fiction works best where the one element of nature is changed (consistently) and then the world proceeds just as it would if th...more
This was a delightful read. The plain language of the book's description doesn't do justice to the evocative language describing even the humdrum details of Laura's ordinary life in the outskirts of a city in New Zealand, even before magic starts to creep in round the edges.
The style is reminiscent of Madeline L'Engle, maybe Lois Lowry or Edith Nesbitt. It has a quality that I associate with Mark Helprin's Winter's Tale, except toned down and blended in enough with more ordinary prose that it en...more
The style is reminiscent of Madeline L'Engle, maybe Lois Lowry or Edith Nesbitt. It has a quality that I associate with Mark Helprin's Winter's Tale, except toned down and blended in enough with more ordinary prose that it en...more
Carnegie Medal-winning The Changeover is just as important an addition to any serious YA pararom fan's collection as any contemporary title. Although laced with some interesting eighties' dialogue and themes, this reviewer was soon lost in a genuinely exciting tale of the supernatural and the elemental forces.
Mahy's third-person narration, although at times deceptively naive, is in fact full of sharp and clever prose. Her style is at once sympathetic to the genre and readership, but never dull....more
Mahy's third-person narration, although at times deceptively naive, is in fact full of sharp and clever prose. Her style is at once sympathetic to the genre and readership, but never dull....more
The Changeover by Margaret Mahy is a rich, multi-layered tale that I discovered as a teen, and quickly fell in love due to its relatability- in addition to being one hell of a good read! During each reread it has delivered a fresh meaning to me and it’s one of my all time favourite reads.
The Changeover focuses on the tumultuous changes that Laura, the heroine, endures throughout puberty and later in the story, supernaturally. The story begins when Laura finds herself and Jacko, her baby brother,...more
The Changeover focuses on the tumultuous changes that Laura, the heroine, endures throughout puberty and later in the story, supernaturally. The story begins when Laura finds herself and Jacko, her baby brother,...more
Interest level: 8th +
Reading level: medium
Genre: fantasy, witches, brothers and sisters, friendship, New Zealand
Laura knew she was different. She could feel it when something bad was going to happen just by looking in the mirror. But on one particular day, she had a particularly bad premonition that something terrible was going to happen, and happen it did - not to her, as she expected - but to her sweet baby brother Jacko.
As Laura picked up Jacko after school from his babysitter, they decided...more
Reading level: medium
Genre: fantasy, witches, brothers and sisters, friendship, New Zealand
Laura knew she was different. She could feel it when something bad was going to happen just by looking in the mirror. But on one particular day, she had a particularly bad premonition that something terrible was going to happen, and happen it did - not to her, as she expected - but to her sweet baby brother Jacko.
As Laura picked up Jacko after school from his babysitter, they decided...more
Laura's life is complicated. Her father, absorbed by his new wife, never visits; her mom is beginning to see other men. Her little brother Jacko is acting strangely since they encountered a very unpleasant old man in a shop. And there's a boy at school that she thinks is probably a witch.
When little Jacko becomes desperately ill, Laura enlists the help of Sorenson, the oddball boy at school, to find a way to heal him. I don't care much for Mahy's style - her characters talk in exclamation points...more
When little Jacko becomes desperately ill, Laura enlists the help of Sorenson, the oddball boy at school, to find a way to heal him. I don't care much for Mahy's style - her characters talk in exclamation points...more
This book is overflowing with excellence. From the perfectly described details of Laura Chant's everyday family life to her charmingly atypical romantic suitor to the threat of a truly sinister villain, The Changeover is a terrific coming-of-age story with a paranormal twist. For a novel written twenty-six years ago, this book does not feel dated, and it quickly found its way onto my favorites shelf to be read again and again.
What I Liked:
- The beautiful and precise prose. Even the mundane deta...more
What I Liked:
- The beautiful and precise prose. Even the mundane deta...more
I've been wanting to read this book in ages (because I found an interesting Harry Potter fan fiction that starred the two main characters) and I was very delighted to find it in my local library. This book is just.. wow. The UST between Laura and Sorry is so thick that you can probably cut it with a knife! And how Sorry's past affected him. Wow. This book was better than I thought it would be.
I'm sad that there's no sequel, but I understand it would be unrealistic to push them both into another...more
I'm sad that there's no sequel, but I understand it would be unrealistic to push them both into another...more
1 like · like · see review
So far, this New Zealand YA “supernatural romance” novel uses way too many exclamation points. It is infuriating, since now that I have noticed the exclamation points, I can’t STOP noticing them. Really, no one is THAT excited here. The dialogue between Laura and Laura’s mom, Kate, is confusing and seems juvenile. It took me a while to realize which of the two characters was the adult and which was the child since they both use the same voice despite Laura as the focalizing character
The sexual t...more
The sexual t...more
Laura is a girl a little bit separate, with just enough of the Sight to see things which are different, to receive warnings about important things. She received a warning when her father left her family for another. She received a warning about Sorensen (Sorry) Carlisle - the ever-so-perfect prefect, who she knows very well is only pretending to be a model student to distract from his witchy nature.
The biggest warning, however, is about her beloved brother Jacko, and she doesn't know what to do...more
The biggest warning, however, is about her beloved brother Jacko, and she doesn't know what to do...more
I read this as a middle school kid, I think, and even though the concepts were a bit scary for me, I liked the way it was written. (I have no idea if I'd enjoy it as much when judging it by my current standards, but I liked it enough to put it on an old "favorite books" list that is floating around in my memory boxes.) I liked that the main character's little brother was so important to her that she'd be willing to make a really big change in her life, and I liked the way that was described. The...more
Ok, so this book was recommended to me after I enjoyed reading the Twilight series so much. I have to say that I much preferred the Twilight series. I appreciate that I am probably a bit too old for this book (at 26) but I did have really high hopes. The story follows Laura who knows that Sorensen Carlise (a guy at school)is a witch and knows he is trying to look normal. When Laura's little brother, Jacko, gets "stamped" by an evil man, Laura knows that she needs to ask Sorry to help her. I foun...more
I loved this book. Partly for the wonderful plot and setting (recognisably Christchurch), but mostly for the characters. There was absolutely nothing cliched about them. The teenage boy, Sorry Carlisle, is such a strange character, wonderfully full of contradictions, and the dialogue is funny and real yet different from any book I've read, especially one for young readers. I love that Margaret Mahy writes about whole families, not just teens having adventures while the parents fade into the back...more
This was awesome. I admit that Mahy's unusual stye takes a few pages to get used to, but once I did I was hooked and couldn't put it down. I finished this in a busy crepe place and didn't even notice the hyper children sitting beside me. Sorenson "Sorry" Carlisle may be one of the best ficitonal characters I've read in years. He's a hilarious contradiction and such a boy: charismatic and aloof; utterly bonkers and a reader of romance novels. While I got this from the library, I actually want to...more
Laura Chant is a 14-year old part-Maori New Zealander, happy living with her slightly scatterbrained mother and her younger brother, despite very straightened circumstances. The family is so open-hearted and good-natured that it is a pleasure to be in their company. But Laura has unusual perception and can detect witches, and in desperation decides to go to one, an older boy she has been eyeing, for help when her brother comes under a curse. She will be helped, but it will require an irreversabl...more
Another odd, interesting, tension-filled book from Margaret Mahy, with a frankness about sex that marks this book as coming from both another time and another place (New Zealand, 1974). The cover design and even the fonts in the Scholastic/Point copy I read take me right back to the rack of Christopher Pike and Lois Duncan books I worked my way through at the public library in the early 90s. The elements of menace, imagination, and romance came together more satisfyingly for me in The Tricksters...more
Jun 09, 2009
veronica
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
childhood-favorites,
favorites
This is probably my sixth or seventh time reading this book, though it has been many years since the last time. I think I first read The Changeover in fifth grade, and I remember loving it the first time, and loving it even more each subsequent reading. Now, as an adult, I find that it has lost none of its charm, wit, adventure, or creepiness.
Fourteen year-old Laura Chant is the heroine at the center of this Young Adult mystery. Her home life is not a walk in the park, but neither is it out of t...more
Fourteen year-old Laura Chant is the heroine at the center of this Young Adult mystery. Her home life is not a walk in the park, but neither is it out of t...more
Of the things I remembered, they were there and they were still good. I’m not afraid to admit that I adored the romance between Sorry and Laura as a kid; I was scared that this would turn out to be a stalker-y, Edward Cullen kind of romance, because after all Sorry is older and there is that one breaking-into-the-bedroom scene. But it’s not (to my mind) like that at all: for one thing, Laura is very well aware of exactly what is going on – she’s been sharing Looks with him for a year – and she k...more
I really enjoyed the love story in this book, I liked how it felt natural and sensible. Laura was a very responsible young lady and I liked reading about her. I admired the way she approached her own increasing feelings towards the character of Sorry and the manner in which she treated his advances. Her strength and her inner power made her a person I could respect. She wasn't a damsel who needed to be saved, she had her own abilities and plans and knew that she could save her baby brother. The...more
Startlingly perceptive! I was surprised when I realised the book was written in 1984 -- the characters' voices, the narrative and the issues don't seem dated at all.
This was utterly gorgeous. I'm not quite sure how I managed to grow up in New Zealand without having (I realised by the end) actually read this before; I must have assumed that I had done so.
I can't believe when this was written, because some parts of it are so modern in tone and attitude, and it holds up astoundingly well today; the only way it really seems dated is by the lack of computers/internet and cell phones. But this is beautifully written and paced and the characters are WONDERFUL and...more
I can't believe when this was written, because some parts of it are so modern in tone and attitude, and it holds up astoundingly well today; the only way it really seems dated is by the lack of computers/internet and cell phones. But this is beautifully written and paced and the characters are WONDERFUL and...more
For a children's book, this one was rather nice. I found the writing to be poetic at times, but at other times, it was a bit too descriptive for me. The story was not bad, but perhaps a bit flimsy. Yes, there are several themes: Laura's relationship with her mother and how she feels about the mother's new boyfriend, Laura's relationship with the witch-boy Sorry and his journey back to having feelings, and of course the freeing of Laura's brother Jacko of an evil demon. I guess the different stor...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What's The Name o...: Witch book, thought it was called Witch, mother's name is Kate, daughter goes through rituals to become a witch, male love interest for daughter (main character) girl with dark hair on the cover [s] | 5 | 133 | Sep 24, 2012 04:24pm |
Margaret Mahy is a well-known New Zealand author of children's and young adult books. While the plots of many of her books have strong supernatural elements, her writing concentrates on the themes of human relationships and growing up.
Her books The Haunting and The Changeover: A Supernatural Romance both received the Carnegie Medal of the British Library Association. She has written a little less...more
More about Margaret Mahy...
Her books The Haunting and The Changeover: A Supernatural Romance both received the Carnegie Medal of the British Library Association. She has written a little less...more
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“It changes you for ever, but you are changing for ever anyway.”
—
16 people liked it
“There are always two people involved in cruelty, aren't there? One to be vicious and someone to suffer! And what's the use of getting rid of - of wickedness, say - in the outside world if you let it creep back into things from inside you?”
—
7 people liked it
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Apr 22, 2011 03:54pm