Rating: 
Summary: A sensual and beautifully written book
Review: A beautifully written book that deftly combines the unsentimentalized reality of a modern teenager's life with a Jungian journey into her awakening into her own powers. Mahy takes a rather standard horror tale of demonic possession and, with sharp writing, unusual and well-developed characters, and an exploration of the mythic patterns underlining our lives, makes it something quite special.
Rating: 
Summary: A wonderful coming-of-age story for all ages.
Review: As a teenager, I first saw The Changeover in the pages of a book club catalogue and I was drawn to it by the promise of a "supernatural romance" (two of my favorite topics in one book!). Once I actually read this book, I fell in love with it and have dragged it out of the old bookcase many times since. Until recently, I hadn't read The Changeover in quite some time. Now, armed with an English degree and an irrepressible need to over-analyze every piece of writing, I am EVEN MORE IMPRESSED! Laura, as a "sensitive", is standing on the threshold between two worlds, caught between the life she has always known as a mere mortal and the promise of a new, powerful existence as a witch. However, as a teenager, Laura is also on the verge of adulthood, waiting to enter a world that is just as foreign and mysterious to her as that of the supernatural. This parallel in the story beautifully expresses how becoming a woman is, in effect, like becoming a witch. The Changeover is not just about one girl who crosses over to a world of magic. It represents the changeover that ALL girls make on their journey to womanhood and, in so doing, attain their full potential and power as a human being (as well as a little "magic"). This is an excellent message for young women, and it is even more impressive for its subtlety.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful coming-of-age story for all ages.
Review: As a teenager, I first saw The Changeover in the pages of a book club catalogue and I was drawn to it by the promise of a "supernatural romance" (two of my favorite topics in one book!). Once I actually read this book, I fell in love with it and have dragged it out of the old bookcase many times since. Until recently, I hadn't read The Changeover in quite some time. Now, armed with an English degree and an irrepressible need to over-analyze every piece of writing, I am EVEN MORE IMPRESSED! Laura, as a "sensitive", is standing on the threshold between two worlds, caught between the life she has always known as a mere mortal and the promise of a new, powerful existence as a witch. However, as a teenager, Laura is also on the verge of adulthood, waiting to enter a world that is just as foreign and mysterious to her as that of the supernatural. This parallel in the story beautifully expresses how becoming a woman is, in effect, like becoming a witch. The Changeover is not just about one girl who crosses over to a world of magic. It represents the changeover that ALL girls make on their journey to womanhood and, in so doing, attain their full potential and power as a human being (as well as a little "magic"). This is an excellent message for young women, and it is even more impressive for its subtlety.
Rating:
Summary: A novel that is ageless . . .
Review: Having read "The Changeover" countless time over the years since I first read it in highschool, I am amazed at how this novel still has the power to captivate me. With artistry that rivals the day's most highly read fiction authors, Margaret Mahy is truely a master of prose who can create vivid characters that are dynamic yet realistic. Furthermore, her style is marked by a refreshingly candid flair.Despite this novel's young adult label, Margaret Mahy's work surpases all others in the area and is certainly worthy of the attention of more advanced lovers of fiction.
Rating:
Summary: A novel that is ageless . . .
Review: Having read "The Changeover" countless time over the years since I first read it in highschool, I am amazed at how this novel still has the power to captivate me. With artistry that rivals the day's most highly read fiction authors, Margaret Mahy is truely a master of prose who can create vivid characters that are dynamic yet realistic. Furthermore, her style is marked by a refreshingly candid flair. Despite this novel's young adult label, Margaret Mahy's work surpases all others in the area and is certainly worthy of the attention of more advanced lovers of fiction.
Rating:
Summary: A Unique Book
Review: I absolutly loved this book! It is the kind of book that you can never forget. When you are through reading it, it leaves you with a meaningful, haunting feeling. The Changeover had a wonderful plot. It was unique, not same-old same-old. The text gives you an animated, vivid description of the characters and I felt like I had known them all my life. I've read many books in my life (you wouldn't believe it) and this was one of the best.
Rating:
Summary: The Changeover: A Classic Someday
Review: I am not surprised that people who have read this book when they were Chant's or Sorry's age still read it as an adult. Even though the main characters in this novel are adolescents, the life issues and questions raised in this book are about being human. I have read and reread this book several times over nearly a decade and a half; it never gets old, like all good classic stories.
Rating:
Summary: Still Worth Reading
Review: I first read this book 10 years ago when I myself was the age of the girl in the novel, Laura Chant. Quite unusually I have found myself returning again and again to the book, despite my changed taste in fiction (do the names Forster, Byatt and Conrad ring any bells?). "The Changeover" is not your standard young adult fiction book. Sure, you find a feisty heroine who begins a relationship with an older boy, but still it differs. It is a fantasy novel, that is true, but it has none of the dragons, wizards or swords that the genre unfortunately uses so often. "The Changeover" is a powerful piece of fiction. Mahy has wowen an intricate pattern which is almost Gothic in its way. The characters are utterly believable (oh, I longed for Sorenson Carlisle to pop up on my doorstep -- some of my friends may even claim I still do...ulp!); Laura is intelligent and likable. A strong girl who will become a strong women. All the other characters linger in the mind for a long time: Mrs Fangboner, Winter Carlisle, Kate, Stephen, Jacko, Carmody Braque... in short.. this is by far the best young adult book I ever read in my days and it is still fullfilling.. 10 years after.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful book
Review: I first read this book as a young teenager (I'm now a 20-something), and absolutely fell in love with it. Mahy deals so well with scary things like first love, divorce,and sickness. I can't recommend this book enough to young women or women of any age
Rating:
Summary: Amazing book
Review: I first read this book years ago and cannot forget it. The authors portrayal of the supernatural weaving it's way into everyday life is wonderful and seems so realistic. Her characters are amazing too. There is nothing superficial about these people or this book. I will be reading this book over and over, likely for the rest of my life.
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