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 with it, can't stop the danger which threatens to sap the life from him. What she can do is ask Sorry Carlisle for help."The Changeover" is thoroughly described by its title. At fourteen, Laura is barely beginning to approach concepts such as boyfriends and sex. She hasn't yet come to terms with her father's abandonment. She's less than ready to deal with her understanding and friendly mother making something new with someone new. This is a story of growing up, letting go. Inevitabilities. But sometimes things happen which makes it necessary to take shortcuts, to swing a sudden right turn, and meet something different.There's so much I enjoy about this novel. The very real family relationships, the tangible awkwardness of fourteen. The language - Mahy makes play with words, sports with them, takes them out for games and whirls them home breathless. And most particularly this book has Sorry, who is so very much a teenager, and yet so very broken, and you'll love him most when he stutters, but almost as much when he is at the opposite end of his vulnerabilities, pushing limits because his heart was beaten out of him.Can't recommend this book enough.
