Genre: Magical Realism
Format: 📖
Pub Date: 5.3.2022
Star Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Summary:
“After Nessa James’s husband dies and her twin daughters leave for college, she’s left all alone in a trim white house not far from the ocean. In the quiet of her late forties, the former nurse begins to hear voices. It doesn’t take long for Nessa to realize that the voices calling out to her belong to the dead—a gift she’s inherited from her grandmother, which comes with special responsibilities.
On the cusp of 50, suave advertising director Harriett Osborne has just witnessed the implosion of her lucrative career and her marriage. She hasn’t left her house in months, and from the outside, it appears as if she and her garden have both gone to seed. But Harriet’s life is far from over—in fact, she’s undergone a stunning and very welcome metamorphosis.
Ambitious former executive Jo Levison has spent thirty long years at war with her body. The free-floating rage and hot flashes that arrive with the beginning of menopause feel like the very last straw—until she realizes she has the ability to channel them, and finally comes into her power.
Guided by voices only Nessa can hear, the trio of women discover a teenage girl whose body was abandoned beside a remote beach. The police have written the victim off as a drug-addicted sex worker, but the women refuse to buy into the official narrative. Their investigation into the girl’s murder leads to more bodies, and to the town’s most exclusive and isolated enclave, a world of stupendous wealth where the rules don’t apply. With their newfound powers, Jo, Nessa, and Harriet will take matters into their own hands…”
Book Review:
“One day, your life will grow quiet, and that’s when you’ll be able to hear them again. Like my auntie used to say, the gift arrives after the curse ends.”
If it weren’t for GMA Book Club selecting this as their May book pick, I would’ve picked up The Change solely because of the cover and then certainly because of the synopsis. I couldn’t get enough of this story and the characters. It was full of surprising twists, heartfelt insight, and magic. But those characters? I want to be friends with them so they can teach me their ways; especially grumpy Harriett, who was a force to be reckoned with.
The entire story was so incredibly unique. I applaud the author for branding out and writing about this particular subject because it’s about time women realize their lives don’t end when they’re 30, married, and with kids. We have a whole lifetime of adventure left.
I loved the mystery aspect of the story. I had my suspicions from fairly early on about the story’s direction. Still, I loved reading along as Harriett, Nessa, and Jo became friends, determined to discover what happened to all the missing girls. It was enjoyable to read along as each woman came into her own.
Yes, the book is long (480 pages), but I thought it was necessary. A lot happens within those pages, and it is crucial to the story. The Change deals with heavy topics (murder, rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, sex trafficking); if you have any concerns about reading this book, please DM me, and we can chat.
I wholeheartedly recommend picking up The Change and giving it a read. As I said, it’s a very unique concept, and I applaud Kirsten Miller for branching out.
Book Info
Format: 470 pages, Hardback
Published: May 3, 2022 by William Morrow Books
ISBN 9780063144040 (ISBN10: 0063144042)
Free review copy provided by publisher, William Morrow, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and in no way influenced.
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