The Changeover
core novel 1984 The Changeover
Record
| First published | 1984 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.06 (4,225 ratings, collected 2026-09-27) |
| Page count | 214 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780460061537 |
Synopsis
In Gardendale, a new suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand, fourteen-year-old Laura Chant looks into the mirror one morning and receives a warning: something dreadful is going to happen. She has had such premonitions before, and she has long known that Sorensen Carlisle, a solitary older boy at her school, is a witch. That afternoon a sinister stranger, Carmody Braque, presses a stamp onto her little brother Jacko's hand. Within days Jacko is wasting away with an illness the doctors cannot explain, and Laura understands that Braque is draining his life. The only help lies with the Carlisle household, three generations of witches, and with Sorensen himself. To save her brother Laura must "change over": give up her ordinary self and cross into the supernatural, a choice that is also her passage out of childhood.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Changeover
- Series: not part of a registered series (standalone work within its universe)
- Author: Margaret Mahy
Awards (verified)
- Carnegie Medal, 1984: won
Notes
- Subtitled A Supernatural Romance in its first editions. Set in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Sources
- Wikipedia
- https://www.supersummary.com/the-changeover/summary/
- EBSCO Research Starters
- CILIP Carnegie Medals
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