The Changeover
#3194.06 adjusted 4.04 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Complete 1984 Reading commitment Low Margaret Mahy Last reviewed 2026-09-27
Overview
Margaret Mahy's 1984 supernatural romance, set in the Christchurch suburbs of her native New Zealand, follows fourteen-year-old Laura Chant, who has always had premonitions and has always known that the aloof older boy Sorensen Carlisle is a witch. When a sinister stranger brands her little brother and begins to drain his life, Laura must turn to the Carlisle witches and undergo her own changeover, a passage that is at once magical and a coming of age. It won the Carnegie Medal, Mahy's second.
Urban fantasy, Romantasy · For YA
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
The Changeover (1984) core · 4.06 (4,225 ratings); Subtitled A Supernatural Romance in its first editions. Set in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Changeover? The Changeover's Core Canon is 1 book.
- Is The Changeover finished? Complete (1984).
- How much reading does The Changeover take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book · ~214 pages).
- How is The Changeover ranked? #319 in this site's official ranking, based on 4,225 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #319?
Ranked #319 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.06 across 1 core book.
- A smaller readership (4,225 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #318, The Lost Years of Merlin (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
- A single standalone novel: ranked on that one book alone.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 1 book · Complete · 4k ratings · Ranks #319 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment urban fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
A single Core Canon work: no sequencing question to resolve.
Awards (verified)
- Carnegie Medal, 1984: won: The Changeover
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.06 across 4,225 ratings on 1 Core Canon book. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Canon extension: The Changeover (Margaret Mahy) accepted 2026-09-27
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-09-27
Rule: Core Canon = The Changeover (1984) only, standalone.