The Changeover by Margaret Mahy

NOTE: I WILL update this post upon completing the novel.

So far, this New Zealand YA "supernatural romance" novel uses way too many exclamation points. It is infuriating, since now that I have noticed the exclamation points, I can't STOP noticing them. Really, no one is THAT excited here. The dialogue between Laura and Laura's mom, Kate, is confusing and seems juvenile. It took me a while to realize which of the two characters was the adult and which was the child since they both use the same voice despite Laura as the focalizing character

The sexual tension between Sorry and Laura is pretty awesome though; it is clear that Sorry is waiting for Laura to make a move, or "invite" him, but it almost seems like Laura wants him to make a move so that she can acquiesce. The idea of the changeover ties into this sexual tension, but also seems to be a stretch of the imagination--that one can become a witch by exploring one's imagination and embarking on a semi-real quest and brought over some supernatural threshold. Really?

Well, we'll see how it ends...