The Change

One of my favorite books of the year so far! It's The Change by Kirsten Miller.

Goodreads Stats

Why I Read This Book/How I Heard About It

I actually don't remember how I found this title, but it was one of the Good Morning America Book Club selections, so I was pretty excited to start on this one.

Goodreads Summary

In the Long Island oceanfront community of Mattauk, three different women discover that midlife changes bring a whole new type of empowerment…

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 Harriett’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 Harriett will take matters into their own hands…

First Impressions

This book grabs you from the start with an interesting introduction to all of the main characters. At first, it felt a bit hard to follow, but once I "got to know" all the ladies we'd be "following" (chapters are labeled with each character's name, so viewpoint switches), I was good to go. There is a lot of WEIRD stuff going on and this instantly builds interest, to the point that it's difficult to stop reading. The author gives you just enough to keep you guessing. For Nervous Nellies like me, don't worry...it's all coming together in the end.

Final Thoughts

This book was exciting, mysterious, twisty and turny, and extremely empowering. I loved the undertones of feminism, friendship, love, loss, and justice. If you liked the Barbie movie, you will enjoy this story.

Rating on Goodreads

I rated this book 4 out of 5 stars.

My rating method:

• I rarely rate books 5 stars. I save this for the absolute best books I've read. You know the ones...the ones that you can't get out of your head, even after you've finished them. The ones you think about for weeks afterwards.

• If a book is really, really good, I'll give it 4 stars. If you see a 4-star rating from me, I'd definitely recommend it to you to read.

• If it's just OK, it gets 3 stars. Basically, it means I could take it or leave it. I'd probably read it again because it wasn't terrible. But not like a favorite or anything.

• If I rate it 1 or 2 stars, I would not recommend anyone read it. It either didn't hold my interest or I couldn't relate to the characters/plot.