As a teenager, I first saw The Changeover in the pages of a book club catalogue and I was drawn to it by the promise of a "supernatural romance" (two of my favorite topics in one book!). Once I actually read this book, I fell in love with it and have dragged it out of the old bookcase many times since. Until recently, I hadn't read The Changeover in quite some time. Now, armed with an English degree and an irrepressible need to over-analyze every piece of writing, I am EVEN MORE IMPRESSED! Laura, as a "sensitive", is standing on the threshold between two worlds, caught between the life she has always known as a mere mortal and the promise of a new, powerful existence as a witch. However, as a teenager, Laura is also on the verge of adulthood, waiting to enter a world that is just as foreign and mysterious to her as that of the supernatural. This parallel in the story beautifully expresses how becoming a woman is, in effect, like becoming a witch. The Changeover is not just about one girl who crosses over to a world of magic. It represents the changeover that ALL girls make on their journey to womanhood and, in so doing, attain their full potential and power as a human being (as well as a little "magic"). This is an excellent message for young women, and it is even more impressive for its subtlety.