The Change by Kirsten Miller | Book Review

Why I read it: In my quest to make this the year of book clubs, I’ve been keeping an eye on all the picks for the various book clubs at my local bookstore. This was the March pick for the general book club. The “feminist revenge fantasy” phrase on the back cover copy intrigued me enough to pick it up.

Review #insixwords: New life goal: be like Harriet.

More:

I loved this book way more than I initially thought I would. It’s a thriller; it’s magical realism. Three women going through their menopausal transition come into new powers as they seek to uncover who murdered the young girl in their Long Island town.

Some of the characters they come across in their investigation are inspired by actual people—think like, Jeffery Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell-esque. Terrible humans. (Remember: feminist revenge fantasy)

This book switches the point of view between the three characters of the book—Nessa, who can hear (and see) ghosts of people who need help moving on; Jo, who channels her hot flashes and rage for good; and Harriet, who is basically a plant witch and is who I’d like to be when I grow up.

It also includes occasional points of view from minor characters, with back stories that seem to detail all the ways the women can be hurt and victimized by men and the patriarchy throughout their lives. But more often than not, these characters are also finding empowerment.

I started this later in the day and meant to put it down about halfway through, then three-quarters of the way through, and then stayed up until midnight finishing it. This is why I have a rule that I’m not allowed to start a book later in the day, which isn’t so much a rule as a guideline I often ignore.

In the book, Nessa, Jo, and Harriet team up, discover the body of a young woman, then investigate when the police seem disinterested in solving it. Which, honestly, also feels very true to life—many missing young women stay missing because the police will decide they ran off or that they’re sex workers or drug users and therefore not worry of investigation. It’s enraging. But don’t worry: Nessa, Jo, and Harriet are there.

Recommendation: Need a feminist rage read? Revenge fantasy? Thriller AND magical realism? Get this book! We talked a bit in book club about menopause and how this book portrays it as a positive, empowering light. (“It’s not over. It’s time.”) Which is also really needed!

Add the book on StoryGraph