The Change: A Good Morning America Book Club PIck

Kirsten Miller

May 2022 · Sold by HarperCollins

About this ebook

GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK 

"The Change is like a guttural rage scream (and somehow a soft, tearful hug) of a book, and I couldn't have loved it any more." --Emily Henry

Big Little Lies meets The Witches of Eastwick—a gloriously entertaining and knife-sharp revenge fantasy about three women whose midlife crisis brings unexpected new powers—putting them on a collision course with the evil that lurks in their wealthy beach town. 

"A roar of rage, a pacy page-turner, I loved it with all my broken heart. Read it. You’ll love it."--New York Times bestselling author Marian Keyes

"Miller triumphs...THE CHANGE is that rare treat: a suspenseful story with great pacing, memorable characters, and an engaging voice. Fantastic in every way, this fierce anthem against misogyny is a smash."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"A pointed, punchy, and potent thriller...wry and clever, serious and exacting, and masterfully suspenseful."--Booklist (starred review)

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…

Ratings and reviews

The Change by Kirsten Miller is a unique paranormal story. I wish there had been a warning on the book regarding some of the items in it. I was looking forwarding to reading this paranormal thriller (and then I started reading The Change and was shocked). I had trouble with the significant amount of foul language, nudity, graphic details on menstruation, and the intimate situations. There is also a great deal of man hating. I am a feminist, but I do not believe that feminism should involve bashing men (continually). The villains in the story were a little overdone. I could envision that cartoon villain in the tuxedo with the top hat and cape who twirled his groomed mustache (the type with the curled ends). I liked seeing the three witchy women came together to find a killer. Jo, Harriett, and Nessa unite to get justice for the girls being murdered in their town, Mattuak. I like how their magical powers complemented each other. Each of the women gained their powers upon reaching menopause. I liked that the protagonist were my age. The story is more of a paranormal thriller than a mystery which disappointed me because I love solving whodunits (and the blurb made is sound like a paranormal mystery). The pacing varied throughout the book. The beginning is slow as each of the characters are introduced. It takes a little while to get to the killings. I felt the story was overlong (almost 500 pages) and the author is overly descriptive. There were so many extra characters along with the backstories that were unneeded. I thought the second half was long with a predictable ending. I had a hard time getting through The Change. I am not a fan of books that make me cringe and grimace. While The Change was not my cup of tea, I suggest you obtain a sample to judge it for yourself. The Change is a not so bewitching tale with post-menopausal powers, a nefarious garden, murdered women, a distressed mother, an evil villain, and crucial justice.

About the author

Kirsten Miller is the author of The Change, a GMA Book Club pick, as well as the groundbreaking YA series starring Kiki Strike. Born and raised in a small town in North Carolina, she now lives in Brooklyn, New York.