The Changeling by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
Martha Abbot is an outsider in her respectable WASP-like family. She's short and plump and doesn't care about group activities or appearances. She doesn't know what she does care about, to be honest. She simply wants to fade into the background and be left alone—in part because most everyone is horrid to her.
Ivy Carson comes from a "bad family." She knows exactly what she wants: to be judged based on her own merits, not her family's reputation. And her merits are myriad: she's kindhearted, creative, brave, and resilient.
Soon, Martha and Ivy are good friends, charging through childhood, then adolescence, together. But even the best of friendships are tested; people move, people change, people say the wrong thing at the worst time. Can the magic of their friendship last?
Based on that premise, it's clear that The Changeling is written for a Young Adult audience and is not the least bit fantastical. Imma count it anyway because I bought it from my local used bookstore's fantasy section.
For The Changeling's intended audience of Young Adults, this book has evident soul and merit. It's bound to strike a chord with anyone who has that one friend that makes the world a brighter place. It hints at how friendships change as adulthood looms but doesn't come on too strong with the "savor this moment" nostalgia that I loathed as a child. It also somehow feels timeless; aside from the lack of computers and cell phones, this book's events feel like they could have taken place in the 2010s.
As an adult, The Changeling reads more on the sadly nostalgic side of bittersweet. It's not from the story itself; Martha and Ivy's adventures and experiences are slightly larger-than-life most of the time, as they need to drive a story, but they're not so dramatic or emotional.
What's emotional is all of the memories that this book will push to the surface. It'll make you remember the beautiful simplicity of childhood friendship.
I'm lucky enough to be good friends with my childhood best friend nearly 30 years later, so this book didn't trigger any regret about losing someone important from my life. Abby is still there; I can reach out to her any time, and I know she'll be there for me, as I'd be there for her.
Even despite this, The Changeling made me wish, if only for a few minutes, to re-live how it felt to spend easy, mindless time with my best friend as the center of my world. And this is the reason why, as an adult, you might find deep value in reading The Changeling. Just be prepared that you're opting into nostalgia feels.
Cover art by Alton Raible:
