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roseanswers's review against another edition
5.0
An utmost incredible book that will stay with me for years to come!
I was spell-bound by the seemingly ill atmosphere and the thrilling sentences. Way to go Lois!
Review to come
I was spell-bound by the seemingly ill atmosphere and the thrilling sentences. Way to go Lois!
Review to come
hazelstaybookish's review against another edition
2.0
Interesting concept, decent characters, but felt rather dragging even though it's way shorter than most YA books.
lnluck13's review against another edition
DNF’d at page 9. I fully appreciate the set up that shows that Rose is different that she used to be, but I just wasn’t invested. I am just trying the first chapter of like 20 books that may be good for the spooky season and that I may have had for a while. I think that someone else will appreciate this more than me, but I might hang on to it a bit longer before I donate it.
(From my self-imposed Chapter 1: Keep or Sweep challenge)
(From my self-imposed Chapter 1: Keep or Sweep challenge)
kklemaster's review against another edition
2.0
An interesting premise, a little too formulaic, and the prose reads as surprisingly elementary for characters that are supposed to be in high school. This needed more editing, stronger secondary characters, and a lot more raw emotion.
jenniferfrye's review against another edition
3.0
This book was good. Fine. The idea is excellent, the prose was above average, but what keeps this from being truly extraordinary is the poor editing.
The grammar and spelling were fine, but, put simply, this was too long. At 224 pages, this novella was cluttered with unnecessary scenes and sentences that obscured the main themes and bogged me down as a reader. It almost seems more suited to being the length of a short story - unsurprisingly, Ms. Metzger seems to be primarily a short story author.
It's a shame the work is unfinished, for if it were properly reworked I think it could be something truly amazing.
The grammar and spelling were fine, but, put simply, this was too long. At 224 pages, this novella was cluttered with unnecessary scenes and sentences that obscured the main themes and bogged me down as a reader. It almost seems more suited to being the length of a short story - unsurprisingly, Ms. Metzger seems to be primarily a short story author.
It's a shame the work is unfinished, for if it were properly reworked I think it could be something truly amazing.
snowbunny269's review against another edition
4.0
This strange book is a rather short, but certainly memorable and special one. The book begins quite ordinary with a conversation between Rose - a talkativie, cheerful girl and her stepmother. And as the story goes it follows the life of Rose full of normal daily things like schools, friends, neighbors, crushes and parttime job. It seems like all normal. But, there is something that feel not right. The unsettling atmostphere and the gap here and there in the conversations Rose had with people around her made me feal uneasy and ache for a clear explanation. The changes of Rose, was it simply because of her growing up or something else? This question exist throughout the book and it pulls me in, makes me can't stop turning the pages. The book is told in a distand third-voice narrator add more mystery feelings to the book. When I close the book, the question is answered but it still got me thinking a lot. And also a warm feeling remains in my heart.
A truly worth reading one.
A truly worth reading one.
bethanymiller415's review against another edition
3.0
In Change Places with Me, the main character Rose wakes one morning feeling happy and positive about her life. She has a polite conversation with her stepmother and goes to school where she talks with her classmates and teachers in a friendly way. It seems like an ordinary day in the life of a teenager living in 2029 New York City….except that everyone is looking at her a little oddly and responding to her as if she is behaving strangely. There is a nagging feeling at the back of her mind that something is not quite right, but she can’t quite put her finger on what it is. Oh well, best to just continue to on as if everything is “normal”.
Change Places with Me seems like the start to a good novel that has not yet been fully realized. The author develops the “something not quite right here” atmosphere nicely, and my curiosity about what had happened to Rose pulled me into the story. Her stepmother Evelyn was the most sympathetic and interesting character in the book, and it might have been more effective from her perspective. The novel’s ending is rushed with Rose making a major decision that feels abrupt even though readers may see it coming. Additional purchase where there is a teen audience for speculative fiction.
Grade: 9-12
Genre: Speculative Fiction
Characterization: Good
Literary Merit: Good
Recommendation: Additional Selection
Change Places with Me seems like the start to a good novel that has not yet been fully realized. The author develops the “something not quite right here” atmosphere nicely, and my curiosity about what had happened to Rose pulled me into the story.
Spoiler
The central idea of a future in which people pay to have their memories altered or even erased is not that far-fetched a concept, and it’s interesting to think about the moral and ethical issues involved. However, the ideas are not fully developed and the characters aren’t either. Because the reader gets the perspective of a memory altered Rose, it’s hard to connect with her on an emotional level.Grade: 9-12
Genre: Speculative Fiction
Characterization: Good
Literary Merit: Good
Recommendation: Additional Selection
lpcoolgirl's review against another edition
5.0
Such a strange and wonderful book! I enjoyed it so much, though it was just a little bit sad! So enjoyable!
elisecoz's review against another edition
5.0
This book is so small, yet so incredibly mighty. I really loved the structure used--it allowed Metzger to fit a lot theme-wise into very little space without ever feeling like she was trying to fit too much. The book is set in 2029, so a not-so-far-off future, something I felt made it pretty unique. There's a slight touch of sci-fi, but nothing that would make me classify it as sci-fi. Overall, this one is a really good exploration of grief, depression, and what might happen if we could lose the parts of ourselves that we always thought we didn't need.
witchyficbindery's review against another edition
2.0
Read more of my reviews at Cornerfolds.com!
Change Places With Me grabbed my attention from the minute I read the description, despite the fact that the cover wasn't all that intriguing. I love, LOVE books where something just isn't right and you don't know what it is until the end. I love the feeling of unease that comes with not being able to put your finger on the problem and I had very high hopes for this book! Unfortunately, it didn't meet my expectations.
This book begins when Rose wakes up on a normal day in her normal room, but at first doesn't recognize where she is. Right away, her step-mother begins to act like something is a little weird about Rose's actions, second guessing many of her statements and decisions, but eventually just going along with her. It's all a bit unnerving, but Rose continues about her day. She knows that some of the things she does are not things she would normally do, but she does them anyway because that's how she wants to live now. People change, right?
I didn't really care much about Rose because I don't feel like I ever got to know Rose at all. I guess that kind of makes sense since this is a book where even Rose doesn't quite seem sure who she is, but I still hoped to find some way to connect to her. It's so hard to like a book when I can't connect to the characters. Speaking of, the secondary characters were just as flat as Rose, if not more so. Simply put, I just didn't like any of them because I didn't know who they were.
The writing was another area I had some trouble with. I can't quite put my finger on why I didn't enjoy it, but I just had a hard time getting into it. That's not to say that this was a difficult read, because it wasn't. I flew through this short book fairly quickly! I did keep turning pages to see what happened, but the writing style definitely was not my favorite.
Change Places With Me has amazing potential! I expected it to be truly unnerving and honestly I wanted a huge twist at the end. Instead, we find out fairly early on what the secret is. It isn't directly told to the reader, but it was basically dropped right in my lap and was impossible not to figure out. I'd really hoped for a lot more suspense and maybe this would have made it a more interesting story despite the flat characters.
The synopsis for this book had me totally, 100% sold and I expected to be totally confused throughout the entire thing and shocked at the end, but that's not what this was at all. To be totally honest, in the end (which was also strange and abrupt), I didn't quite understand what this book was trying to achieve. I liked some of the concepts presented in this book, but ultimately it just didn't work for me.
Change Places With Me grabbed my attention from the minute I read the description, despite the fact that the cover wasn't all that intriguing. I love, LOVE books where something just isn't right and you don't know what it is until the end. I love the feeling of unease that comes with not being able to put your finger on the problem and I had very high hopes for this book! Unfortunately, it didn't meet my expectations.
This book begins when Rose wakes up on a normal day in her normal room, but at first doesn't recognize where she is. Right away, her step-mother begins to act like something is a little weird about Rose's actions, second guessing many of her statements and decisions, but eventually just going along with her. It's all a bit unnerving, but Rose continues about her day. She knows that some of the things she does are not things she would normally do, but she does them anyway because that's how she wants to live now. People change, right?
I didn't really care much about Rose because I don't feel like I ever got to know Rose at all. I guess that kind of makes sense since this is a book where even Rose doesn't quite seem sure who she is, but I still hoped to find some way to connect to her. It's so hard to like a book when I can't connect to the characters. Speaking of, the secondary characters were just as flat as Rose, if not more so. Simply put, I just didn't like any of them because I didn't know who they were.
The writing was another area I had some trouble with. I can't quite put my finger on why I didn't enjoy it, but I just had a hard time getting into it. That's not to say that this was a difficult read, because it wasn't. I flew through this short book fairly quickly! I did keep turning pages to see what happened, but the writing style definitely was not my favorite.
Change Places With Me has amazing potential! I expected it to be truly unnerving and honestly I wanted a huge twist at the end. Instead, we find out fairly early on what the secret is. It isn't directly told to the reader, but it was basically dropped right in my lap and was impossible not to figure out. I'd really hoped for a lot more suspense and maybe this would have made it a more interesting story despite the flat characters.
The synopsis for this book had me totally, 100% sold and I expected to be totally confused throughout the entire thing and shocked at the end, but that's not what this was at all. To be totally honest, in the end (which was also strange and abrupt), I didn't quite understand what this book was trying to achieve. I liked some of the concepts presented in this book, but ultimately it just didn't work for me.