The Changeover
Margaret Mahy
HarperCollins
Pub. 1984

December 8, 2021

Do you love books with vampires, spine-tingling horror, and breathtaking romances? Do you love books that seem to be average but end up completely blowing your socks off? Well, then look no further than The Changeover.

The author of The Changeover is one of New Zealand’s greatest authors, famous for her many picture books, novels and short stories. There’s even a playground in Christchurch named after her. That’s right: the one, the only, Margaret Mahy. Of course, Margaret Mahy’s fame gave me very high expectations for The Changeover. It also raised the very high bar which is my standard for books.  Read more

Kaitangata Twitch
Margaret Mahy
Allen & Unwin
Pub. 2005

October 26, 2021

I was once part of a book club that got to send questions to Margaret Mahy. Since then, her books contain weirdly more meaning, as the author is even more personified to me (perhaps a positive part that’s left out of discussions around the link between the author and their personality, and their work?). The first Margaret Mahy YA novel I remember reading was Organ Music, a book that I couldn’t find on my shelves and forgot I read until this one; Kaitangata Twitch.

 Kaitangata Twitch has the trademarks of a Mahy YA book.  Read more