Changeling by delia sherman

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

March 17,2025

This book was really good, so the parts of it which were frustrating were really more frustrating than they would have been in a mediocre book, sadly. Fantastic world-building and a smart, self-aware protagonist -- yay! But that protagonist couldn't manage a believable interaction with any of the other people in the book -- boo! Neef had pretty much no empathy for anyone, no sense that she should be concerned in anything but a mechanical how-does-this-affect-me way with other people's feelings. There could have been a great story in there about what emotions really meant for humans raised by fairies and fairies raised by humans, but the opportunity was lost. The author's short story Catnyp, about the same protagonist when she's a bit older, was much more appealing.

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pringerz

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

March 17,2025

This sounded like my jam, but I didn't much care for it. Neef was neither interesting or likable and the conception of New York between and the fairy world wasn't really interesting or special either.

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improfessorrose

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

March 17,2025

Neef is a changeling, a human child taken and raised by fairy folk in Central Park. Her fairy godmother, who raised her and teaches her, is a white rat named Astris. Neef has begun to feel hemmed in by the rules she has followed all her life, and so, when she discovers there is a Solstice dance that she has never heard of, she is determined to attend. The disaster that follows sends her on a quest out into New York Between.

This is a fun book. The fairy folk, as you would expect in New York City, come from all over the world, bringing their various traits and traditions with them. Plus, there are living fictional characters, such as Eloise, and beings like the Dragon of Wall Street. You never quite know what to expect. But Neef learns to rely on her own abilities and, with help from "people" she meets along the way, brings her quest to a satisfying conclusion.

I look forward to reading the sequel.

(I would be curious to know if anyone else thought Changeling, Neef's fairy counterpart, resided somewhere on the Asperger's syndrome spectrum? I don't know if it was intended, but so many of her characteristics seem to me to fit. Basically, it was just an interesting thought, but we might want to look more closely at other faery characters with that in mind. Could they all be changelings?)

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P1nkykz

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

March 17,2025

This one is extremely fun and clever, creating an urban fantasy NYC with a plucky heroine. There is a strange tension between the perceived dangerousness of the faerie world and the safety of the story. I never felt like Neef was really in danger. It's also got an odd take on Asperger syndrome and a few nods to other children's books.

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pheonix-ix

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

March 17,2025

Changeling is a really terrific contemporary fairy fantasy set in New York Between, the fairy version of NYC, told first-person by Neef, a human child stolen as an infant and replaced by Changeling (who appears later). Packed with fairy motifs and references to modern culture, twisted through a unique outlook; very wry, feisty, utterly charming!

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Elle_D

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

March 17,2025

I really enjoyed this book. It was a nice mix of modern and fantasy that made the book slightly different from others of its kind. I liked that it was set in the fairy land of New York (New York Between) but still the kinds of supernaturals that lived there were very much like regular New Yorkers! I was also pleased to see the ending wasn't completely predictable! The end of the story is to be expected, but how it got there wasn't (I will say no more so as to not ruin it :-p)

All in all, I'm glad I picked this book up from the library. Was a fun read ^_^

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Milkylicious_

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

March 17,2025

Super cute book. Extremely predictable, but then it's pre-teen level reading, so that's to be expected. Still, I enjoyed it. (I originally rated it at a 3, but revised it with the target audience in mind. As a preteen/early teen level book, I'd give it a 4.)

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Reibax

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

March 17,2025

This book was adorable, but took FOREVER for me to get through... I have just been so busy lately, even though school is out, and I just have not had time to read. But that needs to change.

So anyways, this book was cute, a bit unrealistic, but still a good book.

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Changeling #1

Changeling

delia sherman

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delia sherman

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