One of my all-time favourites, for many reasons. I first was introduced to this author by my 6th grade teacher with "The Egypt Gang", and devoured all her books published and as they were published. Thanks, Sr. Mary Jeanne Cusick!

This is a story of two friends, Ivy and Martha. Their families are complete opposites from social and economic spectrums but they formed a bond of friendship so strong that withstood the stresses of two different worlds and time. This is an organic story, with ups and downs and very few black and white answers. Peer pressure and bullying are shown in a way that includes the ambiguousness of how cruelly it can affect its victims.

What I really loved, though, was all the make-believe and world building the two friends did on their own, and how they determined how they were going to live their lives. The author clearly understands childhood and depicts their concerns and actions with a clear view and compassionate humour. The pain of childhood and adolescence is depicted with plain dignity.

Ms. Snyder was also a school teacher who lived and taught in Northern California, often in places where I lived, so her books feel even more personal to me.

This was one of my favorite books when I was 9 or 10. I came across my copy (hardcover, missing dust jacket, well-loved, original artwork) while cleaning over the weekend and had to reread it. Surprisingly, it held up and I enjoyed it just as much as I did as a kid. Maybe more so, because I picked up on little nuances and details I'd missed when I was younger simply because I didn't yet have enough maturity or life experience. This doesn't happen often (Usually I'll reread a book I loved as a kid or teen and discover it falls within varying degrees of abysmal, or at least doesn't come close to measuring up to memory), but I'm so happy it happened in this case.

And I finally fully "got" the deep and profound meaning of what Ivy writes to Martha on the very last page (and how it ties together everything that happened before)! , which made everything about the story even more awesome.

Another magical book by Zilpha Keatley Snyder.

This was one of my favorite books growing up. Recently, my mom found it at a used book sale. She didn't remember that I had read it, but just reading the description made her buy it for me now that I have kids that I might want to share it with.

It's a beautiful story about true friendship. I love the way that the characters are allowed to learn and grow over different stages of their development. It had a great message about being yourself and also that you don't have to be what everyone thinks you are.

It would be a quick read for a grown up and it will be required reading for my daughter.

It took me a while to get into, I had started it and stopped for a couple years before I actually read it all the way through. I think this is on me though because I was not very interested in reading for a while. When I did finally read it all the way through though, however, It really stuck with me. It reminded me of the value of whimsy and childlike silliness. I see a lot of myself in Ivy besides the name, it's a side I hadn't explored much when I had read it. I think this book genuinely helped me be more receptive towards young children in a way I am so grateful for.

[I read old fantasy and sci-fi novels written by women authors in search of forgotten gems. See more at forfemfan.com]

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.

I know I would have loved this book much more if I had read out as a preteen, but out still was a pretty good book. Not what I expected, but in a good way.

Loved this book as a kid. I thought it was about magic.

I took all my books out of my parents' house and am re-reading them.

I discovered this book is actually about class and friendships. It's well done and the ending is pitch perfect.

This book was like a cake that you were eating and then suddenly discovered it was spinach.
A magical growing up book that turns out to be talking about the weight of poverty, judgement and preconceptions. i really enjoyed it. Wish I discovered it when I was a child. Wish I had a friend like Ivy. or was Ivy.

Now that I am writing my thought, this book opened up a box of needs and wishes that I had locked up for many years. Not a bad thing.

This is a great coming of age story. Martha and Ivy are, in many ways, opposites, but they form a friendship that lasts and grows over the years, through the cycle of the disappearance from and return to the community where Martha's proper family lives by Ivy's less-than-savory one every couple of years or so. There are a few glimpses of the difficulties of Ivy's life, and while there are hints of worse trials for her, the details are never really fleshed out and the tragedy doesn't overshadow the prevailing sense of magic and wonder in the story. For it is a sense of wonder that pervades, as Ivy uses her imagination and resilience to rise above her situation, despite the efforts of her peers (save Martha) to define her by her family's shortcomings. Will certainly be handing this book off to my 10-year-old daughter.

I never read this as a child, but I totally devoured it as an adult. Really well-done and stands the test of time. Martha's and Ivy's characterizations are so subtle yet vivid. And Alton Raible's illustrations of this edition really enhance the story.

I loved this book so much as a child and was a bit nervous to reread it, as many of my favorites have not held up well. But this did! I have zero qualms about passing to my own children and I hope they too will feel a sense of kinship with these girls.