This book was quite bad. But it was also REALLY enjoyable. And like... ridiculously angsty and made me want to throw it across the room half the time. But mostly enjoyable. Ish.

Okay but seriously it was like so low quality? And I don't mean to be rude but... the writing was some of the WORST writing I've ever read. It was real bad.

Also way too much hockey. Just saying. I was booooooored by all the hockey. (I hear too much about it in real life okay?)

And just like... how was this so bad? The characters were nothing special, and the writing was AWFUL. Truly awful. I think this book needed a few more rounds of copy edits, and also there was WAY too much filler.

I will say, the plot was engaging, and the plot twist was legit really surprising! My guesses were... totally off. So that was good at least. And I could NOT put this book down.

Still though... it wasn't great. The writing was BAD. And the book was like half dumb angst over romances I didn't care about the slightest bit.

Also can we talk about the way Robyn treated Morgan?? Like look, I get that Morgan was being shitty, but her boyfriend was just MURDERED. She had the right to be a bit shitty. She was grieving. And Robyn wasn't cutting her ANY slack. Which was... uncool. Like for gods sake give her some time to grieve before you get all mad at her for thinking one of her friends did it. SHE'S GRIEVING.

And then there was the Aspergers rep... I can't really speak on it, but I'm *pretty sure* it was BAD. It just... felt off to me. Really off. I mean, the kid was a sweetheart (best character in the whole book actually), but he was also a walking stereotype with very little personality aside from his Aspergers. Which felt uncool. I really don't feel educated enough to really say this, but I just really didn't think it had the feel of good rep, and I think it's better to err on the side of caution and say that it felt a bit off.

So overall? This book was dumb. Really dumb. And just... bad. ( )

I’ve always enjoyed reading Norah McClintock’s novels. She remembers so well what it was like to be young and facing all of life’s challenges at that age. Change of Heart is an intriguing story about three best friends: Robyn, Billy, and Morgan have been friends for a long time. The latter two had been dating for a while until Morgan called it quits with Billy and left Robyn in the middle. Robyn doesn’t want to take sides, but with Billy acting more and more uncharacteristically like the lovesick puppy, and Morgan flaunting her new relationship, Robyn finds it increasingly difficult to remain good friends with both of them. All of a sudden, Morgan’s new boyfriend is found dead and all the signs point to Billy. Can the three of them ever become friends again? This is a story of believing in your friends and standing your ground even when everyone believes you’re wrong.

Story & Pacing: 8
I was happy to read a story about hockey, what with our NHL-less season, and it made for a nice backdrop against which to set some of the actions in this story. McClintock’s story has good pacing and readers will have no trouble getting into the conflicts. Even though this is book 7 in a series, there is enough background information to explain the relationships, and it doesn’t feel like I need to read the 6 previous novels—although I am quite interested in doing so!

Characters: 8
Robyn is a great protagonist, and one with whom anyone who has ever found him/herself in the middle can sympathize. Billy, who is always described as being laid back and romantic, displays very worrisome behaviour, which makes him unlikeable in the beginning, but he works well with Morgan’s character who doesn’t seem to care at all about her erstwhile boyfriend’s feelings.

Setting: 7
Set in school, on the skating rink, and in various places around town, there isn’t much to be said for setting. It’s a typical high-school novel, so the different locales work for the story.

Style & Writing: 7
McClintock’s writing is very easy to read. You will have no trouble getting into the story and believing in the scenarios in which she places her characters.

Learnability & Teachability: 7
This is a good book for youth between grades 7-10. Even though some of the characters are much older, I think younger students enjoy reading about older students in “mature” situations. Older students may find the characters unrealistic by the time they have reached senior year in high school.

POTENTIAL TEACHABLES
Hockey rules and superstitions; character development; predicting the culprit; creating back story (if students haven’t read other works in series); rules of moving from collegiate sports teams to professional teams. ( )

This is book seven in the Robyn Hunter Mysteries, and if you've been following the series, you're sure to enjoy this one. One word of warning however - if you're hoping for some development in the Robyn and Nick relationship, you're in for a big disappointment, because this book is not about them, at all. Robyn's two best friends, Billy and Morgan have broken up and Morgan has started seeing Sean Sloane, a very popular hockey player and someone whom Billy can't stand. There are heated words between the two boys, and a few blows. Robyn hates that Billy is acting so obsessively, and feels caught in the middle. She vows to not get involved so that Morgan won't feel betrayed, but when Sean is found dead, and Billy is the prime suspect, Robyn has no choice. She has to find out who really killed Sean to prove her friend's innocence. ( )