Reviews for Things change
Publishers Weekly
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Alternating the perspectives of 16-year-old Johanna and her emotionally disturbed boyfriend, this psychologically involving first novel gives a frank, up-close look at a textbook case of dating violence. Johanna, a straight-A student, has always worked hard to please her controlling parents ("Love in our family was like a bad novel: all tell and no show") but has done little to make herself happy. Then she starts dating the boy least likely to win her parents' approval: ruggedly handsome, outspoken Paul, a senior and a kind of class clown who, Johanna soon learns, vents his anger by hurting himself and others. Predictably, Johanna's life changes drastically as she and Paul become involved. Johanna's passion for her new boyfriend is eclipsed only by her anxiety over hiding the bruises he leaves on her arms. Paul becomes increasingly possessive, insulting and aggressive. Meanwhile, Johanna loses her dignity, her parents' respect and her best friend's trust in order to keep Paul. Chapters told from Johanna's point of view convey a battle between heart and intellect. Paul's narrative reveals deep resentment caused by his father's abandonment and eventual death-especially Paul's letters to him, veiled in humor (they begin, "Dear Dead Dad"). This dark, at times insightful book serves as a warning, depicting the teen scene as it is, rather than how adults would like it to be. The provocative conclusion may well send chills down readers' spines. Ages 14-up. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Jones examines the neglected subject of dating violence. Sixteen-year-old Johanna struggles to live up to her parents' insistence that she be the perfect daughter. She earns top grades but fails socially. Her mother controls her entire existence, so it's no surprise that Johanna finds love with a boy who controls her as completely as her mother does. Both exhibit sudden attacks of anger, but Paul often descends into violence against both himself and Johanna. Jones tells both sides of the story, portraying Paul as a bright boy trapped by poverty and the product of his abusive father. Paul's quirky humor and obvious need for love explain Johanna's attraction to him, but as she changes and grows, she learns that some things don't change—especially abusive behavior. While Jones's writing needs sharpening, often straining to be hip especially in his dialogues, this is a decent effort from a first-time author that deserves a wide readership because of its subject. (Fiction. 12+) Copyright ŠKirkus Reviews, used with permission.
School Library Journal
(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Gr 8 Up-Johanna, 16, is a straight-A student with near perfect SATs. She adores Paul, a handsome senior, from a shy, self-conscious distance. When he begins to return her affections, she's dumbfounded and ecstatic. Then he hits her. Scared, she leaves him. He promises to change. Her heart and fragile ego win over her brain and self-respect and she takes him back. All the while he drinks and writes maudlin, self-pitying letters to his dead dad. As Janet Tashjian did in Fault Line (Holt, 2003), Jones adds an abusive father to give his teenage abuser pathos. The great difference between the two stories is in the deftness with which Tashjian created a truly charming abuser. Jones states over and over that Paul is funny, but often fails to show this in his interactions with Johanna. His quips are so smarmy and ingratiating that readers doubt her intelligence just because she laughs. The characters often speak without contractions, so the dialogue can be more stiffly editorial than believably teenage. Images are repeated as motifs, but most are more tiresome than meaningful. The constant references to Bruce Springsteen, which may confuse or annoy a 2004 teen, fail to move the plot or establish mood; the music serves only as a cheap symbol of Paul's anger. Johanna's struggle, pain, and final liberation are more convincingly written, and the novel shines in her scenes with Kara, a popular girl who suspects Paul's abuse. An earnest though clumsily told story.-Johanna Lewis, New York Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publishers Weekly
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
"Alternating the perspectives of 16-year-old Johanna and her emotionally disturbed boyfriend, this psychologically involving first novel gives a frank, up-close look at a textbook case of dating violence," wrote PW. Ages 13-up. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.
Gr. 8-11. Sixteen-year-old Johanna has always been daddy's perfect tough little Marine girl --a determined student who usually gets what she wants. Now she has her first boyfriend, Paul, the disturbing, anger-filled student body president. As Johanna and Paul become more involved, Johanna's grades drop, her relationships with her parents and best friend are compromised, and her life is jeopardized. From the opening sentence, I want you to kiss me, to the ominous conclusion, this is a compelling novel about teen dating, violence, and the tangled web of love and pain that permeates such dangerous relationships. Paul's pinning the blame on his violent father, who died long ago, may seem pat, and angry, poignant letters to his dad seem contrived, but readers will easily understand Johanna's excitement and attraction, as well as her need for love and security. Jones, the author of a number of professional materials for YA librarians, avoids didacticism in a debut novel that is both forceful and cautionary. For YAs wanting still another book on the subject, suggest Sarah Dessen's Dreamland (2000). --Frances Bradburn Copyright 2004 Booklist
Horn Book
(c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
When shy junior Johanna gets up the courage to let senior Paul know her feelings for him, she ends up in an abusive relationship with the depressed alcoholic. The expected parent-child, boyfriend-girlfriend, and caring-friend conflicts surrounding an abusive relationship are all played out here; and while the paint-by-numbers plot and characters are obvious, the story has heart. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
