Things Change

I found this book to be very engaging, vividly realistic and astounding. I think the author has an excellent understanding of what makes a book easy to understand while having a deep, intellectual and meaningful underlying/hidden message. I loved the use of symbols; they were interesting, very purposeful, and meaningful. I adored this book; the message, plot, organization, writing style, characters and the ending. The way it was written was with passion and intelligence. It was easy to read and easy to apply to the real world, and real world situations. I think this book is very important to read as well as being fun to read, no matter how old you are. Everyone should read this book, even if you don't like novels or the genre. This is one of the best books I have ever read!

Johanna is a smart girl who does some dumb things. In this book, she trades the influence of her controlling, but well-meaning, parents for the influence of her controlling, well-meaning but physically and emotionally abusive boyfriend Paul. Not all is cut-and-dried in Patrick Jones' first YA novel, and that is refreshing. We get to see that Paul is human, not some evil, demonic monster. We learn that love can be complicated (even in high school). Friendships destroyed are not easily rekindled. And, in this book, as in life, the puzzle pieces don't all fit together nicely in the end. The Springsteen references are remarkably current, too -- especially given the vintage of many of the songs quoted. All in all, an excellent read.

The difference between Things Change and other YA novels is that this one is written in such a way that it isn't JUST for teens. I believe that everyone will read this book, love this book, and learn from this book. For Patrick Jones' first novel it's amazing he could do such a great job. The charatcers are wonderful. Each teen can deffinatly indentify with at least one of them in some sort of way. The book itself deals with a very serious issue. At first you'll wonder how. How can someone so smart be so dumb to go back and back again with an abusive boyfriend. The answer is love. And I truly did love this book and recommend it to all.

Although it could be called a Young Adult novel, "Things Change" is an honest examination of obsessive teen romance that defies such a neat genre categorization. Paul, the male protagonist, is a warts-and-all example of the insecure smart aleck whose charm and quick wit obscures his flashes of temper and deep insecurities. His girlfriend Johanna is heartbreakingly vulnerable and intelligent, and her acceptance of Paul's scarier shortcomings is a poignant example of how love can bind you to another person in unforeseen ways. Both characters have to break their respective patterns of behavior in order to move forward with their relationship and to mature as people. That nothing is resolved neatly or sentimentally is a testament to the book's honesty and lasting value as a document of the good, bad, and ugly of first love.

I loved this book in all of its Springsteen induced glory and I recommend it to everyone who likes Springsteen or has been in an abusive relationship or knows someone who has.1. I loved Johanna, in all of her nerdy glory because I can relate to her before she met Paul being so thrown into her school work(even though Honors Physics is way out of my league) and reading so many books. Patrick Jones actually captured an insecure teenage girl very well and since I highly doubt he was ever an insecure teenage girl I was really suprised because Johanna could be someone at my school.2. I liked being able to see Paul's POV in the letters that he wrote to his dead father. It was refreshing to see another characters thoughts without taking away from Johanna's story.3. The ending, it was sort of a happy/sad ending.4. Overall, I loved the book, even though I'm not a fan of the Boss but my mom is so I made a connection with Paul's music of choice. I thought Johanna was very evolved and had become such a more confident person at the end of the story. Pam's role in the story was also one that is relatable since, you lose and gain different friends in High School.Read this book and if you like it you might also like Faultline by Janet Tashjian or Dreamland by Sarah Dessen