The Changeling by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

My name is Martha, and my best, and only, friend Ivy says she's a changeling. She said she replaced the Carson baby when she was two years old. My parents don't like her as my friend, since I tend to get in more trouble with her. Dumping purple paint on the Girl Scout leader was an accident, but I guess stealing a horse could have been a bigger problem. I feel comfortable around Ivy and get to use more of my imagination. We invented a world in the trees called The Land of the Green Sky, and Ivy just announced she doesn't plan on getting any older. We like to act out our creative lives, and Ivy says I'm really good at pretending to be the evil queen. The only problem is we always need to leave the tree and return to the real world. I never would have imagined the problems between Ivy and my neighbor Kelly Peters would result in such dramatic consequences.

 I was puzzled as I read the book, since the big conflict wasn't clear and I wasn't sure if it was actually a speculative fiction book. Ivy called herself a changeling and said she had abilities, but she didn't seem that different. She was confident and free-spirited but didn't do anything fantastic. The magic in the book was found in the girls' imaginations. The time span of the plot began with them in elementary school and ended with them in tenth grade. The girls grew from fun-loving little kids into more mature young ladies. The aging process was a bit confusing, as they continued to enjoy their imaginary world. I was surprised they didn't get hassled more by their classmates, as they entered middle school. Strangely, Ivy entered and left the story several times due to her family's shady history. My biggest issue with the book, as mentioned, was that I wasn't sure where the plot was headed. It seemed like a collection of stories until the book neared its end. At that point, a big problem arose and was solved. Overall, it was a good book, but didn't wow me.