Reviewed by Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com

Paul offered Johanna a ride home, and suddenly shy, "good girl" Johanna is saying, "I want you to kiss me." A junior in high school, Johanna has long admired the handsome, fast-driving senior. Now things have changed. She has found the nerve to make a move.

Although nothing happens immediately, Paul eventually begins paying attention to Johanna. Little does she know it's because he and girlfriend Carla have split up, and he needs a replacement. Whatever the reason, Paul and Johanna become a couple.

Grades used to hold top priority for Johanna, but they've been moved to second place to make room for hours spent with Paul. Needless to say, her parents are not thrilled and neither is her best friend, Pam. Paul wants to spend so much time with Johanna that he demands she choose between her best friend and him. There is no choice - Paul is the love of her life.

As time passes, Johanna begins to notice that Paul's gentle caresses are becoming painful slaps, squeezes, and pinches. His loving words are now put downs said not only in private but also in front of their friends. Johanna doesn't know about Paul's hidden problems, but she's learning fast.

Paul's personality surfaces in the novel through letters written to "Dear Dead Dad." His father left when he was twelve, and news came later that he died in a car accident. His mother lost her husband, then her home, and then she "found" Jesus, and Paul began fending for himself. Anger issues and drinking problems begin complicating his relationships. He always apologizes and promises that "things will change," but doubt about their relationship haunts Johanna.

In THINGS CHANGE, Patrick Jones paints a chilling picture of physical and emotional abuse. People often question why the abused continues to "love" the abuser and refuses to seek help. Johanna's story attempts to show how loss of friendships and alienation of family keep the abused from reaching out. This emotion-packed novel tells a story that shouldn't be ignored. ( )

Booklist (May 1, 2004)
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

VOYA (June 1, 2004)
Talk about a love story for the ages: Johanna is an insecure high school junior who opens the book with an uncharacteristic act of romantic pursuit. The object of her desire, Paul, is a class clown with a fear of abandonment and a tendency toward violence, making him total bad news wrapped up in an appealing package-a dangerous mix. In no time at all, Paul and Johanna have become each other's entire worlds, to the chagrin of her parents. Their story is a very tough one to read, primarily because the reader gets so frustrated with the choices Johanna makes to remain with Paul as long as she does. Fortunately Johanna ultimately realizes what she has gotten herself into. The question is, how will she get out? As aggravating and as stupid as Johanna appears here, there are young women-and adult women-in exactly the same situation. If just one of them reads this book and recognizes that she has hooked herself to a louse-albeit one with apparent redeeming traits such as a sense of humor or a tormented soul-and gets out of that relationship, then the book has done what the author obviously set out to do.-Matthew Weaver.

Publisher's Weekly (March 29, 2004)
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.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information. ( )

The tricky thing about abusive relationships is that no one ever really thinks they're in one, and the reason Things Change is such a convincing novel is because Patrick Jones gets that. Johanna rationalizes the downward spiral of her relationship with Paul so well you can almost find yourself believing her - almost. What's so amazing to me is how Jones never outright bashes Paul - readers can see why he's the way he is, even if they ultimately root for Johanna. So many authors insult their readers' intelligence by insisting that abusive relationships are bad (no kidding). Jones gets us right inside that relationship to show us how, like everything else in life, these kinds of relationships have a lot of gray areas. ( )