Fatechanger: Penny Lost

by L.M. Poplin

When fourteen-year-old Penelope Clark accidentally travels through time to 1915 Boston, she must disguise herself first as a pickpocket and then as a newsboy, learning how to thieve, fight, and broadcast headlines to survive in an era before antibiotics and open-heart surgeries.

Stuck in the past with no way to get home, Penn makes her first friend ever, and many enemies. But when Penn is robbed, and the pickpockets kidnap the head newsboy, she finds herself stuck in the middle of a dangerous rivalry, questioning her loyalties to either side and to herself.

After a violent fistfight with a fellow pickpocket, Penn incurs a life-threatening infection. As her supposed enemy nurses her back to health—discovering she’s a girl and befriending her in the process—Penn realizes that someone else must have betrayed her. Her ensuing investigation reveals not only the truth of her betrayer’s identity but also her own.

Genres: Time Travel, Fiction, Historical, Young Adult

225 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 30, 2019

About the author

When she’s not writing or traveling or riding her bike, L. M. Poplin can be found teaching classes in writing and literature at Berklee College of Music. She has co-founded, with two of her favorite authors, L’ATELIER Writers—a non-profit literary retreat and workshop based in France. Born and raised in California, she now lives in a triple-decker in Boston with her husband and son and cat.

Reviews

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Fatechanger is a new timeslip novel for teens/YA/adults by L. M. Poplin. Released 30th May 2019 by Black Rose, it's 225 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats.

This is a very well written and engaging book. I was previously unfamiliar with the author, but will definitely be on the lookout for future books. The narrative is clear and the voice is strong. The protagonist, Penn, is a likeable character with a strong sense of loyalty making the best of a difficult situation. I loved the reveal halfway through the book about the world and her place in it.

Quite looking forward to continuing the story later.

Possibly worth noting for Kindle Unlimited subscribers. This title is available in the KU subscription to borrow and download for free.

Five stars. Very enjoyable.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[Evelina | AvalinahsBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fatechanger was hard to get into and I was skeptical at first, but I really loved it in the end. It has a lot of things about it where you have to suspend your disbelief, but it's fiction, and that's (mostly) okay. About the only thing I thought wasn't okay was how a congenital heart disease patient could survive without serious medicine, and I was at first not going to forgive that until I read the acknowledgements, where the author says she wouldn't for a minute believe this was possible in reality either - but it's fiction and she's allowed herself to write it like that. So I've decided not to dock a star, but just mention it instead. I don't think it's good to portray heart disease like this - it's dangerous to go without medicine and the character would have died. Even if it's fiction it's not good. But I'll leave that up to you to decide how you feel about that, and instead I'm going to say that I still was drawn into the book like a toddler into a fairytale. The book transports us to 1915 and it is quite an engrossing, very different world, and it captivates you. I liked Penn as a character as well and thought she was very strong. There's all this intrigue that I admit I was quite wrapped up in, and I didn't even understand why things are going on sometimes, but that didn't really hinder my enjoyment. It's like a good drama, things just keep rolling and you kind of fall in love with the characters.

The book had flaws, but I'll just say this - I CAN'T WAIT FOR PART 2, and I'm absolutely signing up for the author's newsletter. I enjoyed it even despite the flaws. A good story doesn't have to be perfect to be very engrossing and enjoyable.

I thank the publisher for a free copy of the ebook in exchange to an honest review. This hasn't affected my opinion.

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[Desiree · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would like to begin by thanking Black Rose Writing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Penny Lost is the first book in the Fatechanger series, and I for one am hooked. I am absolutely interested in reading the next installment; I mean, I started and finished this one in a day! It is one of those books that you can't put down because it keeps you guessing and you have to find out what happens next.

Penn, the main character, lives in Boston in 2019 with her single mother who works nights and sleeps days. She is a loner and spends her summer days exploring her city and blending into the crowds. Tired of the monotony of her boring, invisible life, she makes a wish to escape. She escapes all right, however she travels back in time to 1915 Boston and over the course of two months, her life completely changes. She finally makes her first ever friend when she pretends to be a boy and joins a group of thieves run by a rough, mysterious man who promises to take care of her in exchange for continuing to pickpocket (and pay him a percentage). But the newsboys intrigue her and she leaves the gang to sell the news. She makes some friends along the way, but it seems everywhere she goes she makes more enemies than friends. She went from being a total loner to being the center of attention (that attention is mostly not good); most of the time not knowing who to trust. As a girl in a male-dominated world, she does what the boys do, but she does it better. She is girl power all the way. She has a strong sense of loyalty, but it makes her vulnerable and an easy target at times. I was rooting for her throughout the entire story.

The setting was perfect. I felt like I traveled back in time right along with Penn. The clothes, the city, the stores, the mannerisms, the speech - everything was depicted perfectly by Poplin. I truly felt like I was there - and I didn't want to go back.

The ending was pretty shocking. I had no idea where the story was heading at that point and my attention was captured yet again. I only wish I didn't have to wait for the next book to come out so that I can find out what happens next.

[OjoAusana · Rating 4 out of 5]

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* This is a cute historical fiction, and as always love this historical note at the end!, I really liked Pen and the (other?) boys, the ending was really open ended so not sure if they plan on doing something with that or not but it was a pretty good read.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

I took a long break from reading this to read something else, and only barely decided to come back and finish it.

The first few chapters are unpromising (hence the break and reluctant return). Far from being any kind of "fatechanger," as per the title, the main character, Penn, lacks much agency. She's thrown unexpectedly through time, in what at first seems like it's a contrived mechanism for the sake of the plot with no real explanation behind it (though later on it turns out that the explanation is... pretty much exactly what I thought it would be if there was an explanation). Once back in 1915, she takes, without much resistance, the first and seemingly only option open to her: she becomes a pickpocket in an Oliver-Twist-like gang of youths (disguised as a boy). She doesn't seem to suffer much in the way of moral angst about this, though we have been shown, prior to her trip through time, that she wasn't above a bit of stealing here and there.

Things pick up a bit once she manages to buy her way out of debt to the Fagin of the thieves (who runs a remarkably fair and unrigged system that allows her to do so), and instead chooses to be a newsboy - though she's not welcomed by the other newsboys, and has to prove herself again. She does this, as she did among the thieves, by being much better than them at what they do (and have been doing for a long time). Her foreknowledge of the significance of the newspaper headlines plays some role, but basically she's just that talented at selling newspapers, somewhat inexplicably given what else we see of her.

There's a marked dichotomy in Penn all the way through, in fact. On the one hand, she's helpless and lacking in options, stranded in another time without the medical treatment she needs for her heart condition, with no idea of even where to begin to look to find her way back to her own time. She has absolutely no knack of making friends, and gets herself resented by both groups she joins. On the other hand, she's incredibly good at everything she tries, ends up with a bunch of friends and allies despite herself, and eventually gets handed the way back without having had to work for it in any way (and without even attempting to do so).

This feels to me like double deprotagonization, both through lack of agency in the situation and also through being handed things she either doesn't earn or earns too easily through excessive natural ability. This, combined with some very basic, though not too frequent, copy editing issues, combined to lower my rating to three stars.

I received a review copy via Netgalley. I assume the errors I noticed are in the published version, since the publication date is in the past.

[A_Girl_Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Atmospheric, quirky and powerful are the best adjectives to describe Fatechanger: Penny Lost by L.M. Poplin.

In this book, we follow Penelope Clark, a fourteen-year-old girl with a heart disease, who accidentally travels to 1915 Boston. Due to her androgenic style, Penn pretends to be a boy and tries το survive in a male-dominated world, first as a thief and then as a newsboy. In 2019 she was invisible. In 1915 she’s the center of attention making friends as well as enemies; the line of the two often blurring.

I think the characters and the setting were the strongest elements of the story. Our protagonist was well fleshed out with a unique and complex personality. I could understand clearly her motives, her fears, and her struggles and I appreciated many times her mature way of thinking. I was amazed by her persistence and constant striving towards her goals and I was happy when she accomplished them. She learned how to pickpocket, how to sell newspapers and become the best newsboy Boston has ever seen. She learned how to fight and defend herself but most importantly she learned to let herself be vulnerable, gaining some friends in the process. I think Penn is a great example of what girl power should look like in action.

All the characters felt real to me with the kind of flaws you meet in everyday people. There is a mystery engulfing the intentions of some towards Penn but their unreliability only keeps your interest as the story moves forward. The ending left a sour taste in my mouth and I don’t know where I stand. I don’t know who to trust and, I must say, I feel kind of betrayed.

The world setting was amazing. It was like I had time-traveled myself. The clothes, the streets, the jobs, the stores, the speech were all depicting 1915 perfectly. L.M. Poplin’s excellent writing style delivered a world you could lose yourself into. Not even once I thought I was in a different time period and I grew to love the feel of being part of it.

Towards the middle, the pacing slowed down a bit and that threw me off for a while. I didn’t know where the story was heading and I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it. Fortunately, the ending was unexpected and kind of shocking. The only thing I want now is for the next book to come out and give me the answers I crave so much.

This book was provided to me by NetGalley for review purposes.

[Michael Hartnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Clever, Exciting Novel of Rough Old Boston
In L.M. Poplin’s lively, smart novel Fatechanger, young Penelope is transported from present day to Boston, 1915. There, she must take the guise of a boy, Penn, and enter into the rough and tumble world of pickpocketing. Poplin has a clean, sharp style to contrast with the grubby, hard streets inhabited by impoverished youths. As her friend Fin explains to Penn, “You get a corner, and you learn the faces of every man, woman, and child on that corner. And slowly patterns emerge, patterns you can control. Patterns equal power.”
A quick study, Penn quickly earns enough money to buy her freedom from Joe, the boss of the young thieves. Mercurial and thoughtful, Joe is a wonderful, mysterious character rife with moral complexities. As Penn moves onto selling newspapers on the street, the reader becomes completely enthralled by both the storyline and evocative sense of time and place. The battle between Joe and Mack, the leader of the newsboys, is one of sly maneuvers and machinations that are quite entertaining. Penn’s divided loyalties between these two charismatic and often generous figures keep her at the center of both the action and compel the reader to struggle with her to decide just who has the moral upper hand. Clearly flawed figures, Mack and Joe still engender loyalty and provide some comfort in a rough world: they both possess something akin to grace.
Furthermore, Poplin captures the striking inequities of the time and the nascent women’s rights movements, imbuing the novel with subtle social and feminist ideas. Fatechanger is filled with astute asides (“… politics were only considered polite conversation if you were complaining”), punchy dialogue, and a slew of clever, wry, clever lines. I deeply enjoyed the novel and look forward to the next installment of Penn’s journey.

[Lucie Patrowicz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! This novel is a page-turner. Set mostly in 1915 Boston, the story places its mentally tough, 14-year-old heroine, Penn, in situations where she quickly learns, the hard way, to become street-wise in an unfamiliar world -- first making her way among a band of boy thieves by disguising herself and mastering the tricks of their trade, and later finding success as a paper boy. Though I'd have no way of knowing how sub-cultures like these really operated in 1915, the world the author creates feels authentic and well-researched, and the hard lessons Penn learns in order to survive keep us pulling for her. Like most heroes (Harry Potter comes to mind), Penn is frequently and irritatingly stubborn. And like many others, she's also an underdog, given all that she has to contend with -- family challenges, medical issues, and being a 2019 Bostonian in 1915, for starters. But her sometimes smart-alecky wit, smarts, loyalty, courage, and sense of adventure -- along with the amazing characters and challenges she encounters -- kept drawing me in.

A great start to what I hope will be a long series.
Looking forward to discovering where Penn ends up next.

[Barbara Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Penn is a fourteen-year-old girl who knows her way around the streets of Boston. Clever and curious, she attends one of Boston's finest public schools and loves the library. On the other hand, Penn has learned to be tough, she was born with a heart defect, and her father left suddenly when she was seven.

One day, Penn is off exploring the city when she meets an old woman who gives her a penny to make a wish on. When she gets into trouble for stealing and uses it, she is transported back to 1915.

Penn's whole world is turned upside down. She is now an orphan who struggles to survive. Penn worries about how she will survive without her medication and if she can get back home. Penn gets mixed up with thieves and gangs. She masquerades as a boy. All she really wants is to fit in and find a true friend.

Will her secret be discovered? Can she find a way back to the twenty-first century?

The author paints colorful characters that succeed in involving the reader emotionally. There are lots of twists and turns to keep readers actively engaged. Recommended for teens and adults.

[Brooke French · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fatechanger is beautifully written and heartfelt. This coming of age adventure is exactly the kind of historical fantasy my middle son loves.

Fourteen-year-old Penn is a wallflower with a heart condition, no real friends, and — after an unfortunate incident with a misappropriated sandwich — a distinct possibility she’s about to be arrested. When she throws a lucky penny in a fountain, wishing for escape, she has no idea what she’s in for.

Transported back in time more than a hundred years, to 1915, her hometown of Boston is both familiar and completely foreign. You can’t help but root for Penn, who is smart, resourceful, and full of grit, as she struggles to survive in a world where only boys can earn a wage and none of the modern medicine she needs exists yet. Along the way, Penn will find the friendship she craves, the courage she needs to survive, and, ultimately, herself.

My son and I can’t wait to read the next of Penn’s adventures!

[Christine Weald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fatechanger is a new timeslip novel for teens/YA/adults by L. M. Poplin. The story synopsis states
“When fourteen-year-old Penelope Clark accidentally travels through time to 1915 Boston, she must disguise herself first as a pickpocket and then as a newsboy, learning how to thieve, fight, and broadcast headlines to survive in an era before antibiotics and open-heart surgeries.”

This was a well written book with a bit of 1915 history of Boston. The characters are colorful and credible and invoke the readers emotions. Their development throughout gives interesting insights into their personalities. The time slip fantasy reveals two very different worlds in the same city. The dialogue is witty and punchy. Several twists and turns that keep one intrigued.

I found the book was a page turner, easy to read and engaging. Sadly I could not find book 2.

[Edna Axelrod · Rating 5 out of 5]

This engaging novel completely transcends the pigeonholing that tries to place fiction of interest to all readers into categories that separate adults and teens. If you like good writing, strong memorable characters, and great plotting, read this book! If you like time travel, and a resourceful and thoughtful heroine, read this book! If you want a way to spend several hours swept up into a world very like but very different from your own, read this book! The best thing I can say is that I have heard there will be a second book in the series. I can’t wait to read more about Penn and her adventures.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a story that had me hooked from beginning to end. I loved the characters and their development throughiut the book. Plot was very evenly paced and kept me interested throughout the entire story. Was very sad to get to the end as i was fully engrossed and never wanted the action to stop. Looking forward to reading the rest of the books in this series.

*Disclaimer* i received this book for free through Reading Deals in exchange for an honest review

[Smithereens · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book starts in 2019 Boston, when Penny, a sickly and lonely girl roams the city without anyone caring much for her. Her mother works a lot to raise her and pay for the medical bills incurred by Penny’s heart condition. At school and in town, with her baggy clothes and her boyish figure, she is practically invisible.

But suddenly, by a weird turn of events, she finds herself in 1915, without friends, money or support. She needs to survive in this familiar yet strange city of Boston until she will find a way to return to 2019. Her first move is to pretend to be a boy and set out to work in the streets, first as a pickpocket, and then as a newspaper boy. Along the way she gets to meet a lot of other young boys (and girls), finds a way to use her uncanny knowledge of the future (to 1915 people) and escape all kinds of dangers.

Penn is a strong 14-year-old protagonist, but at first she doesn’t know her strength, as she’s shy and awkward and has been shielded by her mother all her life. She is literally weak-hearted, but she has a big heart (silly puns! couldn’t help myself!) and she finds out how courageous she actually can be. As for many time-travellers (I’m thinking Outlander and Kindred but I’m not overly familiar with the genre) she has a lot stacked against her: her health issues, her gender and her ignorance of the 1915 ways of life, but she is resourceful and a real competitive fighter!

I also enjoyed the lively atmosphere and research centered on Boston in 1915. I don’t know the city all that well but it was a fond reminder of popular old places. The historical research has obviously been thorough and you get a good feeling about what life on the streets was back then.

As a reader you need to suspend your disbelief long enough to accept the idea that Penn would live and fight on in 1915 with her serious heart condition and without treatment (which the author acknowledges at the end), and that she would pass as a boy without being discovered, but Penn is such a treat to follow, I kept turning the pages to know how her adventures would turn out. I really enjoyed her spirit and her loyalty to her friends. The book is targeted for a middle grade audience, but it’s really an entertaining read for all ages.

[Cmccune]

This is a great read! Keeps the reader turning the page to see what happens to Penn. The historical Boston is Fun also. The medical is a nice twist. Who hasn’t ever heard/felt their heart. Children and adults will enjoy this fun book! Can’t wait for the second one!

[Taliaferro L. Samuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beware: you won't be able to put this book down!

i read the book in one sitting. It grabbed my imagination and wouldn't let go. I loved the details about the characters loved and about1915 Boston. Well done!

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Penny Lost

I am not a fan of time travel stories but I really enjoyed reading this book. I would like to read next part of the book to find out if Penny found the way to travel back into time or not.

[J. Munoz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Theme

The story makes you wander, what do you consider good people? You won’t want to stop reading. Putting some historical information made it a fun read. Look forward to reading the next book.

[Sheri Forsdick · Rating 5 out of 5]

completely unexpected

I enjoyed this book. The storyline was completely unexpected. I liked the time travel, but I loved how the author created the characters with such depth. This story of finding oneself and friendship is worth the read.

[Bonnye Reed]

TheFussyLibrarian

[Sandra Burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this!

Young girl, ends up going back in time, to 1915. She pretends to be a boy, and steals to survive. Then, she becomes a paper boy. So good!

[Tom Riley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book to keep you reading.

I am only halfway through but I am loving it. It is the kind that I would love to write.

[Spencer Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute kids story

I loved the time travel part! Very cute story, glad she made it back k safe. She played the part.

[Terri Brooke-Hasstedt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story