Eva Pasco

Goodreads: 5-Stars

October 25, 2025

Out of the Ballpark!

Prospective readers of author J.S. Frankel’s Indiequeer/Spirited Science Fiction will get the terminology by the end of ‘The Turnaround’. Nevertheless, it sums up this reader’s reaction to an incredible, intriguing, nerve-racking story with no let-up from page one.

Through an explosion at Quantum Gate Technologies, teen protagonist, Joel Silverman, switches gender, minds, and worlds with Kathy Goldbloom, ending up in her parallel universe of Portland, Oregon.

There, Joel/Kathy is in extreme danger of being killed and blamed for a rash of murders surrounding Quantum’s innovative gateway/portal to look in on other Earths.

Fanatical, fascist thug elements in collusion with others in government and law enforcement up the ante. Those com-link bracelets also put a damper on personal freedom. Then there’s Joel’s romantic feelings for Myrna Loi – are they Joel-based or Kathy-based?

Fraught with danger at every turn, and inducing reader indignation over the Center’s whacked-out ideology, ‘The Turnaround’ is a must-read.