“Waiting on Wednesday” is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine!
This week I’m waiting on…
Title The Swap
Author Megan Shull
Pages 400 Pages
Genre Middle Grade, Contemporary, Fantasy
Publisher Katherine Tegen Books
To Be Published August 26th, 2014
Find It On Goodreads
“You be me…and I’ll be you.”
Ellie spent the summer before seventh grade getting dropped by her best friend since forever. Jack spent it training in “The Cage” with his tough-as-nails brothers and hard-to-please dad. By the time middle school starts, they’re both ready for a change. And just as Jack’s thinking girls have it so easy, Ellie’s wishing she could be anyone but herself.
Then, BAM! They swap lives — and bodies!
Now Jack’s fending off mean girls at sleepover parties while Ellie’s reigning as the Prince of Thatcher Middle School. As their crazy weekend races on — and their feelings for each other grow — Ellie and Jack begin to realize that maybe the best way to learn how to be yourself is to spend a little time being someone else.
I’ll be perfectly honest: It takes quite a bit to convince me to pick up a middle grade novel these days. After a number of rather disastrous attempts, I’ve found (much to my displeasure and disappointment) that I often have a more difficult time relating and connecting emotionally to the stories being told to this age group. That said, I had no such reservations when I stumbled upon The Swap on Goodreads one afternoon! To put it simply: I love body swap stories. If there was one movie I positively adored growing up, it was The Parent Trap. Whether it starred Hayley Mills or Lindsay Lohan, I was fascinated by the idea of seeing the world, quite literally, from another person’s eyes. In my experience, these sort of stories also seem to combine the perfect mixture of humour, sincerity and a thoughtful reflection on that which both separates and unites us in the common bond of the shared human experience. After the number of serious ‘issue’ books I’ve read and reviewed recently, The Swap sounds like precisely what the doctor ordered and I couldn’t be more excited to read it!
This week’s Waiting on Wednesday post has been brought to you by The Parent Trap. Oh, Lindsay. Those were simpler times, weren’t they?
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Is anyone else imagining ‘The Way We Were’ playing softly in the background as they look at this GIF set? No? Just me, then? Okay. Carry on.
10 Responses
I absolutely adore The Parent Trap and It Takes Two (starring the Olsen twins) and I really enjoy watching and re-watching the shenanigans that happen in these kinds of set-ups. Happy reading!
Camille @ Girl meets Books recently posted…“Waiting On” Wednesday (22): ALL LINED UP by Cora Carmack
I love middle grade fantasy but find it hard to get into middle grade contemporary but I agree this one sounds pretty awesome. =) Great pick!
Nobody recently posted…Waiting On Wednesday #9
I’ve not read any middle grade books in a LOOONG time. But I have to say that this one has me rather curious.
Now that I’ve said that, can I just say that A) I LOVE your site design B) I absolutely love the way you write your entries – I think the way you right and C) Yes, definitely had The Way We Were in my head.
Interested in a link exchange? It’s completely fine if you’re not. I’m still linking you as I’ll definitely be back 🙂
Here’s my Waiting on Wednesday pick.
Melissa recently posted…Waiting on Wednesday #1
It was same with me when it comes to books like this, but when I saw it on Edelweiss I couldn’t resist. I love that movie too.
Glass recently posted…Waiting on Wednesday (#90)
I came across this book on Edelweiss the other day and thought it looked absolutely adorable! I hope I get approved!
~Mandi Kaye | My WoW
Mandi Kaye recently posted…Better Off Friends by Elizabeth Eulberg – Review
I love reading MG personally, but I teach this age group and I think that helps with making the connections with the books. That being said, there are a lot of really bad MG books out there (same as adult and YA). I am looking forward to this one too and hope it’s not one of the bad ones.
Brandy recently posted…WOW: The Perilous Sea
You have captured my heart, Jen. When I was little I watched The Parent Trap over and over and over. Literally just on repeat for days at a time. That VHS really took a beating.
Anyway, I am always pretty reluctant to pick up a middle grade novel because even though I’m still a teenager, it’s really hard for me to relate to that middle school age group. But this sounds quite fantastic and I’m off to add it to my tbr right now. Thank you!!
Chloe @ YA Booklover Blog recently posted…Waiting on Wednesday: I’ll Give You the Sun
I’m in the exact same boat as you when it comes to middle grade books. I actually really, really want to read many MG books, but usually when I do there is a complete disconnect between me and the characters b/c of the age. It makes me sad because the stories sound so remarkable!
I’m still waiting for the next “Harry Potter” to grab me, but in the meantime I actually DID pick up The Swap iff of EW b/c YES The Parent Trap!!! (By the way, now I have that song in my head.) 😉
Jenna (Does Books) recently posted…Waiting on Wednesday: Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour
I can’t really get into middle grade ones, though I read The Eighth Day not so long ago, and was really surprised by it. Loved it. I think it definitely depends on each one, and since it’s got a Parent Trap vibe going on, it should be good. 🙂
Kirsty-Marie recently posted…Waiting on Wednesday (#39) #LGBTApril
I absolutely love The Parent Trap. I don’t really read middle grade, but if I come across this somewhere, I’ll definitely give it ago.
Btw. I absolutely love the outlook of your blog!
Milka recently posted…Waiting of Wednesday (#1)