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Switch
Claire Martin has some serious body issues. Not much happens in Claire's sleepy beach town, but that's okay. All she wants is to hang out with her best friend, make the high school swim team, and convince Nate, the guy of her dreams, to stop calling her "Dude." And, oh—she'd really, really like to stay in her own skin. Ever since Claire hit her teens, electrical storms have been making her switch bodies. Usually she's back to her old self in no time. But when something goes terribly wrong, she finds herself stuck as another girl. And not just any girl, but the icy beauty who has caught Nate's eye. Suddenly Claire goes from being Miss Average to Miss Gorgeous—the model-thin blonde that every girl wants to look like and every guy wants to date. Will she ever figure out how to get back to her old life? More importantly, will she want to?
215 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2008
26 people are currently reading
61 people want to read
About the author
Carol Snow
34Ìýbooks226ÌýfollowersCalled “an author to watchâ€� by Booklist, Carol Snow is an American author of contemporary women’s fiction and young adult literature. After graduating from Brown University with a degree in psychology, she spent many years writing literary short stories before accepting that she couldn't go more than a few hundred words without cracking a joke. She eventually turned her attention to crafting humorous, heartfelt stories with a wider commercial appeal, and In 2006, Berkley/Penguin published her first novel, Been There, Done That, which Publisher's Weekly called “humorous, wise . . . romance with a bit of social commentary.â€� Since then, she has written four more books for adults, Getting Warmer (2007), Here Today, Gone to Maui (2009), Just Like Me, Only Better (2010), and the upcoming What Came First (2011), about which Laura Fitzgerald, bestselling author of Veil of Roses, said, “Carol Snow mixes her trademark humor with tenderness and understanding in this good-mom/bad-mom tale of unexpected twists and turns.â€� Carol has also written two young adult books for HarperCollins, Switch (2008), an ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, and Snap (2009). Foreign rights to her books have sold to publishers in Germany, Norway, and Romania.
Carol Snow grew up in New Jersey. Much of her childhood was spent immersed in books; the rest was focused on avoiding dodgeball. In addition to her psychology degree from Brown University, she holds an M.A.T. in English from Boston College. Before getting her first book published, she had the typical (for a writer) assortment of odd jobs: tour guide, tutor, chambermaid, waitress. She worked for a T-shirt company, a child services agency, and a vanity press. She even had a short stint in local politics. Her campaign brochures were really pretty, with flawless punctuation.
Since leaving New Jersey, Carol has lived all over the place: Rhode Island, London, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Utah, Arizona, and, now, Southern California, where she shares a cat-fur-coated house with her husband and their two children.
Carol Snow grew up in New Jersey. Much of her childhood was spent immersed in books; the rest was focused on avoiding dodgeball. In addition to her psychology degree from Brown University, she holds an M.A.T. in English from Boston College. Before getting her first book published, she had the typical (for a writer) assortment of odd jobs: tour guide, tutor, chambermaid, waitress. She worked for a T-shirt company, a child services agency, and a vanity press. She even had a short stint in local politics. Her campaign brochures were really pretty, with flawless punctuation.
Since leaving New Jersey, Carol has lived all over the place: Rhode Island, London, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Utah, Arizona, and, now, Southern California, where she shares a cat-fur-coated house with her husband and their two children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 154 reviews
December 30, 2008
This takes having an identity crisis to a whole new level. Claire is a body switcher. On electrically charged nights, her soul leaves her body and travels to another. But there’s always her dead grandmother to fill her body for the night until Claire returns the next morning. However, one switching incident leaves her stuck in Larissa’s body with no way of returning to her own. But, does she even want to stop being beautiful and bold like the Larissa that everyone thinks she is?
1. What’s with the Claire’s and the paranormal genre? I’m sure it’s just a coincidence, but the name Claire was used in a vampire series before and in Mechling’s latest novel. Writers, I would avoid using typical names from now on.
2. The author makes a strangled attempt to incorporate some depth in a rather interesting story. It’s not completely lost on me. It’s like having the good vs. bad angel on your shoulder, except its pretty vs. ugly on Claire’s shoulders. But it’s not executed really well. There are still a lot of shallow moments where you wonder whether any of the characters have learned their lessons at all. I mean, when the author makes one last comment at the last chapter about Nate’s green eyes, golden curls, and how he looked like an angel, you pretty much just walk away with nothing short for good looks—not personality.
3. The world’s worst titles are the ones that are literal and one worded. Switch is not catchy. It is very general, which causes unexpectedness unless you’ve already read a snippet somewhere, but I don’t like it. This genre is enticing, so let’s make sure that the title stays so.
4. I think the characters and the story is pretty okay, but I feel like too much is repeated and not refreshing. The best friend with the weight problems gets used too often to make such an impression on me anymore, especially since it’s not a highlighted point here. Just, come on; not everyone in this world has a friend like that. Also, the alluring thought of wanting to be someone beautiful, someone other than you, is so common that I’m looking forward to a dramatic and encouraging twist. Essentially, it’s not bad; I just expected more “extreme� oddities than life scenarios.
1. What’s with the Claire’s and the paranormal genre? I’m sure it’s just a coincidence, but the name Claire was used in a vampire series before and in Mechling’s latest novel. Writers, I would avoid using typical names from now on.
2. The author makes a strangled attempt to incorporate some depth in a rather interesting story. It’s not completely lost on me. It’s like having the good vs. bad angel on your shoulder, except its pretty vs. ugly on Claire’s shoulders. But it’s not executed really well. There are still a lot of shallow moments where you wonder whether any of the characters have learned their lessons at all. I mean, when the author makes one last comment at the last chapter about Nate’s green eyes, golden curls, and how he looked like an angel, you pretty much just walk away with nothing short for good looks—not personality.
3. The world’s worst titles are the ones that are literal and one worded. Switch is not catchy. It is very general, which causes unexpectedness unless you’ve already read a snippet somewhere, but I don’t like it. This genre is enticing, so let’s make sure that the title stays so.
4. I think the characters and the story is pretty okay, but I feel like too much is repeated and not refreshing. The best friend with the weight problems gets used too often to make such an impression on me anymore, especially since it’s not a highlighted point here. Just, come on; not everyone in this world has a friend like that. Also, the alluring thought of wanting to be someone beautiful, someone other than you, is so common that I’m looking forward to a dramatic and encouraging twist. Essentially, it’s not bad; I just expected more “extreme� oddities than life scenarios.
November 24, 2010
The biggest question I have about this book is its ethics:
(1) You're in your granddaughter's body to keep it safe, but you go out and smoke to ruin your granddaughter's lungs, go out and hang out with a bad crowd, dye her hair orange, and talk on the phone with a stranger from myspace using your granddaughter's home phone number so that he'll call there again?!
-How could a real grandmother, who supposedly love you, use your body to do things like that! The eating of three/four bowls of ice cream was not ethical but it did not harm her as much as these.
-How could you NOT want to get back to your body back when you're grandmother is doing such things? I would be afraid that she was going to have sex with the stranger!
-This part made me actually think that the grandmother was going to steal her body and that's why she couldn't get back.
(2) The guy you like obviously only thinks of you as a friend, so you use another girl's body to date him?
-He obviously doesn't like you because he never invited you to the party. Unless he just didn't want to invite you because he was afraid you wouldn't like the drinking, but that's never mentioned so obviously not.
-He obviously has the hots for this girl and you're egging it on! Don't you want him to like you, not this girl. Stop flirting with this girl's body and return to your own and buy some girl's clothes. If you really want a guy, use your own body to do it with!
-Keeps making them matchy-matchy. Like I know all of your favorite spots, because you revealed it to the real me and not the me-Larissa.
(3) You don't even want to return to your body?
-Grandmother is ruining you life and you don't want to immediately get back?
-Swim try-outs and you're still thinking about staying in Larissa's body one more day?
-Larissa is suffering in the ghost-like stage and you don't even care? And while she says she does, she obviously doesn't or she would have tried harder to get back to her own body.
-Using her body to date the guy you like, making out with him, sneaking out which could end up making her lose any chance of seeing her father again!
(4)Guy obviously doesn't like you-stop chasing after him.
-Doesn't invite you to parties.
-Tells Larissa he thinks of you as a guy.
-Obviously ignores you at the picnic table while he stares at Larissa.
-But he cares enough to make sure you get home okay and gives you a shoe he only got back so that he could give it to Larissa.
-Where's your self-pride?
The only good ethical things about this book was that she used Larissa's body to save one of the little boys and she helped Larissa get her father back. So on a scale of one to ten of ethics, one being no ethics and ten being ethical, this book scores a two [and I'm really being generous with the two].
Unanswered Questions
-I still don't even know how she got back to her body because she obviously still wanted to be Larissa, unless worrying about her mom earlier did it?
-Is her grandmother ever going to back the afterlife?
-How is her grandmother going to help her when she goes to college or moves out if she's bond to the house?
-Does Nate really care for her more than just one of the guys now? And was it proof when he had to make them follow her home?
-Is she ever going to get some girl clothes to wear? [other than the sandals]
-Her dad's identity?
-What was really the point of Avon? She could have left her out of it.
-Is she going to dye her hair back to normal? Orange seriously?
Cover:
Is such a misrepresentation!
-Only thing that is correct is the lightning on her shirt.
-She would never wear such a girly outfit.
-She wasn't supposed to look good-supposed to look like a swimmer.
-Would have been better representation if she was at least wearing a pair of boy's jeans (maybe boyfriend's jeans)or a pair of jogging pants with only the lightning tee, the cardigan was too girly.
--Another cover had Larrissa next to her, but Larissa almost looks like her other than the outfit and blonde hair.
All in all:
This book had too many ethics questions for me, I didn't like it that much at all. The only reason this book got a 2/5 is because I was able to read it in one night, and I didn't want to put it down because the suppense of wondering if she'd ever get back kept me reading. I stayed up til 3 a.m. just to finish. The book is really good when you read it.
After you finish though and really think about it though, and think about all the ethics, you realize just how bad it truly was. It leaves out too many answers, questions my ethics like crazy, and the main character isn't really all that likeable.
The main character, Claire, left Larissa off in that "space" thing, wouldn't return to her body, dated a guy using another girl's body, complained about her looks but didn't even try to improve them with other clothes and make-up instead only wore clothes from the boy's department, and didn't even want to return to her body at the end. All in all, a better main character would have made me like this story more.
I don't like this book, I'm not going to recommend it to any of my friends. Too many undeveloped characters, unethical choices, and lack of a real storyline. It was such a good idea, a girl switching bodies during thunderstorms, but it could have been written so much better. I'd also want a storyline where the girl can control the body switching and it wasn't involuntary. Great idea, just not used to its full ability.
(1) You're in your granddaughter's body to keep it safe, but you go out and smoke to ruin your granddaughter's lungs, go out and hang out with a bad crowd, dye her hair orange, and talk on the phone with a stranger from myspace using your granddaughter's home phone number so that he'll call there again?!
-How could a real grandmother, who supposedly love you, use your body to do things like that! The eating of three/four bowls of ice cream was not ethical but it did not harm her as much as these.
-How could you NOT want to get back to your body back when you're grandmother is doing such things? I would be afraid that she was going to have sex with the stranger!
-This part made me actually think that the grandmother was going to steal her body and that's why she couldn't get back.
(2) The guy you like obviously only thinks of you as a friend, so you use another girl's body to date him?
-He obviously doesn't like you because he never invited you to the party. Unless he just didn't want to invite you because he was afraid you wouldn't like the drinking, but that's never mentioned so obviously not.
-He obviously has the hots for this girl and you're egging it on! Don't you want him to like you, not this girl. Stop flirting with this girl's body and return to your own and buy some girl's clothes. If you really want a guy, use your own body to do it with!
-Keeps making them matchy-matchy. Like I know all of your favorite spots, because you revealed it to the real me and not the me-Larissa.
(3) You don't even want to return to your body?
-Grandmother is ruining you life and you don't want to immediately get back?
-Swim try-outs and you're still thinking about staying in Larissa's body one more day?
-Larissa is suffering in the ghost-like stage and you don't even care? And while she says she does, she obviously doesn't or she would have tried harder to get back to her own body.
-Using her body to date the guy you like, making out with him, sneaking out which could end up making her lose any chance of seeing her father again!
(4)Guy obviously doesn't like you-stop chasing after him.
-Doesn't invite you to parties.
-Tells Larissa he thinks of you as a guy.
-Obviously ignores you at the picnic table while he stares at Larissa.
-But he cares enough to make sure you get home okay and gives you a shoe he only got back so that he could give it to Larissa.
-Where's your self-pride?
The only good ethical things about this book was that she used Larissa's body to save one of the little boys and she helped Larissa get her father back. So on a scale of one to ten of ethics, one being no ethics and ten being ethical, this book scores a two [and I'm really being generous with the two].
Unanswered Questions
-I still don't even know how she got back to her body because she obviously still wanted to be Larissa, unless worrying about her mom earlier did it?
-Is her grandmother ever going to back the afterlife?
-How is her grandmother going to help her when she goes to college or moves out if she's bond to the house?
-Does Nate really care for her more than just one of the guys now? And was it proof when he had to make them follow her home?
-Is she ever going to get some girl clothes to wear? [other than the sandals]
-Her dad's identity?
-What was really the point of Avon? She could have left her out of it.
-Is she going to dye her hair back to normal? Orange seriously?
Cover:
Is such a misrepresentation!
-Only thing that is correct is the lightning on her shirt.
-She would never wear such a girly outfit.
-She wasn't supposed to look good-supposed to look like a swimmer.
-Would have been better representation if she was at least wearing a pair of boy's jeans (maybe boyfriend's jeans)or a pair of jogging pants with only the lightning tee, the cardigan was too girly.
--Another cover had Larrissa next to her, but Larissa almost looks like her other than the outfit and blonde hair.
All in all:
This book had too many ethics questions for me, I didn't like it that much at all. The only reason this book got a 2/5 is because I was able to read it in one night, and I didn't want to put it down because the suppense of wondering if she'd ever get back kept me reading. I stayed up til 3 a.m. just to finish. The book is really good when you read it.
After you finish though and really think about it though, and think about all the ethics, you realize just how bad it truly was. It leaves out too many answers, questions my ethics like crazy, and the main character isn't really all that likeable.
The main character, Claire, left Larissa off in that "space" thing, wouldn't return to her body, dated a guy using another girl's body, complained about her looks but didn't even try to improve them with other clothes and make-up instead only wore clothes from the boy's department, and didn't even want to return to her body at the end. All in all, a better main character would have made me like this story more.
I don't like this book, I'm not going to recommend it to any of my friends. Too many undeveloped characters, unethical choices, and lack of a real storyline. It was such a good idea, a girl switching bodies during thunderstorms, but it could have been written so much better. I'd also want a storyline where the girl can control the body switching and it wasn't involuntary. Great idea, just not used to its full ability.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 26, 2009
Claire, an average-looking champion swimmer with a crush on an unattainable guy, a best friend who obsesses about her weight, and an unknown father, seems like a normal teenage girl -- except that during electrical storms, she has a tendency to temporarily "switch" bodies with other girls her age. Oh, and she regularly converses with her dead grandmother, who had the same problem (and who may or may not have died as a result of it). Aside from that, her life is pretty normal, until she finds herself stuck in the body of a bitchy but beautiful newcomer.
On the surface, this might sound like a book you've read before, but several things set it apart. First, Claire's voice is real, likeable, and funny. I would want to find out what happens to her even if it wasn't particularly exciting. Second, this book seems a lot more grounded than a lot of other teen novels. For one thing, Claire really is average looking -- it doesn't turn out in the last chapter that she's actually drop-dead gorgeous and could have the guy of her dreams in a snap, except she somehow failed to notice this until now. (When her old body's new inhabitant starts dressing in more sexy clothes, she doesn't suddenly start attracting guys -- instead she just looks silly.) The problems in her life aren't magically solved by her experience, and the lessons she learns are subtle and realistic without being any less important.
The conclusion seems a bit rushed -- there's no clear explanation of how Claire gets herself out of the messes this experience has caused. But I'm hoping for a sequel....
On the surface, this might sound like a book you've read before, but several things set it apart. First, Claire's voice is real, likeable, and funny. I would want to find out what happens to her even if it wasn't particularly exciting. Second, this book seems a lot more grounded than a lot of other teen novels. For one thing, Claire really is average looking -- it doesn't turn out in the last chapter that she's actually drop-dead gorgeous and could have the guy of her dreams in a snap, except she somehow failed to notice this until now. (When her old body's new inhabitant starts dressing in more sexy clothes, she doesn't suddenly start attracting guys -- instead she just looks silly.) The problems in her life aren't magically solved by her experience, and the lessons she learns are subtle and realistic without being any less important.
The conclusion seems a bit rushed -- there's no clear explanation of how Claire gets herself out of the messes this experience has caused. But I'm hoping for a sequel....
January 17, 2009
Switch is the story of 15 year old Claire � a dead average girl with the inherited ability to switch bodies with other girls born at the same time she was. The ‘switch� happens whenever she is touched by a strong electrical current (think lightning storm in the area). She has no control over the process and always returns to her own body when she falls asleep.
Until Larissa Hughes � size 2, wealthy, teen beauty queen. Claire switches with her and gets stuck. Chaos ensues as Claire finally gets the attention of the boy she’s been crushing on, must deal with the rich, snooty family Larissa lives with, and keeps the person who is now inhabiting her own body from ruining her normal life.
The best part of this book is that it is Claire’s own deceased grandmother who takes over her body. The grandmother is a chain-smoking, trouble-making, hilarious character and it was her I was really interested in.
At the end of the day, I found the whole ‘switch� idea a bit tired. I’ve already read several other books where plain girls get to become super-beauties and don’t feel that this one offered anything particularly enthralling or different. The methodology of the switch is explained, but it seems more gimmicky than enthralling.
Until Larissa Hughes � size 2, wealthy, teen beauty queen. Claire switches with her and gets stuck. Chaos ensues as Claire finally gets the attention of the boy she’s been crushing on, must deal with the rich, snooty family Larissa lives with, and keeps the person who is now inhabiting her own body from ruining her normal life.
The best part of this book is that it is Claire’s own deceased grandmother who takes over her body. The grandmother is a chain-smoking, trouble-making, hilarious character and it was her I was really interested in.
At the end of the day, I found the whole ‘switch� idea a bit tired. I’ve already read several other books where plain girls get to become super-beauties and don’t feel that this one offered anything particularly enthralling or different. The methodology of the switch is explained, but it seems more gimmicky than enthralling.
March 18, 2011
Interesting concept, some funny dialogue, a fun relationship with her best friend Beanie..but other than that, very little happens, there's no tension, and it never feels like anything big is at stake. The book pretty much just ends--spoiler, they just switch back--and that's that. Pretty pointless.
June 16, 2017
I am so sick of saying "well it was a cute read" and yes it was a cute read
but I would have much rather spent my time reading one of the hundreds of books that are EPIC, change your lifes, make you fangirl, that I own!
Maybe if I was younger I would have ate it up and adored it, but I didn't understand plot back then. I also hadn't read enough to know this book, while interesting, has been done. And I will presume it has been done better by someone other than Carol Snow.
Sorry dear.
I mean it has all the 'cutsie' read qualities. (That's it I'm making a 'cutsie/cute' read shelf.) 1. Quick and easy plot
2. A little heartache and romance
3. A life lesson
4. the ending you always expected from the start
TAHDAH! Not very exciting huh? Yeah, I didn't think so either.
The crushes were so superficial it made me sick. The perfect girl for Nate was Claire, not Larissa. But of course Nate being the ass that he is wanted the 'hot' chick not the chick who's personality clicked with his perfectly.
What a great lessen to young people, you have to be hot to get the guy or accept your ugly and move on.
Also Claire was perfectly okay with Nate choosing someone else over her just based on looks! Hello? How is that realistic! Realistically Claire would have been a total btch to Nate and made him hate Larissa and realize hot is not all it's cracked up to be!
Shoot me.
Claire was made out to be the horrible ugly duckling with low self esteem. Not once was she okay with how she looked. Not even at the end! Like I said she accepted her 'ugly fate' and moved on with her life. Maybe the idea was to teach 'being happy with family is more important than looks' but that is still to superficial.
I kind of hate the author for this. Was she an ugly swimming duckling? Doubtful.
Also the way the men drool over Larissa's body! OH MY FCKIN GOD. Are you kidding me?!
Women already have a terrible self esteem issue going around like an epidemic and you write that crap?! Men freaking out when they see a nice pair of breasts? Ignoring everything else around them and blatantly staring? Jumping to her every need?
WHY would you write something so awful?
I can completely understand slut shaming now. I can. If you wear a tiny bikini like that, you're not wearing it just to 'be comfortable'. Let's face it with bigger boobs if you want to comfortable you need support. Explain to me how tiny triangles and strings give you support? Yeah I didn't think so. So I say slut shame away. Crazy self loving, stuck up chick with a nice rack showing it off to the whole world for attention and then snubbing the people giving her the attention she craves for life.
Again kill me.
What I actually did like:
The story behind the grandmother dying. Yes it was morbid and messed up but that's the kind of stories I eat up. The realistic and terrible ones. Maybe I need to go read more horror, psychological thrillers, who knows.
The main character was a Pisces and so am I. Whoohoo. Yet she was born at midnight, just like tons of other 'mysterious' YA characters.
Larissa's closet. I'm a women, that's just how it is. I wish I could switch closets with someone with that kind of style. I would not wish to switch bodies though.
Some other things I just could not stand:
At first I hated the ghost grandmother idea, it was just to far fetched. Seeing ghosts sometimes, sure. Talking to ghosts sometimes, sure. But having a live in ghost that's just always there like the movie paranorman? It was just to much. Also the grandmother went on a rampage in her granddaughters body and acted like a stuck up brat. You would think being older and 'mature' she would have acted a bit more decent. Not like a psychotic teenager.
The main characters a snotty selfish brats. The kids being babysat, the parents, Larissa, Claire, Claire's grandmother etc. The only person worth giving any credit is Claire's mother and Claire's best friend Beanie and that's it.
Ugh, okay because I DO gauge out my own eyes I'm done ranting, rating, and hating this drivel.
NOW I am off to go read something so much better it'll make me love books again!
but I would have much rather spent my time reading one of the hundreds of books that are EPIC, change your lifes, make you fangirl, that I own!
Maybe if I was younger I would have ate it up and adored it, but I didn't understand plot back then. I also hadn't read enough to know this book, while interesting, has been done. And I will presume it has been done better by someone other than Carol Snow.
Sorry dear.
I mean it has all the 'cutsie' read qualities. (That's it I'm making a 'cutsie/cute' read shelf.) 1. Quick and easy plot
2. A little heartache and romance
3. A life lesson
4. the ending you always expected from the start
TAHDAH! Not very exciting huh? Yeah, I didn't think so either.
The crushes were so superficial it made me sick. The perfect girl for Nate was Claire, not Larissa. But of course Nate being the ass that he is wanted the 'hot' chick not the chick who's personality clicked with his perfectly.
What a great lessen to young people, you have to be hot to get the guy or accept your ugly and move on.
Also Claire was perfectly okay with Nate choosing someone else over her just based on looks! Hello? How is that realistic! Realistically Claire would have been a total btch to Nate and made him hate Larissa and realize hot is not all it's cracked up to be!
Shoot me.
Claire was made out to be the horrible ugly duckling with low self esteem. Not once was she okay with how she looked. Not even at the end! Like I said she accepted her 'ugly fate' and moved on with her life. Maybe the idea was to teach 'being happy with family is more important than looks' but that is still to superficial.
I kind of hate the author for this. Was she an ugly swimming duckling? Doubtful.
Also the way the men drool over Larissa's body! OH MY FCKIN GOD. Are you kidding me?!
Women already have a terrible self esteem issue going around like an epidemic and you write that crap?! Men freaking out when they see a nice pair of breasts? Ignoring everything else around them and blatantly staring? Jumping to her every need?
WHY would you write something so awful?
I can completely understand slut shaming now. I can. If you wear a tiny bikini like that, you're not wearing it just to 'be comfortable'. Let's face it with bigger boobs if you want to comfortable you need support. Explain to me how tiny triangles and strings give you support? Yeah I didn't think so. So I say slut shame away. Crazy self loving, stuck up chick with a nice rack showing it off to the whole world for attention and then snubbing the people giving her the attention she craves for life.
Again kill me.
What I actually did like:
The story behind the grandmother dying. Yes it was morbid and messed up but that's the kind of stories I eat up. The realistic and terrible ones. Maybe I need to go read more horror, psychological thrillers, who knows.
The main character was a Pisces and so am I. Whoohoo. Yet she was born at midnight, just like tons of other 'mysterious' YA characters.
Larissa's closet. I'm a women, that's just how it is. I wish I could switch closets with someone with that kind of style. I would not wish to switch bodies though.
Some other things I just could not stand:
At first I hated the ghost grandmother idea, it was just to far fetched. Seeing ghosts sometimes, sure. Talking to ghosts sometimes, sure. But having a live in ghost that's just always there like the movie paranorman? It was just to much. Also the grandmother went on a rampage in her granddaughters body and acted like a stuck up brat. You would think being older and 'mature' she would have acted a bit more decent. Not like a psychotic teenager.
The main characters a snotty selfish brats. The kids being babysat, the parents, Larissa, Claire, Claire's grandmother etc. The only person worth giving any credit is Claire's mother and Claire's best friend Beanie and that's it.
Ugh, okay because I DO gauge out my own eyes I'm done ranting, rating, and hating this drivel.
NOW I am off to go read something so much better it'll make me love books again!
January 14, 2009
3.5 stars. Claire, a teen girl who temporarily finds herself in someone else's body whenever there's an electrical storm, wakes up in someone else's body one night and can't seem to get back into her own. I liked Claire a lot, and I liked her friends (and acquaintances) from the high school - none were perfect or stupid, and all had their flaws, which made them feel real. I liked how Claire discovered Larissa's problems (Larissa being the girl whose body she's stuck in) and how she realized that even though Larissa is physically beautiful, not everything in her life is perfect. Claire's grandmother, a ghost only Claire can see, was entertaining, though this angle wasn't explored nearly as much as it should have been, and so it seemed like an interesting side note, but nothing especially relevant to the story. I also wish there had been a bit more depth to the story; while the story itself was fun and sped by, even the self-discovery part felt like it only brushed the surface of the issues. The ending, too, came awfully quickly and I wish there'd been a lot more; it ends rather ambiguously. But for all my complaints, I did enjoy the book; I just wish I could have enjoyed it more.
July 30, 2011
My Review
Claire has more issues then just her body, she can see her dead grandmother, and she can switch body's with other people. Not just anybody though, they for one must be born under the same moon as her and two, they must be within a mile.
But when Claire switch's with a beautiful girl who is only there babysitting for the summer she doesn't want to give it up, she finally catches the eye of her crush, Nate, and can act in whatever way she wants. She feels as though she has power over the people around her.
With having Nate falling seriously for her, she can't decide wither she truly, whole heartily, wants to be Claire ever again.
This book is more for a quick read because you don't want a big book or one in a series. It was alright. I wouldn't recommend it though. I did like the concept of when there is a lighting storm or any electricity that she switches body.
My rating: 2 out of 5 stairs
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Sexual content: Just kissing, so minor.
Language: Minor, 10 to 15 words.
Violence: None!
There is mention of smoking, drugs and alcohol.
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February 20, 2017
I like the idea of it. Being able to switch bodies is really interesting and what's even more interesting is switching bodies with a smoking hot Barbie doll! But, as Claire discovers, appearances aren't all what they seem. Sometimes people who seem perfect, have a tough life.
What I'm confused about is how Claire can see her Grandmother's spirit but she can't see Larissa's spirit. And why can she see spirits at all? I don't get how seeing spirits ties into switching bodies & electricity. Electricity might have something to do with it but I wish Snow explained it. Oh well.
Poor Larissa. Having to work for such a crazy and uncaring family. I'm sooo glad she gets to go with her dad in the end.
The only thing I didn't like about this book was Nate. He doesn't secretly love you, Claire! He's an inconsiderate jerk who only likes girls for their looks so why would you still want to be with him!? Just find some other guy! Seriously.
That is what I would tell Claire if I could.
Evelyn's character is quite...interesting. Guess she was rebellious as a teenager. I liked how Snow finally revealed Evelyn's story.
So, I give this book 3.8 stars overall. If there were a sequel, I would read it.
~Sophie :)
What I'm confused about is how Claire can see her Grandmother's spirit but she can't see Larissa's spirit. And why can she see spirits at all? I don't get how seeing spirits ties into switching bodies & electricity. Electricity might have something to do with it but I wish Snow explained it. Oh well.
Poor Larissa. Having to work for such a crazy and uncaring family. I'm sooo glad she gets to go with her dad in the end.
The only thing I didn't like about this book was Nate. He doesn't secretly love you, Claire! He's an inconsiderate jerk who only likes girls for their looks so why would you still want to be with him!? Just find some other guy! Seriously.
That is what I would tell Claire if I could.
Evelyn's character is quite...interesting. Guess she was rebellious as a teenager. I liked how Snow finally revealed Evelyn's story.
So, I give this book 3.8 stars overall. If there were a sequel, I would read it.
~Sophie :)
May 9, 2012
this is a very interesting story about a girl that can switch bodies with girls who have similar birthdays as herself when there are thunderstorms.
its a very nice story about being comfortable in your own skin. it was not a powerful read but a light hearted one and quite sad overall. the message the story gives out is a good and i think its important that young girls get that message in a positive way that isnt too preachy.
its a very nice story about being comfortable in your own skin. it was not a powerful read but a light hearted one and quite sad overall. the message the story gives out is a good and i think its important that young girls get that message in a positive way that isnt too preachy.
April 23, 2009
I did not enjoy this book. Hardly anything happens throughout the book, and the ending was terrible. I would not recommend this to anyone...
February 6, 2016
I did like this book but the ending was not what i expected because it seemed to contradict what the author was saying the entire book. Besides this it was okay.
January 25, 2019
I really enjoyed this book because it was really interesting. It is about a girl named Claire who switches bodies every time there is a major storm going on. Whenever she falls into a deep sleep she switches back. On a stormy night she switches into Larissa's body, a blonde, and gets stuck. Claire has to lie to Larissa because she doesn't want her to know the truth about switching. Larissa just thinks its all a dream. Claire learns a lot of about Larissa like how her parents are separated and she rarley ever gets to see her dad so she meets up with him secretly, but he doesnt know its really not her. This is a really good book and has a lot of things happen that you wouldn't expect.
November 26, 2012
Quick and easy premise:
Fifteen year old Claire is a girl with normal and fairly easy teenage problems. Nate, the love of her life, sees her as a bro. Her body, while strong from swimming, isn’t going to turn any heads. She’s average. Well, she would be if it wasn’t for two things: she hangs out with her dead grandmother and she sometimes switches bodies with other girls.
OK, so everything is normal and quiet about her except for that whole switching bodies. Turns out that electricity does something to her and she wakes up as someone else. The first time it happened was quick and weird and the result of a science experiment at school. She tried to put it out of her mind. But the second time she woke up in a strange body she freaked the fuck out. Wouldn’t you? It’s the middle of the night, there’s a crazy thunderstorm, you wonder how you got into someone else’s room and then you catch sight of yourself in the mirror and HOLY SHIT THAT ISN’T YOU!!!
Luckily she falls asleep, wakes up in her own body, and her grandmother is all “Uhm, yeah. That’s a thing you can do now.�
So she does it. Grandmother Evelyn hangs out and when electricity shoots Claire into someone else, Evelyn slips into her body and holds it for her until she falls asleep and returns. The other girl sort of hangs out, neither dead or alive, asleep or awake. As soon as Claire falls asleep, Evelyn moves out of her body, Claire moves back in, and hover girl returns to her own body.
When the book starts, this whole thing is commonplace to Claire. There’s been a few uncomfortable nights, but for the most part she waits for a thunderstorm to roll in, closes her eyes, wakes up in a new body, goes back to sleep and wakes up back at home. Easy, breezy, lemon squeezy.
But then�
When Evelyn is hanging out somewhere else in the house, Claire gives herself one hell of an electrical shock. Not expecting to be shot into a new body, she sits up in bed and tries to figure out why this happened. Shrugging, she figures she’ll go back to sleep to reset the whole deal, but she is curious to find out whose body she’s in.
She looks into the mirror and falls in love.
She’s beautiful. More than beautiful. She’s perfect. The kind of girl who looks amazing no matter what she wears. The kind of girl who makes boys fall over themselves just to get a glimpse of her. The kind of girl who can roll out of bed and be stunning.
The girl that Nate has been trying to meet.
Larissa. Even her name sounds luscious. Gorgeous Larissa, visiting the beach town where Claire lives year round. Hating the beach town. Scornful of the boys who think they are worthy enough to even speak to her.
Things get fun for a bit. Claire, ever unhappy with her swimmer’s body, pulls out just about every article of clothing from Larissa’s closet and has a one woman fashion show. It’s like playing dress up Barbie, except it’s her body now and she gets to admire it. Well� it’s not permanently her body, but since she’s borrowing it, she’s going to squeeze as much fun out of it as she can.
But too soon she realizes that she needs to go to sleep so she can go home and give Larissa her body back.
And then she wakes up and she’s still Larissa.
Oh. Shit.
For the rest of the book, Claire has to figure out why she’s still Larissa, how to get her body back, how to keep people from finding out, and what to do about her grandmother.
Also? She’s totally going to make out with Nate. Hard.
This isn’t too challenging of a book and I liked how much fun Claire had in Larissa’s body. At times she did feel a bit guilty for taking advantage of this body, but on the other hand� just look at this body.
I was a but surprised that she didn’t feel guilty or conflicted about her “relationship� with Nate. At some point Larissa was going to get her body back and have no memory of Nate. It’s pretty convenient that she’ll be leaving town as soon as this happens. Claire creates a fake email account so that Nate can stay in touch with her. Larissa. Claire. Claire/Larissa.
It’s kinda skeezy.
Getting back to the non-challenging parts of the book:
1. There is a piece of foreshadowing that foreshadows so hard that the only way it could foreshadow more is if there was a bright red arrow pointing at it that said “FORESHADOW!!!�
2. The set up of who Claire can switch with is a total cop-out. Snow didn’t want to write a book where Claire could switch into older and younger people, and definitely not boys, so she comes up with a pretty bullshit set of rules that dictates what happens. I get why she did it, but I rolled my eyes when I read it.
3. There is very little fallout in this book. Everything ends well and life goes on. This goes back to my skeezy feeling about her and Nate. She knows he’s out of her league, so she’s happy that she got to make out with him as someone else and now she’s probably going to cybersex him all the time with Larissa’s fake email. Dude.
One thing that really pleased me about this book is that it was nothing like . It’s a sort of similar premise and I was worried that this was also going to be shit writing and easy answers. Happily, the writing was good, there were some challenges in the plot, but it wasn’t anything that was going to keep you up at night. Well, unless you’re paranoid that someone is going to take over your body during a thunderstorm.
Fifteen year old Claire is a girl with normal and fairly easy teenage problems. Nate, the love of her life, sees her as a bro. Her body, while strong from swimming, isn’t going to turn any heads. She’s average. Well, she would be if it wasn’t for two things: she hangs out with her dead grandmother and she sometimes switches bodies with other girls.
OK, so everything is normal and quiet about her except for that whole switching bodies. Turns out that electricity does something to her and she wakes up as someone else. The first time it happened was quick and weird and the result of a science experiment at school. She tried to put it out of her mind. But the second time she woke up in a strange body she freaked the fuck out. Wouldn’t you? It’s the middle of the night, there’s a crazy thunderstorm, you wonder how you got into someone else’s room and then you catch sight of yourself in the mirror and HOLY SHIT THAT ISN’T YOU!!!
Luckily she falls asleep, wakes up in her own body, and her grandmother is all “Uhm, yeah. That’s a thing you can do now.�
So she does it. Grandmother Evelyn hangs out and when electricity shoots Claire into someone else, Evelyn slips into her body and holds it for her until she falls asleep and returns. The other girl sort of hangs out, neither dead or alive, asleep or awake. As soon as Claire falls asleep, Evelyn moves out of her body, Claire moves back in, and hover girl returns to her own body.
When the book starts, this whole thing is commonplace to Claire. There’s been a few uncomfortable nights, but for the most part she waits for a thunderstorm to roll in, closes her eyes, wakes up in a new body, goes back to sleep and wakes up back at home. Easy, breezy, lemon squeezy.
But then�
When Evelyn is hanging out somewhere else in the house, Claire gives herself one hell of an electrical shock. Not expecting to be shot into a new body, she sits up in bed and tries to figure out why this happened. Shrugging, she figures she’ll go back to sleep to reset the whole deal, but she is curious to find out whose body she’s in.
She looks into the mirror and falls in love.
She’s beautiful. More than beautiful. She’s perfect. The kind of girl who looks amazing no matter what she wears. The kind of girl who makes boys fall over themselves just to get a glimpse of her. The kind of girl who can roll out of bed and be stunning.
The girl that Nate has been trying to meet.
Larissa. Even her name sounds luscious. Gorgeous Larissa, visiting the beach town where Claire lives year round. Hating the beach town. Scornful of the boys who think they are worthy enough to even speak to her.
Things get fun for a bit. Claire, ever unhappy with her swimmer’s body, pulls out just about every article of clothing from Larissa’s closet and has a one woman fashion show. It’s like playing dress up Barbie, except it’s her body now and she gets to admire it. Well� it’s not permanently her body, but since she’s borrowing it, she’s going to squeeze as much fun out of it as she can.
But too soon she realizes that she needs to go to sleep so she can go home and give Larissa her body back.
And then she wakes up and she’s still Larissa.
Oh. Shit.
For the rest of the book, Claire has to figure out why she’s still Larissa, how to get her body back, how to keep people from finding out, and what to do about her grandmother.
Also? She’s totally going to make out with Nate. Hard.
This isn’t too challenging of a book and I liked how much fun Claire had in Larissa’s body. At times she did feel a bit guilty for taking advantage of this body, but on the other hand� just look at this body.
I was a but surprised that she didn’t feel guilty or conflicted about her “relationship� with Nate. At some point Larissa was going to get her body back and have no memory of Nate. It’s pretty convenient that she’ll be leaving town as soon as this happens. Claire creates a fake email account so that Nate can stay in touch with her. Larissa. Claire. Claire/Larissa.
It’s kinda skeezy.
Getting back to the non-challenging parts of the book:
1. There is a piece of foreshadowing that foreshadows so hard that the only way it could foreshadow more is if there was a bright red arrow pointing at it that said “FORESHADOW!!!�
2. The set up of who Claire can switch with is a total cop-out. Snow didn’t want to write a book where Claire could switch into older and younger people, and definitely not boys, so she comes up with a pretty bullshit set of rules that dictates what happens. I get why she did it, but I rolled my eyes when I read it.
3. There is very little fallout in this book. Everything ends well and life goes on. This goes back to my skeezy feeling about her and Nate. She knows he’s out of her league, so she’s happy that she got to make out with him as someone else and now she’s probably going to cybersex him all the time with Larissa’s fake email. Dude.
One thing that really pleased me about this book is that it was nothing like . It’s a sort of similar premise and I was worried that this was also going to be shit writing and easy answers. Happily, the writing was good, there were some challenges in the plot, but it wasn’t anything that was going to keep you up at night. Well, unless you’re paranoid that someone is going to take over your body during a thunderstorm.
June 12, 2019
The concept was good, but the writing is what gets me. I hated how the one girl was made out to be beautiful, but every other girl in the book had body issues. It’s not what’s on the outside that matters!
And the fact that the main characters crush completely looks over her, but as soon as a freaking “beautiful� woman comes along, he’s completely speechless! Ugh!
And the fact that the main characters crush completely looks over her, but as soon as a freaking “beautiful� woman comes along, he’s completely speechless! Ugh!
May 26, 2017
Actual rating: 3.5
Ending was kind of abrupt, not specified what exactly Claire is going to do, how her switch affected her but otherwise the book was fun to read and I really wish there is a second part
Ending was kind of abrupt, not specified what exactly Claire is going to do, how her switch affected her but otherwise the book was fun to read and I really wish there is a second part
February 3, 2018
Cute. Funny, page-turner.
May 9, 2019
This was a very good book,not only does it have spooky supernatural stuff but a story of family,friendship,and love. I enjoyed it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 19, 2022
Such a fun read
May 30, 2022
Interesting, quick read. Makes you think about how you might have good things in your life after all.
April 3, 2024
Sorta what I was expecting, but I wish there was more for the ending...
January 9, 2025
A fine read, but nothing that overly makes me want to read it a second time.
May 25, 2017
A main event for this book is whenever Claire gets close to lighting her spirt shoots into another girls body. Another main event is when she hangs out with her friends. A setting in this book is Claire's beach town where she lives. Another main event is that Claire can inhabit other peoples bodies when shes sleeping.
A figurative langue in this book is imagery it is when it says "Our chairs screeched as we dragged them into the center of the room. On one side, I was stuck holding hands with this doughy, dopey kid." Another figurative langue in this book is imagery it is when it says "Without looking at her, I opened the fridge and shrugged. Also another figurative langue in this book is when it says "But we have noise, flashy storms, and you take you thrills where you can get them."
I loved this book. I like how the book takes place. I like the charters in this book.
A figurative langue in this book is imagery it is when it says "Our chairs screeched as we dragged them into the center of the room. On one side, I was stuck holding hands with this doughy, dopey kid." Another figurative langue in this book is imagery it is when it says "Without looking at her, I opened the fridge and shrugged. Also another figurative langue in this book is when it says "But we have noise, flashy storms, and you take you thrills where you can get them."
I loved this book. I like how the book takes place. I like the charters in this book.
January 31, 2020
Love, love, love this book! A YA gem.
August 4, 2008
Reviewed by Breanna F. for TeensReadToo.com
Claire Martin is your average 15-year-old girl. She has her loving mom (Dr. Martin) and her best friend, Beanie. She also has a big crush on her fellow swimming buddy, Nate. And of course the ghost of her deceased grandmother (Evelyn) who has been around since Claire was a baby, even long before that. She probably doesn't sound that average anymore, right?
Here's the real kicker: Claire is what she and her grandmother call a "Switcher." Whenever a bad storm kicks up in Claire's little beach town, she'll be pushed out of her own body in to another girl's body. But only a girl who was born close to the same time Claire was and that lives only around a mile or so away. So most of the time Claire switches in to a visiting girl's body. Just someone who is vacationing with her family. Overnight, Claire ends up back in her own body and wakes up back to her old self.
But at one point (during the day even) a little bit of static electricity sends Claire in to the body of a girl that her and her
friend Beanie saw just the other day on the beach. She was obviously not a local from the looks of her, and she was watching two little boys. She was a skinny little thing in a bikini that barely covered her at all. She also seemed like a complete B word to both Claire and Beanie. Of course, she had all the attention from the guys, especially Nate. So when Claire is zapped into this girl's body (her name is Larissa) she is shocked, but at the same time a bit excited. She finally has a body that she loves and is actually able to show it off without looking ridiculous.
But when Claire wakes up the next morning she's still in Larissa's body. And now she's stuck watching these two attention-starved boys from basically dusk till dawn. But she has the attention of Nate and she's not about to lose it. What could a few days in Larissa's body hurt? Except for the fact that Larissa's soul is just floating around, while Evelyn is hanging out in Claire's body for the time being. Will Claire ever switch back to her own body? And the most important thing: will she actually want to?
This book was amazing! I pretty much couldn't put it down. I got so engrossed in it every time I picked it up. I could totally understand why Claire was debating whether or not she wanted her old body back. I mean, she finally had the attention of the guy that she has liked for so long. Who would want to give that up? And I loved Evelyn's character. She was hilarious. Always walking around as her ghostly self (when she wasn't in Claire's body, that is), smoking the same cigarette day after
day. The ending was also really touching. It was just overall a fantastic book.
I highly suggest reading SWITCH when it's released. You won't be sorry.
Claire Martin is your average 15-year-old girl. She has her loving mom (Dr. Martin) and her best friend, Beanie. She also has a big crush on her fellow swimming buddy, Nate. And of course the ghost of her deceased grandmother (Evelyn) who has been around since Claire was a baby, even long before that. She probably doesn't sound that average anymore, right?
Here's the real kicker: Claire is what she and her grandmother call a "Switcher." Whenever a bad storm kicks up in Claire's little beach town, she'll be pushed out of her own body in to another girl's body. But only a girl who was born close to the same time Claire was and that lives only around a mile or so away. So most of the time Claire switches in to a visiting girl's body. Just someone who is vacationing with her family. Overnight, Claire ends up back in her own body and wakes up back to her old self.
But at one point (during the day even) a little bit of static electricity sends Claire in to the body of a girl that her and her
friend Beanie saw just the other day on the beach. She was obviously not a local from the looks of her, and she was watching two little boys. She was a skinny little thing in a bikini that barely covered her at all. She also seemed like a complete B word to both Claire and Beanie. Of course, she had all the attention from the guys, especially Nate. So when Claire is zapped into this girl's body (her name is Larissa) she is shocked, but at the same time a bit excited. She finally has a body that she loves and is actually able to show it off without looking ridiculous.
But when Claire wakes up the next morning she's still in Larissa's body. And now she's stuck watching these two attention-starved boys from basically dusk till dawn. But she has the attention of Nate and she's not about to lose it. What could a few days in Larissa's body hurt? Except for the fact that Larissa's soul is just floating around, while Evelyn is hanging out in Claire's body for the time being. Will Claire ever switch back to her own body? And the most important thing: will she actually want to?
This book was amazing! I pretty much couldn't put it down. I got so engrossed in it every time I picked it up. I could totally understand why Claire was debating whether or not she wanted her old body back. I mean, she finally had the attention of the guy that she has liked for so long. Who would want to give that up? And I loved Evelyn's character. She was hilarious. Always walking around as her ghostly self (when she wasn't in Claire's body, that is), smoking the same cigarette day after
day. The ending was also really touching. It was just overall a fantastic book.
I highly suggest reading SWITCH when it's released. You won't be sorry.
July 11, 2009
Claire Martin has some serious body issues.
Not much happens in Claire's sleepy beach town, but that's okay. All she wants is to hang out with her best friend, make the high school swim team, and convince Nate, the guy of her dreams, to stop calling her "Dude." And, oh—she'd really, really like to stay in her own skin.
Ever since Claire hit her teens, electrical storms have been making her switch bodies. Usually she's back to her old self in no time. But when something goes terribly wrong, she finds herself stuck as another girl. And not just any girl, but the icy beauty who has caught Nate's eye.
Suddenly Claire goes from being Miss Average to Miss Gorgeous—the model-thin blonde that every girl wants to look like and every guy wants to date. Will she ever figure out how to get back to her old life? More importantly, will she want to?
Reading about Claire's previous body switching was interesting, because it brought things together, and informatively showed how things happened. Like the relationship between Claire and Beanie, Claire's best friend. The whole body switching thing in general was pretty cool to read about. You'd think it'd be great to be someone else for a day, but this novel proves that it isn't.
Another thing that I liked that this novel showed was that, things aren't always as they seem. Larissa, the girl that Claire switches bodies with for the most of the book, is a beautiful, blonde girl. When Claire was herself, Larissa seemed to be full of herself and snobby, but when Claire was in Larissa's body, she saw how hard her life was. She was always ordered around like a maid, and all she really wanted to do was see her father. I quickly had more respect for Larissa's character.
The characters were fun and very likable. Beanie, has to be my favorite character. She's witty and relatable, her weakness, though, is that she is easily put down. I think she made the book a lot more interesting, even though she didn't play such a big role. Nate, Claire's object of admiration, annoyed me a little because he didn't seem to be genuine all the time. He was sort of confusing to me.
The only disappointment that I had with SWITCH is that I wanted more! The ending was left open, and sometimes that's perfect, but in this case, it wasn't. I wish more was told. Other than that? Very entertaining.
SWITCH is an easy and enticing read. Almost immediately I was drawn in by its story. If you haven't read it already, I recommend it.
Ratings:
Writing: 4/5
Plot: 3/5
Character: 3/5
Cover: 2/5
Overall: 3/5
Not much happens in Claire's sleepy beach town, but that's okay. All she wants is to hang out with her best friend, make the high school swim team, and convince Nate, the guy of her dreams, to stop calling her "Dude." And, oh—she'd really, really like to stay in her own skin.
Ever since Claire hit her teens, electrical storms have been making her switch bodies. Usually she's back to her old self in no time. But when something goes terribly wrong, she finds herself stuck as another girl. And not just any girl, but the icy beauty who has caught Nate's eye.
Suddenly Claire goes from being Miss Average to Miss Gorgeous—the model-thin blonde that every girl wants to look like and every guy wants to date. Will she ever figure out how to get back to her old life? More importantly, will she want to?
Reading about Claire's previous body switching was interesting, because it brought things together, and informatively showed how things happened. Like the relationship between Claire and Beanie, Claire's best friend. The whole body switching thing in general was pretty cool to read about. You'd think it'd be great to be someone else for a day, but this novel proves that it isn't.
Another thing that I liked that this novel showed was that, things aren't always as they seem. Larissa, the girl that Claire switches bodies with for the most of the book, is a beautiful, blonde girl. When Claire was herself, Larissa seemed to be full of herself and snobby, but when Claire was in Larissa's body, she saw how hard her life was. She was always ordered around like a maid, and all she really wanted to do was see her father. I quickly had more respect for Larissa's character.
The characters were fun and very likable. Beanie, has to be my favorite character. She's witty and relatable, her weakness, though, is that she is easily put down. I think she made the book a lot more interesting, even though she didn't play such a big role. Nate, Claire's object of admiration, annoyed me a little because he didn't seem to be genuine all the time. He was sort of confusing to me.
The only disappointment that I had with SWITCH is that I wanted more! The ending was left open, and sometimes that's perfect, but in this case, it wasn't. I wish more was told. Other than that? Very entertaining.
SWITCH is an easy and enticing read. Almost immediately I was drawn in by its story. If you haven't read it already, I recommend it.
Ratings:
Writing: 4/5
Plot: 3/5
Character: 3/5
Cover: 2/5
Overall: 3/5
February 22, 2012
Claire is a fifteen year-old girl with an unusual secret: she switches bodies against her will. Claire hasn't told anyone her secret, except Evelyn, the ghost of her grandmother who has been around since Claire was a baby and who only Claire can see. Usually when Claire switches bodies, it is for a period of only a few hours. Upon sleeping, Claire usually returns to her own body. The switches usually occur during electrical storms. One day, Claire receives a shock from touching a light switch and finds herself in the body of Larissa, a teenage tourist she has seen on the beach. Larissa appears to have it all. All being a perfect body and a beautiful face. Claire is at first excited to be in Larissa's body with all of its perfection but soon begins to panic when she realizes that sleep isn't the cure for switching back and she may be stuck in Larissa's body indefinitely.
Having read Snow's Been There, Done That a few years ago, I wasn't sure if I would like her first foray into YA literature. The concept sounded intriguing but I wasn't a fan of the idea of finding yourself in the "perfect body" as I feel this might send a negative message to teens. I was drawn in from the start however, as the author begins the novel in second-person, posing the switch as something that may have happened to you, the reader. You might have experienced the switch yourself, waking up in a foreign body. From the start, Snow makes the reader a character in the story, not just a wallflower watching the action happen. Even after switching back to Claire's point of view, the reader still feels invested in the story. The main character, despite her ability to switch bodies, is a realistic teenage figure. Just like other teens, she has body issues, has been recently dumped by a best friend who has left her behind for the popular crowd, and is stuck in the friend zone with her crush. Despite her many insecurities, she manages to channel her inner strength when she finds herself in Larissa's body becoming a strong protagonist. Older readers will be able to relate to Claire's high school experiences and younger readers may be able to examine their insecurities through new eyes after reading the book. The novel has a strong moral that will resonate with readers of all ages.
I enjoyed the fact that this book was drug and alcohol free and was age appropriate, unlike so many YA novels today. This novel will appeal to those who enjoy reading about magic and fantasy. It is appropriate for grades eight through high school. The text is simple so it may also appeal to struggling readers.
Having read Snow's Been There, Done That a few years ago, I wasn't sure if I would like her first foray into YA literature. The concept sounded intriguing but I wasn't a fan of the idea of finding yourself in the "perfect body" as I feel this might send a negative message to teens. I was drawn in from the start however, as the author begins the novel in second-person, posing the switch as something that may have happened to you, the reader. You might have experienced the switch yourself, waking up in a foreign body. From the start, Snow makes the reader a character in the story, not just a wallflower watching the action happen. Even after switching back to Claire's point of view, the reader still feels invested in the story. The main character, despite her ability to switch bodies, is a realistic teenage figure. Just like other teens, she has body issues, has been recently dumped by a best friend who has left her behind for the popular crowd, and is stuck in the friend zone with her crush. Despite her many insecurities, she manages to channel her inner strength when she finds herself in Larissa's body becoming a strong protagonist. Older readers will be able to relate to Claire's high school experiences and younger readers may be able to examine their insecurities through new eyes after reading the book. The novel has a strong moral that will resonate with readers of all ages.
I enjoyed the fact that this book was drug and alcohol free and was age appropriate, unlike so many YA novels today. This novel will appeal to those who enjoy reading about magic and fantasy. It is appropriate for grades eight through high school. The text is simple so it may also appeal to struggling readers.
December 8, 2010
Review: Claire Martin has been having problems since she was a teenager. And they weren't normal teenage problems either, they were body switching episodes occurring when ever there's a thunderstorm in the area. Now Claire's switched with a vacationer in her town and can't get back to her regular body. Even more weird, Claire or the body she's in has the attention of Claire's long time crush. The biggest question is: will she be able to get back to her body?
I discovered this book by complete accident, I accidentally clicked on it while I was surfing the web and I didn't even bother to read the summary. The next day while looking at Blogs I follow, I saw the book again! I was more than surprised and so I looked the book up, this time reading the summary. It looked amazing, but I knew I was going to have to wait awhile to get it. I did a spotlight Monday for switch and then the same day, I go down to my schools book fair. Switch was there just waiting for me to buy, which I did immediately. So you probably didn't care but I think it's cool. Now on to the actual review.
I really liked Claire, she was the type of girl who shopped in the boys section and the type that was always nice, but blended into the background. Which then makes her the girl who likes a guy who always calls her dude. She was a special character, not to mention her special powers of switching back in forth which is totally cool!!! Until you get stuck. The supporting characters were interesting, I really liked Nate and Beanie but I hated Claire's grandmother, she was just plain selfish.
Nate was a sweet guy, who just needed to wake up and realize that the real Claire was there already! It really frustrated me.
The plot of the story was more focused on Claire becoming who she actually was but in another body, instead of on her switching abilities which was a nice change.
The reason why I love this book: It's extremely fun and sassy. It has relatable characters and an easy to follow plot, and it has a lot of things that make a story really good! I was especially surprised to learn this is the authors debut novel!! The only thing I am going to complain about is the ending, it just stopped, I wish there had been some sort of 5 months later or what not but I will just have to settle with my imagination.
Otherwise this was an amazing debut!
March 26, 2009
Switch reminded me of Wake because of the “accidentally-coming-into-your-body-slash-seeing-your-dreams� stuff. Seriously. I mean, besides the fact that Wake was about dream catching and Switch was about body changing, they almost follow the same type of plot.
Both girls have powers that they didn’t ask for and both girls each encounter some sort of adventure that has something to do with that specific power. For Claire, it was accidentally going into someone’s body and staying there…longer than she has ever known. For Janie, it was breaking cases and finding out who was the culprit by using her dream catching powers. And at the end of each adventure, they are relatively satisfied and *bam* end of story.
However, despite Switch’s close relation to the Wake series, it definitely isn’t as good or as well-written. For Wake, I was completely and totally drawn into the book, whereas for Switch, there were multiple times where I had to put the book down…and didn’t really want to pick it back up.
And the characters, specifically Claire and her grandmother, are so weird, okay? I’m not even kidding. You know that summary, the last question where it asks: will she ever figure out how to get back to her old life? More importantly, will she want to? That question? Well, it was really subtle. It wasn’t obvious that Claire didn’t want to go back to her old body because she kept trying to go to sleep and return to her previous body. It wasn’t until around the last few chapters where the author subtly suggested that Claire didn’t want to go back, but it was so subtle that you basically had to read between the lines to understand it.
And Claire’s grandmother? Epic weirdness. There were times where I wasn’t even sure if she was on Claire’s side or not because she kept going out doing weird things and not going to sleep so Claire wouldn’t return. She kept dressing funny and basically embarrassed the heck out of Claire, who wasn’t Claire at the time. So she was like one of those characters who were important but, at the same time, not important.
Overall, this book was not that interesting. The summary sounded way better than its reality.
Both girls have powers that they didn’t ask for and both girls each encounter some sort of adventure that has something to do with that specific power. For Claire, it was accidentally going into someone’s body and staying there…longer than she has ever known. For Janie, it was breaking cases and finding out who was the culprit by using her dream catching powers. And at the end of each adventure, they are relatively satisfied and *bam* end of story.
However, despite Switch’s close relation to the Wake series, it definitely isn’t as good or as well-written. For Wake, I was completely and totally drawn into the book, whereas for Switch, there were multiple times where I had to put the book down…and didn’t really want to pick it back up.
And the characters, specifically Claire and her grandmother, are so weird, okay? I’m not even kidding. You know that summary, the last question where it asks: will she ever figure out how to get back to her old life? More importantly, will she want to? That question? Well, it was really subtle. It wasn’t obvious that Claire didn’t want to go back to her old body because she kept trying to go to sleep and return to her previous body. It wasn’t until around the last few chapters where the author subtly suggested that Claire didn’t want to go back, but it was so subtle that you basically had to read between the lines to understand it.
And Claire’s grandmother? Epic weirdness. There were times where I wasn’t even sure if she was on Claire’s side or not because she kept going out doing weird things and not going to sleep so Claire wouldn’t return. She kept dressing funny and basically embarrassed the heck out of Claire, who wasn’t Claire at the time. So she was like one of those characters who were important but, at the same time, not important.
Overall, this book was not that interesting. The summary sounded way better than its reality.
November 11, 2010
Author: Carol Snow
Pages: 224
Source: Purchased from Barnes and Noble
Series or Standalone?: Standalone
When lightning strikes and electric currents are in the air, Claire Martin temporarily switches into the body of any nearby girl born under the same moon as her. She knows she’s not normal ... but she’s dealing with it. Besides, it usually only lasts for a few hours and then she wakes up in her own body. So when she finds herself trapped in the body of the beautiful new girl in town, her whole world is turned upside down. This emotional story with a sense of humor explores the bonds between friends, crushes and family and the meaning of identity as Claire struggles to hold on to her own.
* * *
This book was different than how I thought it would be, but not in a bad way. Instead of being so focused on the fact that Claire was a body switcher, it was more focused on her relationship with her mother, and her feelings on not knowing who her father was. The whole story was more geared towards making Claire thankful for what she had- - because some people did have it worse than her, even if it didn’t seem like it.
It also sort of surprised me how her “relationship� (does it count as a relationship when it’s not your body?) between Claire and Nate never developed into anything. This story was more suited for a younger grade audience, I think. Teens from 12-14 would be the ideal audience, maybe some 15 year olds.
Overall, the concept of the book was extremely interesting. I just wish the idea of body switchers had been delved into further. It could have been a much more exhilarating story, even though it was a great story already.
As for the cover, I feel like it completely misrepresents the book. Claire is a swimmer, and as she describes it herself, she is not girly at all. She has a swimmer’s body, which is, again, not girly. The whole point is that she traded places with Larissa who is the uber-beauty. They missed the whole meaning of the book with the cover.
Other books by this author:
Getting Warmer
Been There, Done That
Just Like Me, Only Better
Snap
Here Today, Gone To Maui
Plot: 2.5/5
Cover: 1/5
Writing: 4/5
Uniqueness: 4.5/5
Characters: 4/5
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