My Thoughts: The Swap by Megan Shull

5 warm and gooey chocolate chip cookies.

Cover Love:  Yes.  Simple yet eye catching.

Why I Wanted to Read This:
I was first made aware of this book thought Edelweiss, where HarperCollins had it up for review.  I downloaded it then, but it took me until almost the expiration to get around to reading it.  Here is the synopsis from 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.

Romance?:  Nope. But lots of talk of middle school type crushes.

My Thoughts:
When I first met both Ellie and Jack I thought there was no way this was going to work.  They were WAY too different.  There was a moment where I didn't know if I liked Ellie and really didn't like Jack's dad, even thought about giving it up.  But I wanted to see how the author would make the switch work, so I kept reading.  So glad I did!  The author handles it well and both characters are better versions of themselves and each other when they inhabit the others body.

Ellie starts out the book as a very typical, insecure middle school girl who is being dumped by her best friend who prefers to be a mean girl.  Ellie is also the target of much of the meanness and it has really knocked her for a loop.  She is short with her mother and only wants to desperately hold onto this friendship with a really horrible person.  She can't see any of the positives in her life and is even thinking of giving up soccer--something she is good at and loves to play--to avoid her ex-best friend.  She made my heart ache for every middle school girl who has these types of issues!

Jack is a very typical middle school boy.  He is darling, athletic and has a good group of friends.  He is also very shy and no good around girls, even though every girl at school has him at the top of their list.  His nickname, given to him by all the girls, is The Prince.  He also has four older brothers and an ex-military dad who they call The Captain, whose expectations for Jack and his brothers are so incredibly high that he has forgotten how to just relax and show his boys he loves them.

Ellie's' mom is divorced and Jack's dad is a widow.  Although this is not a plot of the story, the whole time I kept hoping their parents would meet and fall in love.  But this truly is Ellie and Jack's story, not their parents. 

When the swap happens they both handle it very well.  I think that there is some relief about not having to live your own life for a few days, and what they learn about themselves and each other makes them so much better after they switch back.  I love how the author handles the switch and what each character goes through.  It's all done very well and even though this is light and ties up very neatly with a bow, I couldn't have liked it more.

To Sum Up:  Great story for middle schoolers about never assuming someone else has an easier life and about listening to others when they say good things about you!

eGalley downloaded from Edelweiss.  Thanks HarperCollins!