From the Publisher
I LOVE this book! Bounce will make you laugh, then break your heart, then make you laugh some more. Megan Shull is the real deal.” — Meg Cabot, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Princess Diaries series
“The ride is funny, magical, heart wrenching, and thoughtful. I ADORE this book!” — Maureen Sherry, author of OPENING BELLE and WALLS WITHIN WALLS
“A beautiful story about the transformative power of our minds, our experiences, and our relationships. Along with Frannie, we discover that we do not have to be at the mercy of our emotions or circumstances. I adore this book!” — Dr. Tina Payne Bryson, New York Times bestselling author coauthor of THE WHOLE-BRAIN CHILD and NO-DRAMA DISCIPLINE
“Inspirational without being overly didactic. Hand this empowering novel to readers that need a boost of self-confidence.” — School Library Journal
“A beautiful feat of swapped voices. Hilarious! Seriously, truly, fearlessly funny. And I don’t want guys to miss it.” — Jon Scieszka, New York Times bestselling author and founder of Guys Read, on THE SWAP
“THE SWAP kept me turning pages way past my bedtime! Hilarious and yet surprisingly touching at the same time.” — Meg Cabot, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Princess Diaries series, on THE SWAP
“The book is heartbreaking and hilarious—truly evocative of middle school experiences. A great, entertaining read that will appeal to boys and girls.” — School Library Journal, on THE SWAP
“THE SWAP is funny and smart and heartwarming. And when I say funny, I mean I put the book down and laughed. It’s a fantastic story!” — Natalie Lloyd, New York Times bestselling author of A SNICKER OF MAGIC, on THE SWAP
“Bawling because I just finished Megan Shull’s THE SWAP. Bawled the whole way through. I LOVE IT SO MUCH!” — Lauren Myracle, author of Wishing Day and the bestselling Winnie Years series, on THE SWAP
“Funny, honest, and touching, THE SWAP is the perfect book for tweens ready to learn what’s going on inside the minds (and bodies) of the opposite gender. Jack and Ellie are such wonderful characters and those brothers—wow!” — Frances O'Roark Dowell, New York Times bestselling author of Dovey Coe and The Secret Language of Girls, on THE SWAP
“Readers curious about how the other half lives will thrill at this view from the far side of the fence.” — Kirkus Reviews, on THE SWAP
“Fast and fun. The premise will leave readers with plenty to think about.” — Publishers Weekly, on THE SWAP
Maureen Sherry
The ride is funny, magical, heart wrenching, and thoughtful. I ADORE this book!
Jon Scieszka
A beautiful feat of swapped voices. Hilarious! Seriously, truly, fearlessly funny. And I don’t want guys to miss it.
Natalie Lloyd
THE SWAP is funny and smart and heartwarming. And when I say funny, I mean I put the book down and laughed. It’s a fantastic story!
Frances O'Roark Dowell
Funny, honest, and touching, THE SWAP is the perfect book for tweens ready to learn what’s going on inside the minds (and bodies) of the opposite gender. Jack and Ellie are such wonderful characters and those brothers—wow!
Meg Cabot
I LOVE this book! Bounce will make you laugh, then break your heart, then make you laugh some more. Megan Shull is the real deal.
Dr. Tina Payne Bryson
A beautiful story about the transformative power of our minds, our experiences, and our relationships. Along with Frannie, we discover that we do not have to be at the mercy of our emotions or circumstances. I adore this book!
Lauren Myracle
Bawling because I just finished Megan Shull’s THE SWAP. Bawled the whole way through. I LOVE IT SO MUCH!
Voice of Youth Advocates
True to the middle school experience.
School Library Journal
10/01/2016
Gr 5 Up—It's Christmas Eve, and 12-year-old Frannie Hudson's parents left her at home with her two older siblings in order to jet away on a Caribbean vacation. Carmen and Teddy are throwing an out-of-control party, exiling Frannie to her bedroom. She falls asleep, thinking things can't get any worse. Instead of waking up in her room the next morning, Frannie has "bounced" into another person's reality. She is thrust into the body of a country girl with a loving family who accept her without question. The preteen is totally confused but feels so much more at home than she ever did in her real life. At the end of each day, Frannie "bounces" into another person's life, from a pop star, to a girl sailing around the world with her father and little brother, to, most surprisingly, a girl she has seen being bullied at school. Each time she wakes up, the protagonist has to adjust to new surroundings and expectations. Instead of feeling alone and helpless, like she does in her normal life, Frannie rises to the challenge, and through being in other people's skin, she discovers the truth of who she is and what defines her. Shull uses the surreal narrative to explore the dynamics of family conflicts, taking Frannie on a journey in which she experiences emotions and situations that ultimately teach her to accept her situation but not let it define her. A somewhat unsympathetic narrator in the beginning, she grows more likable and even funny throughout. VERDICT Inspirational without being overly didactic. Hand this empowering novel to readers that need a boost of self-confidence.—Tara Kron, formerly at School Library Journal
Kirkus Reviews
2016-05-18
Frannie Hudson, an anxiety-ridden 12-year-old white girl, is about to have the strangest Christmas of her life.First, her parents fly off to Jamaica for some surprise alone time on Christmas Eve, providing the perfect opportunity for Frannie's older brother and sister to throw the party of the century. Nobody seems to care that all Frannie wants is to have her family, horrifyingly insensitive and selfish as they may be, together for the holidays. But greater forces are at work here, and Frannie soon finds herself "bouncing," à la Scrooge without a ghost, from Christmas present to Christmas present. The difference is, she isn't invisible. At every stop along the way, Frannie becomes whoever belongs to the shoes she is filling—a farm girl, a pop star, a girl sailing with her father and brother in Tahiti, a girl whose brother has just died, and a homeless girl—and experiences their Christmases, their ways. (Just one, the pop star, is a person of color.) Unfortunately, just like many holidays, Frannie's story feels overdone. There is no middle ground here, no subtleties. Characters are either unfailingly kind or painfully cruel, though their circumstances vary. Predictably, Frannie learns important lessons about herself during each new homestay, lessons that are painstakingly, even insultingly spelled out. An over-the-top Christmas confection. (Fantasy. 10-13)
