Guy: Hi.
Girl: Hi (she said warily).
Guy: Read any good books lately?
Girl: Marry me.
Yeah, most likely this will never happen in real life. Well, you can always dream.
Anyway, who's up for another book review? This book is a MG book so beware!
Switchers by Kate Thompson
Format: Hardcover/paperback/e-book
Pub. Date: August 16th, 1999
Summary:
Tess is a Switcher -- she can take on the form of any animal she chooses. But she must be alone, as is true of all Switchers. Soon she realizes that Kevin is also a Switcher who has been summoned to save the Northern Hemisphere from being destroyed. And Kevin needs Tess's help to do it.
My rating: 3 out of 5 rats!
My recommendation: Anyone who loved the Animorphs series and anyone who wants to know what animals really think.
My review:
My copy was provided to me by Netgalley.
I first read this book years ago, probably when I was a grade schooler. Back then, this book was amazing to me and that's why when I saw the title and cover of this book, I instantly remembered this. All I could remember was the beginning when Tess became a squirrel and the ending. I loved this book back then, but this time around, many years later, I didn't enjoy it as much.
Tess is a quiet girl who doesn't have many friends. She lives in Ireland and recently moved to a new city, a new town with her parents. Tess wasn't very happy with this dilemma, but she was pleased when she learned her new house was near a park. While her parents think that Tess just loves animals, in reality, she can become any animal she chooses.
Tess lives a simple life. She doesn't disappear for days as one animal and doesn't scare others with her ability. She's perfectly satisfied being a cat or a squirrel. But everything changed when she met Kevin.
It turns out that the weird buy she met on the bus is actually a shape-shifter like herself, but he knows much more about others like her. In fact, there's even a name for them: Switchers. Just when knowing that she's not alone is sinking in, Tess learns that everyone in the Northern Hemisphere is going to freeze to death, and only she and Kevin can stop this disaster.
The good:
I really like how Thompson introduced how the animals thought. Who knew that rats were clever and goats are intelligent? She made each animal intelligent with both their thoughts and their speech. Also, the animals are in control most of the time. Instead of the human side being dominant, the animal side usually rules and Tess loses hours of time when she's lost being an animal.
The friendship between Tess and Kevin is really sweet and real. They fight and bicker, but they also care about each other a lot. They talk about their problems and try to help each other out, even though they are basically total opposites of each other. If you want a book with romance, this is not one for you.
The bad:
I didn't like the ending to the book. It felt too rushed and it left me confused a bit. After the old lady's house, everything felt really rushed and the problems seemed to be miraculously fixed without hardly any consequences or anything.
I also didn't like how the point of view switches so suddenly. I was just enjoying the book when suddenly the point of view changes to some soldiers and I was left wondering what the heck was going on. But then it started to make sense, but it still made me confused at the beginning. The point of views seemed kind of random as well. It seemed at random points the POV suddenly changed and changed back almost immediately.
All in all, as an adult I didn't love it as much, but as a kid, I absolutely loved it! It's a juvenile read. It's probably best to recommend this book to middle schoolers or lower. The plot is simple and the conflict is easily solved. You should definitely read this book if you love shifter stories!
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