What do you think?
Rate this book
The Great Mom Swap
Tired of the nagging of their mothers, Lorna Markham and Scotti Wheeler, best friends and next-door neighbors, come up with a scheme to exchange moms
149 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1986
9 people are currently reading
130 people want to read
About the author
Betsy Haynes
123 books109 followersABOUT ME
Maybe it's because my feisty grandma chased tarantulas around with a broom when we lived on an oil lease property when I was a baby that made me love danger and adventure. And maybe it was my father's spending nights as a trombonist with the bands of his day and his days spent drawing sketches that sparked my artistic side. Do you suppose that because my mother stood only four feet ten inches tall that I feel like a giant at five feet? And I'm sure my FBI (Full Blooded Italian) step-father, his seven brothers and sisters and their families are responsible for my LOVE of Italian food. That's who I am. Who are you?
My First Book, Peppy The Frog That I Wrote In The 2nd Grade
I'll always be a child at heart. Whenever I close my eyes, wonderful, funny, awful, embarrassing memories of middle school/junior high come flooding back to fill the pages of my contemporary novels. My childhood friendships and rivalries with old enemies all find their way into my books. I've even spied on my own kids for story ideas.
Unlike most kids who can't wait to grow up, I've gotten younger--at least my stories have. I've stepped into the world of 7 to 10 year olds.
I and my husband, Jim, live in Texas on Lake Lewisville north of Dallas. We are owned by our greyhound, Miller. Our favorite things to do are traveling the world and boating.
Maybe it's because my feisty grandma chased tarantulas around with a broom when we lived on an oil lease property when I was a baby that made me love danger and adventure. And maybe it was my father's spending nights as a trombonist with the bands of his day and his days spent drawing sketches that sparked my artistic side. Do you suppose that because my mother stood only four feet ten inches tall that I feel like a giant at five feet? And I'm sure my FBI (Full Blooded Italian) step-father, his seven brothers and sisters and their families are responsible for my LOVE of Italian food. That's who I am. Who are you?
My First Book, Peppy The Frog That I Wrote In The 2nd Grade
I'll always be a child at heart. Whenever I close my eyes, wonderful, funny, awful, embarrassing memories of middle school/junior high come flooding back to fill the pages of my contemporary novels. My childhood friendships and rivalries with old enemies all find their way into my books. I've even spied on my own kids for story ideas.
Unlike most kids who can't wait to grow up, I've gotten younger--at least my stories have. I've stepped into the world of 7 to 10 year olds.
I and my husband, Jim, live in Texas on Lake Lewisville north of Dallas. We are owned by our greyhound, Miller. Our favorite things to do are traveling the world and boating.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
Read
June 7, 2009I recently found this at a used bookstore for 50 cents. I owned this book when I was younger, but I remembered the cover art more than the plot. I bought it and read it last night. What a hoot! I remember really liking the book, but not because I wanted to swap moms, but because I wanted to live in a traditional neighborhood where you could walk over to your best friend's house.
September 17, 2007
Despite the fact that the two heroines have really gross names, Lorna and Scotti (okay, the occasional person can pull off "Lorna" beautifully, but this one couldn't), I liked this book for all the awesome details: Lorna's Texas-themed bedroom, Scotti's room with the four-different-colored walls (my parents nixed this idea), Mrs. Wheeler's vegetable lasagna, Lorna's detailed plan to stunt her growth, what it's like to be part of a real airline family, Jazzercise, the evils of self-publishing...
The book references Flowers in the Attic heavily, and when I finally read that book, all I could think was "Wow, sweet little Scotti was obsessed with THAT?".
The book references Flowers in the Attic heavily, and when I finally read that book, all I could think was "Wow, sweet little Scotti was obsessed with THAT?".
October 18, 2009
The Great Mom Swap was one of my favorite books when I was younger. I always thought it would be so cool to be able to do that. Just to trade places with a friend for two weeks and see how another family lives. I should have looked into being a foreign exhange student back in high school...
August 10, 2014
I got this book in junior high when we got to meet the authors at a local college. :) I got this autographed as well as "Interstellar Pig" by William Sleator. I loved them both. This book was great - because at that age, no matter how great your mom is (and mine is fabulous) we all would swap for one of our friends' moms. Mrs. Haynes was really nice in person and I loved her book. I'll have to reread it. And I also wanted to try the vegetable lasagna!
July 10, 2009
This is a book I read a LONG time ago, but I couldn't remember if I'd finished it. It's out of print now, but my awesome husband tracked down a secondhand copy for my birthday. I just finished reading it and it's as cute as I remembered. It's definitely a kids' book, but I still had fun reading it.
May 27, 2025
This was one of those books I loved so much as a kid that I read it over and over!
September 10, 2025
Sometimes the grass on the other side of the fence isn't really greener. Two girls change places for a short period of time and learn this truth.
March 12, 2013
Sometimes we think the grass is greener on the other side, or in this case at your friend's house! However, after Lorna and Scotti switch houses during the summer they begin to realize they like their own families more than they thought they did. They experience a lot in the one week in each other's homes, and by the end of the week they decide they want their families back.
May 13, 2015
Lorna and Scotti have a hard time getting along with their families, especially their mothers, in fact they get along with each other's mother much better. This sparks the idea for the great mom swap, the girls live in each others houses, but is the grass really greener on the other side?
October 28, 2024
Any books I get for my grandkids I always read first. This was so cute so I will be saving it for my 5 yr old granddaughter. Two close friends decide two swaps homes and family for two weeks. Well you know the old saying it’s not always greener on the other side.
April 19, 2008
Only slightly better than The Great Boyfriend Trap. Characters never come to life and the plot is so predictable and contrived it's laughable.
August 26, 2008
wow....very cheesy book. i picked it up and read it in like...two interrupted hours. =)
October 24, 2008
This book is so cool and I think that moslty girls willwant to read it because it shows that no matter if you had some bad times with your mom, that your mom is your only and true best friend.
February 8, 2009
Hahaha. I re-read this because I found it and it was a book that I really liked when I was little. It's still a good story.
May 18, 2009
It was good
September 1, 2009
My copy of this book is so beat up! I read it at least twice a summer for about 4 years! I still thumb through it at times :)
November 29, 2009
awesome book
October 5, 2011
It is a good book I have only started it it is a little slow but it is ok.
January 1, 2012
This book was great.If only I updated it when I finished it in November.
February 15, 2019
Always checked this out at the library in grade school haha. Stumble acrossed this and remembered it right away!
April 15, 2014
Fun to read.
December 5, 2014
I loved this book when I was younger!
July 23, 2016
One of my favorite movies!
January 27, 2021
I've engrossed myself in the world of Betsy Haynes' Bone Chillers but as I noted, she is an accomplished author even outside of it, having been writing for the youth since the 70's. So I wanted to dive into at least one of her other works. I could have read one from the Taffy Sinclair/Fabulous Five universe but I went with this as it's notable for actually getting a TV movie adapted in 1995.
I can see how it got a movie, it does lend itself to TV since it's very wacky sitcom-y in its premise, of two girls who have issues with their moms so they decided to swap lives for two weeks. The parents agree to this very easily and so the deal is made. So I guess I should just announce that I will review the movie next month as long as there's enough to mock/talk about on its own. Just from skimming the Wikipedia page, I can tell there's a lot of differences to cover.
Anyway, I may get to cover more from the book there but talking on its own, this book is fine. Charming enough for what it is, with some amusing details and a few nice moments. Betsy Haynes' talent for character interactions/stuff shows here and this is more of a showcase for it being a slice of life thingy instead of a kiddie horror story.
There's plenty to nitpick, from characters not acting that much like real people and whatnot and the story as a whole could have been more satisfying. The transition to them wanting their old moms back could have been better and the moms don't learn/change despite having legit issues and the ending note is a bit odd, cute but something else could have worked better.
Still, it has enough charm to be passable. I was having too much poking at all the ltitle things to really judge if it's "good" critically but for kids, it's harmless and cute enough. Also, if you were not aware that Betsy Haynes lives in Texas, you will after this, yeesh lol.
There are actually two sequels so someday we'll see how the saga of Scotti and Lorna continues but for now, this is a fine enough time waster.
(Side note, Scotti is an aspiring author and she is working on a book where it is stated one inspiration was V.C. Andrew's Flowers in the Attic. Yes, r4eally. I hope all the kids reading this did not look it up lol.)
I can see how it got a movie, it does lend itself to TV since it's very wacky sitcom-y in its premise, of two girls who have issues with their moms so they decided to swap lives for two weeks. The parents agree to this very easily and so the deal is made. So I guess I should just announce that I will review the movie next month as long as there's enough to mock/talk about on its own. Just from skimming the Wikipedia page, I can tell there's a lot of differences to cover.
Anyway, I may get to cover more from the book there but talking on its own, this book is fine. Charming enough for what it is, with some amusing details and a few nice moments. Betsy Haynes' talent for character interactions/stuff shows here and this is more of a showcase for it being a slice of life thingy instead of a kiddie horror story.
There's plenty to nitpick, from characters not acting that much like real people and whatnot and the story as a whole could have been more satisfying. The transition to them wanting their old moms back could have been better and the moms don't learn/change despite having legit issues and the ending note is a bit odd, cute but something else could have worked better.
Still, it has enough charm to be passable. I was having too much poking at all the ltitle things to really judge if it's "good" critically but for kids, it's harmless and cute enough. Also, if you were not aware that Betsy Haynes lives in Texas, you will after this, yeesh lol.
There are actually two sequels so someday we'll see how the saga of Scotti and Lorna continues but for now, this is a fine enough time waster.
(Side note, Scotti is an aspiring author and she is working on a book where it is stated one inspiration was V.C. Andrew's Flowers in the Attic. Yes, r4eally. I hope all the kids reading this did not look it up lol.)
August 13, 2018
'The Great Mom Swap' was a fairly good book. It's your typical 90's coming of age story. Two girls switch homes and families after deciding each was a better fit for them.
Not much to say. It was a light, MG coming of age, which was exactly what I needed.
Each girl did have a love interest that not much was mentioned about them after they had all met. It's like the author had to cut scenes, but forgot to cut traces.
Not much to say. It was a light, MG coming of age, which was exactly what I needed.
Each girl did have a love interest that not much was mentioned about them after they had all met. It's like the author had to cut scenes, but forgot to cut traces.
May 22, 2017
I fully acknowledge at least one of those stars is due to pure nostalgia.
IDGAF.
IDGAF.
Read
November 20, 2018This book was super cute with an altogether good message. I liked both Lorna and Scotti, and like I always say. I wish more authors need to read books like this.
September 28, 2019
Loved this book as a child.
July 8, 2020
A nostalgic read from the past. It was cute and made me feel bad for the moms!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews