Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “Switching Gears” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

Switching Gears

Chantele Sedgwick (Goodreads Author)

4.07 · Rating details · 107 Ratings · 26 Reviews

Still mourning the loss of Lucas Nelson, the boy she loved in secret for years, seventeen-year-old Emmy Martin turns to her passion for mountain biking to try to fill the empty void in her life. But just when things start looking up, Emmy discovers her mom has been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. Confused and angry that her parents didn’t tell her sooner, she throw ...more

Get A Copy

Or buy for

Hardcover, 288 pages

Published February 14th 2017 by Sky Pony Press (first published February 7th 2017)

More Details... edit details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about Switching Gears, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

YA Releases of February, 2017

55 books — 260 voters

YA Novels of 2017

1,073 books — 7,271 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30)

Rating details

Sort: Default

Filter

Apr 06, 2017 Katie W rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult

My inner teenage self loves the angsty stories and I would have devoured this back then. Even now, I still really enjoyed it. I love the passion that Emmy has found for mountain bike racing, as that is something that carries her through the trials in her life. I love that she has an escape and something to focus on that helps her become a better person all-around.

A great moral to this story is to be careful how you judge others. I think it's human nature to jump to quick conclusions about people ...more

flag 7 likes · Like · see review

Jul 11, 2017 Kara rated it really liked it

Shelves: contemporary, ya

I picked this one up based on a blogging friend's high recommendation and was so happy I did! Even though I hadn't read the first book, Love, Lucas, this one is more of a companion novel than an outright sequel, so it stands very well all on its own. Emmy is the reason I loved this story. Still coping with the grief of losing the boy she loved, I connected with her struggles to handle those complicated emotions. Add to that the fact that her mother has a huge health crisis and I completely under ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Jan 17, 2018 Roxanne rated it really liked it

Thank you to Sky Pony Press for providing me a copy of book in exchange for a fair review.

Emmy hasn't been dealing with things well, she quit the mountain bike team after Lucas's death and hasn't won first place in a long time. Just when things are starting to look up she finds out that her mom has been diagnosed with early on-set Alzheimer.

Now she is trying to navigate her feelings for Cole, her place on the team and the reality of losing her mom as she knows her. Then an accident almost chang ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Feb 21, 2017 Beatrice Rivers rated it it was amazing

Shelves: books-from-netgalley, good-young-adult-books, my-favourite-books

*I received a copy of this book from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review*

This is a gripping, reality which shows that you are in danger doing the simplest of things…

Emmy Martin intrigued me. She has lost her best friend, the one boy who she can’t stand likes her and her family is not as close as she thought it was. Even after all of this happening, she still pushes herself every day to keep herself fit enough to race her mountain bike. But she is always just that little bit behind Whitne ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Apr 08, 2017 Adriana rated it liked it

Please ignore the summary it is only partially correct which bothers me more than you could know. First of all Cole isn't the rich boy who only cares about himself. He does have money but he always has had an interest in our main character, Emmy. Second, Cole helps train Emmy after her one-on-one race with Emmy and that is at the very very end of the book. There is so much more that goes on with her and Cole before the training. Also, why is the terrible accident even mentioned? This summary.... Please ignore the summary it is only partially correct which bothers me more than you could know. First of all Cole isn't the rich boy who only cares about himself. He does have money but he always has had an interest in our main character, Emmy. Second, Cole helps train Emmy after her one-on-one race with Emmy and that is at the very very end of the book. There is so much more that goes on with her and Cole before the training. Also, why is the terrible accident even mentioned? This summary....

Now that my complaints of the summary are over, which I completely forgotten about before I read the book, on to my thoughts on Emmy. Emmy has fire and attitude which is done in a way that makes her sound like the cool kid in the story. Not the actual kid because she has exactly one friend at the beginning of the book, but just like that loner kid in the school ground that doesn't take anything from anybody. I loved her spirit and that spirit was only rivaled by her best friend Kelsie who will not let Emmy lose her fire. Kelsie is always there for her friend. She's just the type of person you would want as a best friend - encouraging and (for the reader's sake) always the one trying to push her towards her love interest.

Cole is very sweet when we first meet him. He cares for Emmy clearly and will keep on teasing her even when she tries to push him away. He always tries to be encouraging towards her mountain bike training. He races as a mountain biker as well and is captain of the team she created which is where a bunch of tension is placed towards him. The bad news is that the first half I really liked him but in the second half I felt he was too pushy. It felt like he thought she owed him something because he liked her/was nice to her. So Emmy tries to push back. If you don't like it go away. Don't complain. I know it's something she obviously needs to work on but I just didn't like him later on. The relationship kind of bored me after a while. By default, I didn't feel as connected to Emmy because of the relationship she was in or really the way she kept on acting as I did in the beginning.

Emmy's mom has been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's which pretty much sucks on Emmy's end. The way Emmy goes about it isn't right. I would hope I would do the direct opposite. I can see her point of view of it all. She latches on to the bad part to justify her behavior but still. That's your mom. Her relationship with her mom ended up being unclear to me. There was something that I see could have been done towards the end to get them closer. Their relationship could have been explored more but that twist at the end changed things. That twist never really registered with me because it felt so unnecessary.

description

Lucas is a character who died a little while back that Emmy hasn't been able to get over. At least, I supposed that was true. I was worried from the initial Cole flirting with her and her focus on training that she didn't really care about Lucas anymore. But there were moments throughout the book that had her mentioning him and I got the sense that she really did care. There is actually another book I discovered about his sister's adjustment after his death called Love, Lucas. I wouldn't mind reading about her time because I got something really juice spoiled in this one about what happens to her.

I almost forgot about Emmy's brother and father! I really liked her relationship with her brother. I felt with her father she interacted with him just enough to make me satisfied. I liked that she did interact with her family and it wasn't just her out in the world. I dislike when books ignore the family.

A note on the mountain biking: It really made me want to get outside and go running. I would never do mountain biking like my crazy brother but I do enjoy being in the outdoors in other ways. I love being motivated by books! All the training and races were the best part for me because I like all of that stuff.

Although the first half did better for me than the last I did enjoy Emmy's personality, her friend, her relationship with her brother, and the mountain bike training. The romance could have done with a bit of less in the book, the mother-daughter relationship could have been resolved, and the twist didn't need to be there. I will still like to try Sedgwick's other books because her character writing shows she has potential.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sky Pony Press for letting me read and review Switching Gears in exchange for an honest review! ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Sep 25, 2017 Susan K rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2017, coming-of-age, contemporary, death, family, fiction, friendship, illness, library-copy, young-adult

Romance, clean, YA, series but stand alone
Emmy's second book with Cole. This can be read without reading Love, Lucas, although that was a wonderful read. Very poignant. The disease (won't say who), the competition, the injuries, the 'thing' between Emmy and Cole. It was just a beautiful, heartfelt, read. Two competitors, who become friends, who trust and build on the attraction. Kelsey was a great foil and friend, Gavin a nice secondary character in her brother, and the relationship with her par ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jan 24, 2018 Mia Giarritano rated it it was amazing

The best book ever, and the sequel to "Love Lucas."

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Oct 21, 2016 Sarah added it

Cute!

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jul 12, 2018 Kristie rated it really liked it

Review originally posted on www.yabookscentral.com

Lucas Nelson loved Emmy Martin, but he waited until a week before he died of cancer to tell her that. Emmy had loved Lucas for years, but she kept quiet out of respect for their friendship, her friendship with Lucas's sister, and her belief that he only thought of her as a friend.

As SWITCHING GEARS by Chantele Sedgwick begins, it's been a month since Lucas died, and Emmy is understandably still grieving. Mountain biking is one way she copes with Review originally posted on www.yabookscentral.com

Lucas Nelson loved Emmy Martin, but he waited until a week before he died of cancer to tell her that. Emmy had loved Lucas for years, but she kept quiet out of respect for their friendship, her friendship with Lucas's sister, and her belief that he only thought of her as a friend.

As SWITCHING GEARS by Chantele Sedgwick begins, it's been a month since Lucas died, and Emmy is understandably still grieving. Mountain biking is one way she copes with her loss, and her close relationship with her family along with the support of her best friend, Kelsie, help keep her going when missing Lucas seems too much to bear.

As she struggles to deal with he loss of Lucas, Emmy engages in a rivalry with another talented female mountain biker, Whitney. Emmy is also trying to figure out how she feels about Cole Evans, a handsome and persistent classmate and the captain of the school mountain biking team. And then when Emmy thinks that these are her biggest problems, her parents share the news that Emmy's mom has been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's Disease, and Emmy's world is rocked one more time.

SWITCHING GEARS is a classic young adult love story. The action provided by the bike training and racing scenes helps keep the plot moving, and Emmy is a believable character as she reacts to the events happening around her. There came a point where I wondered what else this poor girl could be put through to help things progress, but the story was put together well, so none of Emmy's trials seemed too forced.

Emmy's reaction to her mom's diagnosis was well written, and Emmy's and Kelsie's friendship was natural and fun. Cole seemed a little too perfect, but after everything she had been through, I think Emmy deserved a little perfection, so I forgave Cole for being too good to be real. Emmy's nemesis, Whitney, was a bit of a stereotype, too, but there are a few references to a hidden depth to Whitney that save her from being one-dimensional.

Overall, SWITCHING GEARS is a quick read, and despite the sometimes heavy and depressing subject matter, it never gets bogged down in sadness and desperation. Kudos to Chantele Sedgwick for handling difficult themes while walking the fine line between hope and desperation with a light touch. It's the second book from the author that focuses on the aftermath of the death of Lucas Nelson (LOVE, LUCAS is the first), but both books stand alone.

My thanks to the publisher and YA Books Central for a copy of the book in exchange for my unbiased review. ...more

flag Like · see review

Feb 08, 2017 Sharon rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, romance, netgalley

Sky Pony Press and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Switching Gears. This is my honest opinion of the book.

Only one month after Lucas, neighbor and best friend, died from an illness, Emmy decides to ride in her first mountain bike race of the season. When a second place finish prompts her to accept a race with her biggest rival, Whitney, will Emmy put everything on the line to prove that she can win? Will family issues and confusing feelings about Cole, fellow racer and high scho ...more

flag Like · see review

Jun 30, 2017 Emily F rated it it was amazing

This was a fantastic teen drama, and it demonstrated that emotional teen drama DOES NOT have to have vulgarity and explicit content to reach teens. This was a beautiful wakeup call. It was poignant with emotional depth and shows characters recognizing potentially harmful coping mechanisms. So inspiring! I borrowed this, but I definitely want my own copy of this book, along with (at least) one for my classroom! It is so well-written - I'm wanting to underline stuff left and right. I thought Love, ...more

flag Like · see review

Jun 05, 2017 Rebecca Baughman rated it really liked it

This companion (not sequel) to Love, Lucas stands alone.

Emmy is having a hard time getting over the death of her best friend, Lucas. On top of that, her mother has been diagnosed with an unforgiving disease. Emmy decides to put her focus on mountain biking and pushes everyone else away except her friend, Kelsie. Cole sees something special in Emmy and is quite persistent in getting to know her. Despite how hard she tries to alienate him, Cole won't give up.

flag Like · see review

Jun 26, 2017 Christina Burbage rated it it was amazing

This was a goodreads win and I am thrilled that I got to read it. It is probably not one that I would have purchased but I will definitely look forward to reading more from this author. The characters were lovable and relatable. I thought that it was going to be just a predictable sweet read until the end and then it became a fantastically weaved story.

flag Like · see review

May 11, 2017 Tamara rated it liked it

A worthy and well-written YA novel about navigating life.

flag Like · see review

Jun 08, 2017 Suey rated it really liked it

A companion novel to Love, Lucas about the girl that loved him, that he left behind and how she tries to get on with her life.

flag Like · see review

Aug 29, 2017 Tami rated it really liked it

I think the writing was much improved from her other book I recently read. Similar-ish plot line...she likes the plot twist close to the end of her books.

flag Like · see review

May 10, 2018 Lucy Sprange rated it it was amazing

Great book 😂👏

flag Like · see review

Feb 14, 2017 Becky Hutchison rated it it was amazing

Shelves: young-adult, romance

Sky Pony Press is starting to be my go-to publisher for young adult books. Their newest addition, SWITCHING GEARS, a follow up to LOVE, LUCAS by Chantele Sedgwick, is a wonderful example of what I think makes a great young adult romance. The writing is easy-flowing and never bogs down, the action is exciting and plentiful, and the lead characters have realistic flaws and grow throughout the story. And, of course, the heroine gets her HEA.

Seventeen-year-old Emmy Martin loves mountain biking. ...more

flag Like · see review

Feb 14, 2017 Kathy rated it really liked it

Switching Gears by Chantele Sedgwick is a poignant young adult novel about loss, family and unexpected love. This companion piece to Love, Lucas that can be read a standalone.

Following the tragic loss of her best friend and secret love, Lucas Nelson, seventeen year old Emmy Martin's life is still off kilter. An avid mountain bike racer, she is disappointed when she comes in second place in a race against her nemesis Whitney. She is still also smarting over losing her team captain spot to relativ Switching Gears by Chantele Sedgwick is a poignant young adult novel about loss, family and unexpected love. This companion piece to Love, Lucas that can be read a standalone.

Following the tragic loss of her best friend and secret love, Lucas Nelson, seventeen year old Emmy Martin's life is still off kilter. An avid mountain bike racer, she is disappointed when she comes in second place in a race against her nemesis Whitney. She is still also smarting over losing her team captain spot to relative newcomer Cole Evans. So when Cole offers to coach her after she agrees to race against Whitney, Emmy turns him down without hesitation. However, their paths continue crossing as she trains on her own and she begins to realize there is more to Cole than she previously believed, but is Emmy ready to move on to a new relationship?

Emmy is initially not an easy young woman to like. She is prickly, closed off and refuses to let anyone except her best friend Kelsie get close to her. Emmy is extremely close to her mom which is why it is so upsetting when she learns her parents have been keeping secrets from her and her brother Gavin. After learning the truth about her mother's recent diagnosis, Emmy refuses to talk to her parents and she begins avoiding spending any time at home. Instead, she throws herself into training for the upcoming race against Whitney and as she continues running into Cole, she is surprised when she begins to realize she might be falling for him.

Kelsie is a wonderful secondary character and she is extremely loyal to Emmy. She easily overlooks her friends moodiness and she is quick to agree to anything Emmy asks her to do. But Kelsie refuses to let her friend wallow in her grief and she gently, but consistently, urges Emmy to consider giving Cole a chance. Their friendship is refreshingly lacking in angst or drama and Kelsie's upbeat personality is a nice contrast to Emmy's numerous issues.

Cole is a fantastic love interest for Emmy and he refuses to give up on her no matter how unpleasant she is to him. At first he seems like he might be a little too perfect but underneath his clean cut, wholesome facade is a normal teenager dealing with the same issues as other kids his age. Cole accepts Emmy's refusal to let him help her train without putting up a fuss but he is not fazed by her attempts to keep him at arms' length. His persistence pays off and a tentative friendship forms between them which eventually deepens into a real relationship.

Switching Gears by Chantele Sedgwick is a sweet young adult romance that is fast-paced with engaging characters. The storyline is well written with realistic problems and issues to overcome. The ending is a little overly melodramatic but the epilogue is nice. All in all, an enjoyable young adult novel that readers of all ages will enjoy. ...more

flag Like · see review

Dec 11, 2016 BethLee rated it really liked it

Switching Gears is a good book about families and biking.

Summary from Goodreads:
Still mourning the loss of Lucas Nelson, the boy she loved in secret for years, seventeen-year-old Emmy Martin turns to her passion for mountain biking to try to fill the empty void in her life. But just when things start looking up, Emmy discovers her mom has been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. Confused and angry that her parents didn’t tell her sooner, she throws herself into mountain biking like never bef Switching Gears is a good book about families and biking.

Summary from Goodreads:
Still mourning the loss of Lucas Nelson, the boy she loved in secret for years, seventeen-year-old Emmy Martin turns to her passion for mountain biking to try to fill the empty void in her life. But just when things start looking up, Emmy discovers her mom has been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. Confused and angry that her parents didn’t tell her sooner, she throws herself into mountain biking like never before.

When Cole Evans, the rich boy who usually doesn’t care about anything but himself, offers to train her for the biggest mountain biking race of the season, she accepts, determined to beat her nemesis, Whitney, and prove she’s good enough for a sponsor. The more time she spends with Cole, the more she realizes he’s different than she’d expected, and, to her surprise, she’s falling for him. Torn between the deep feelings she still has for Lucas and her growing ones for Cole, she knows she must choose a path: one offers her the chance to love again, while the other is blocked by the overwhelming heartache for the boy she lost.

As she drifts further away from her family and closer to her dream of being sponsored, a terrible accident threatens any semblance of peace and happiness she has left. Instead of closing herself off to the people she loves, Emmy must learn to rely on those she has pushed away if she’s going to have any chance of getting her life back again.

I really liked Emmy's character. She was kind, caring, and always knew what was right. However, she got really jealous and crabby.

This book deals with the competitive side of mountain bike racing. Emmy is a good biker, but she keeps losing to other teens in her town. When she meets Cole, she trains with him. The look at competitive biking was cool, and I enjoyed reading a book with a non-mainstream sport.

The romance was very good. Cole was sweet and gentle to Emmy, which is just what she needed. He truly loves her, and it isn't the main aspect of the book.

Emmy's mom was diagnosed with early Alzheimer. Emmy is having a hard time dealing with that. She thinks her mom will forget her, and kind of shies away from her. I hadn't heard of early Alzheimer's before this book, and it taught me a lot about it.

This book gave me a lot of feelings, both good and bad.

(view spoiler)

Overall, this is a really good book about many topics. ...more

flag Like · see review

Feb 06, 2017 Taylor Hayes rated it really liked it

Thank you to Netgalley and sky Pony Press !

This was a companion novel to Love, Lucas. While I did not read that this book stood on its own very well. Emmy is still struck by the loss of her first love that she never even got the chance to be with. The book starts off with her taking her first steps into trying to reclaim her life but fate may have other plans when her mom becomes sick.
Emmy is a mountain biker and bike builder. I LOVE THAT it truly made her stand out for me. She didn't care if s ...more

flag Like · see review

Nov 20, 2016 Wendy rated it liked it

Shelves: feel-good

Whole review also on my blog: http://nextbookaroundthecorner.blogsp...

The blurb of this book made me curious. Since I'm currently working for a company in bike supplies, this book was right up my alley. Bikes, romance, drama, definitely sounds interesting. And yes, the book started of great. You are swept into the mourning of Emmy over losing her neighbour and best friend Lucas and the determination of Emmy to beat her nemesis Whitney. Chantele Sedgwick certainly knows how to describe her charac ...more

flag Like · see review

Jan 04, 2017 poppy rated it liked it

A sweet book i liked it would try more by this author.It started well for me and your heart goes out to Emmy struggling with loss and struggles at home.A nice book worth a read

flag Like · see review

Marisa Lainfiesta rated it it was amazing
May 29, 2017

Gianna L rated it really liked it
Aug 25, 2017

Holly rated it liked it
Feb 06, 2018

Syda rated it it was amazing
Mar 27, 2017

Amber rated it liked it
Jul 06, 2017

Micaiah rated it it was amazing
May 31, 2017

Madison rated it really liked it
Feb 17, 2017

« previous 1 2 3 4 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend It | Stats | Recent Status Updates

Genres

Contemporary

Young Adult

Romance

Realistic Fiction

Sports and Games > Sports

Fiction

See top shelves…

About Chantele Sedgwick

Chantele Sedgwick

248 followers

Chantele Sedgwick is a YA author, harpist, wife to one and stay-at-home mom to four. She loves happy endings, Kit Kats and judging by her book shelves, buys way too many books.

More about Chantele Sedgwick