I’ve had Switch on my shelf for several years now, and realized recently that I really ought to stop putting off reading it and just get to it. I started reading it probably four or five years ago, and didn’t manage to get past the first chapter—having recently gone through a traumatic experience myself at the time, I wasn’t up to handling something even remotely similar in a book for a long while. But I pulled it out about a month ago, and stuck it on my TBR list for the month. And I’m glad I did—I’m glad to finally know what this book is about. While it didn’t end up being one of my favorite reads, it was an easy read and contained a good amount of mystery and adventure.
Nova is a relatable character. Though she’s gone through a lot of trauma in her life, she’s remarkably resilient. I loved seeing her love of her family and how she tried to help out (even if that backfired). I also enjoyed the fact that Nova and her friends all feel like typical teenagers—not adults stuck into teenage bodies. And, as the description says, this is a fairly clean read, unlike a lot of YA books.
I did struggle with some elements of the story. While I loved the twist on how time travel works, I was also concerned by the meditation style used in conjunction with time travel. This book has a few Christian elements to it (one or two mentions of church, and two or three prayers before mealtime), but I wouldn’t consider it a Christian story. I don’t believe the way meditation, as described in this story, is Biblical—the Bible says we are to fill ourselves up with the Word, not empty our minds, and let whatever comes, come. I was also surprised by how many times God’s name was used as an exclamation, something I don’t appreciate. Otherwise, there isn’t that much language in the book, but that was a frequent occurrence. I also wasn’t comfortable with the amount of lying and sneaking around with a boyfriend that happened in the story (although both are the kinds of things that happen a lot in real life).
As far as a gripping story, this book definitely has that! I was kept guessing most of the way through as to what was actually going on, and what implications it had for the characters. I didn’t have trouble connecting with the characters in the first few chapters, and I found myself rooting for them as time went on. There are some really neat elements to this time-traveling world, and I’m curious to see where it goes from here—I like the idea that things can be manipulated to be better than before, although I see some real pitfalls with the scheme as well (which some of the characters have discovered already…eek!). This story would be best for mid-teens on up, as long as you don’t mind the things mentioned above. It was an engaging story, with an interesting premise and lovable characters. I’m planning to read the other two books in the series, since I have them, but I probably won’t keep the books long-term.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book, and this is my honest opinion of it.