Wendy Everly knew she was different the day her mother tried to kill her and accused her of having been switched at birth. Although certain she’s not the monster her mother claimed she is she does feel that she doesn’t quite fit in
The new girl in High School, she’s bored and frustrated by her small town life and then there’s the secret that she can’t tell anyone. Her mysterious ability she can influence people’s decisions, without knowing how, or why…
When the intense and darkly handsome newcomer Finn suddenly turns up at her bedroom window one night her world is turned upside down. He holds the key to her past, the answers to her strange powers and is the doorway to a place she never imagined could exist.
Förening, the home of the Trylle. Everything begins to make sense to Wendy. Among the Trylle, she is not just different, but special. But what marks her out as chosen for greatness in this world also places her in grave danger.
With everything
around her changing, Finn is the only person she can trust. But dark
forces are conspiring not only to separate them, but to see the downfall
everything that Wendy cares about. The fate of Förening rests in
Wendy’s hands, and the decisions she and Finn make could change all
their lives forever… (via Goodreads)
After reading The Hunger Games, I had such an intense good-read-hangover that I couldn't start another book for a while! And when I did, all I wanted to read was another young adult trilogy, which is why I decided to download Switched. Once just a self-published novel, Switched grew in popularity and is now distributed by a major publishing house. They've even gone so far as to make two different versions – one cover for young people, and one for adults.
Unfortunately, though, I fail to see why this has become such a popular book. I expected something spectacular and well written, but it isn't either one.
Wendy, the main character, has very little personality. She's dull and robotic, which is a very big problem considering she is not only the protagonist, but also the narrator. I felt no romantic connection between her and her apparent love interest, Finn, who just seemed more like an advisor and a babysitter. Wendy's people are also some weird version of a troll, which the author has renamed Trylle, and made them into baby stealing, money hungry supernatural beings.
Switched was just an all-around disappointing read for me. I would definitely recommend looking at other self-published or titles published by smaller publishing houses first, before considering this (Pyxis by KC Neal and Shelby and Shauna Kitt by PHC Marchesi get honourable mentions).
Rating: 2 / 5
