Switched

Switched

by Amanda Hocking

Seventeen-year-old Wendy has not had an easy life. Her father died when she was five. At her sixth birthday party, her mother decided she was not really her child, but a monster who had assumed her child's life. Her aunt and older brother have done their best to raise her, but she hasn't exactly been the easiest child to live with. Now, a strange boy at her new school has taken an interest in her and the things he says makes her wonder whether her mother was right all along.

I found this book while clearing my virtual bookshelf and I couldn't remember anything about it. When I checked goodreads, I found I had rated this book 3 stars in 2015 but left no review (how dare I!), so I decided to reread the entire trilogy. This review is actually for all three books.

I have read several stories of changlings and one of the questions I always have is what happens to the human baby that was switched? I was pleased to see that this book answers not only that question but also the "how does it work" question as well.

While I liked the story well enough, the tense switching and amateur editing made this story a little difficult to follow. There were several places where I felt the story jumped and I wondered how the characters got to point B when they were still at point A. There was also a lot of narration. I would have liked to have seen more dialogue and action.

One of the things that really confused me was the fact that this series was three novellas instead of a single book. It felt as if a novel was cut into three pieces; each book did not have the feel of a separate arc. The ends of books 1 and 2 felt like the ends of a chapter, not a book, and the beginnings of books 2 and 3 did little to reintroduce me to the situation. Had I not read the previous books, I don't think I would have been able to follow the sequels. In my opinion, this book would have done much better as a slightly longer novel than three novellas.

Overall, I would rate this story three quills and place it on my bottom shelf.