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egg_custard's review
emotional
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Such a good book! The beginning gripped me, I had a hard time putting it down from there, and the ending did not disappoint. I loved the writing style and there are definitely a bunch of new favorite quotes from this.
My only complaint is that the main character goes back and forth on a lot of things, and come off once and a while as "not like other girls." In one of the later chapters it's especially bad. But for the most part it's forgivable, and if you don't like her, most of the other characters are really likable. And I still really enjoyed this book :)
My only complaint is that the main character goes back and forth on a lot of things, and come off once and a while as "not like other girls." In one of the later chapters it's especially bad. But for the most part it's forgivable, and if you don't like her, most of the other characters are really likable. And I still really enjoyed this book :)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual assault
Minor: Child abuse
colleensreadingadventures's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I think my brain broke reading this! 🤣🤣
Honestly I don’t think I’m smart enough or even have a good enough imagination to wholly appreciate the story. But the writing is excellent and certainly creative.
Switch is an extremely unique book. It involves some magical realism mixed with a story about a family in crisis. “Real” time has stopped for the world and the world is looking for answers. Tru is one of the students tasked with helping through a class called Solution Time. She and her classmates are each tasked with coming up with ideas on how to keep going with numerical time standing still.
In Tru’s home she notices there is a switch in her house, she doesn’t know what it is for, but she does know that her dad keeps building boxes around it to stop anyone from touching it. And every time she takes some of the boxes down her father just puts more up.
Tru’s life is a bit of a mess. Her mom is not living at home, her dad quit his job and continues to build all these boxes. Her brother is wound up so tight and her sister is some sort of sociopath. Tru’s only thing that’s all her own is her new found ability in throwing the javelin. Which she can throw farther than anyone has ever thrown before.
Can Tru get her family back on track, figure out how solve the worlds current crisis and get all the boxes taken down in her home? Only time will tell!
While for me Switch was a little on the bizarre side I really enjoyed Tru’s story. The story was never boring. The cast of characters were interesting, especially Tru’s family members. The sister was definitely a scary character and I would have had her committed at a young age if I were her parent. That or put locks on the outside of her door..lol.
I was fully invested in the outcome, waiting to see if Tru could fix her broken family, if she could ever get to the switch, and she would fix time.
Kudos A.S. King for such a distinctly refreshing novel. And a big thanks to Penguin Teen allowing me to review the ARC.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness
Minor: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Child abuse
intergalacticintrovert's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
“To understand anything is to understand energy.”
Switch gets an automatic five stars from me because it incorporated so many of my own ideas and ways of thinking that it was almost like reading my internal monologue. An extremely surreal experience that I hope everyone can find through a book at some point.
The writing style is unlike anything I’ve read before, including A. S. King’s other eccentric works. There are lots of slashes that separate different-but-related ideas mid sentence, like a switch. This definitely makes the book harder to read, but I personally enjoyed it because it makes the prose more like poetry / a puzzle / an actual train of thought :)
The first part is super preachy but this tapers off towards the middle.
The plot isn’t cohesive, and the story feels very “slice of life” to me. But, time has literally stopped, so maybe that’s the point…
On that note, I think the ending is very predictable. Considering all the strange and fantastical elements that happen in the lead-up, I was a little underwhelmed.
I love that Tru exposes the cracks in high school and the education system. I think lots of teens will find this relatable. I certainly did!
Finally, you’ve got to stretch your mind to follow this story. If you haven’t read anything by A. S. King before (I’d recommend starting with Dig or Still Life with Tornado|28588459|Still Life with Tornado), nothing can really prepare you for this. But, again, maybe that’s the point.
Switch gets an automatic five stars from me because it incorporated so many of my own ideas and ways of thinking that it was almost like reading my internal monologue. An extremely surreal experience that I hope everyone can find through a book at some point.
The writing style is unlike anything I’ve read before, including A. S. King’s other eccentric works. There are lots of slashes that separate different-but-related ideas mid sentence, like a switch. This definitely makes the book harder to read, but I personally enjoyed it because it makes the prose more like poetry / a puzzle / an actual train of thought :)
The first part is super preachy but this tapers off towards the middle.
The plot isn’t cohesive, and the story feels very “slice of life” to me. But, time has literally stopped, so maybe that’s the point…
On that note, I think the ending is very predictable. Considering all the strange and fantastical elements that happen in the lead-up, I was a little underwhelmed.
I love that Tru exposes the cracks in high school and the education system. I think lots of teens will find this relatable. I certainly did!
Finally, you’ve got to stretch your mind to follow this story. If you haven’t read anything by A. S. King before (I’d recommend starting with Dig or Still Life with Tornado|28588459|Still Life with Tornado), nothing can really prepare you for this. But, again, maybe that’s the point.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse
Moderate: Sexual assault and Pedophilia
Minor: Suicide and Animal cruelty
caleyk_1's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Cursing, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Incest, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Suicide
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