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miss_red's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
rachaelsreadingnook's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
lozellwood_'s review against another edition
1.0
The plot sounded so interesting but upon reading it, the writing was mundane and the characters were unlikable. I found myself skimming through so I could finish it. It didn’t have any excitement to it.
lizbetweenthelines's review against another edition
3.0
The Swap is based on a really good premise. I might me a mood reader and probably shouldn’t have forced myself to finish it when I was not in the mood for it. The rating would have been higher then.
So: It’s not you, it’s me.
So: It’s not you, it’s me.
faysieh's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this book for the ethical dilemmas the subject raises. Just what is the protocol for coming to terms with knowing the baby you had artificially inseminated wasn't from your own egg and husband's sperm because the embryos were mixed up? How would you feel carrying a baby and giving birth to a child who is not genetically yours? And how would you feel if you didn't know until your children was about 4 years of age and you found out by accident?
This book explores what it means to be a mother and the love one can feel for a child that has been raised by someone else entirely. It also explores the chance of family and the opportunities and lifestyle we enjoy or don't have access to given who are parents are and the circumstances in which they live. In this way the book also explores the concept of class. The storyline had me gripped. The obsession and tug of love, the desire to spend time with your biological child and yet at the same time not want to let go of the child you carried, gave birth to and have raised, made this an enthralling read. At times it was uncomfortable too because one mother doesn't actually love the child she has been raising and she also has a huge emotional crack in her heart, but why?
This is taut storytelling, a highwire balancing act of a read whereby if any of the characters take the wrong step the consequences could be fatal.
This book explores what it means to be a mother and the love one can feel for a child that has been raised by someone else entirely. It also explores the chance of family and the opportunities and lifestyle we enjoy or don't have access to given who are parents are and the circumstances in which they live. In this way the book also explores the concept of class. The storyline had me gripped. The obsession and tug of love, the desire to spend time with your biological child and yet at the same time not want to let go of the child you carried, gave birth to and have raised, made this an enthralling read. At times it was uncomfortable too because one mother doesn't actually love the child she has been raising and she also has a huge emotional crack in her heart, but why?
This is taut storytelling, a highwire balancing act of a read whereby if any of the characters take the wrong step the consequences could be fatal.
shayneyj's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 Stars
I found myself discussing this book mid read with a few of my colleagues (much to their annoyance), with possible what if questions to try and put myself remotely in the mindset of the characters within this book. It’s a harrowing situation, that doesn’t have a simple answer, so I was really interested to she how the plot of this story was going to go and if there was going to actually be a good ending or a conclusion.
There were characters within this books that I didn’t like, for their own reasons and I found myself being biased. But the more I read, the more those characters got a chance to develop within the story. It was done really well and I liked how the author wrote this book.
I found myself discussing this book mid read with a few of my colleagues (much to their annoyance), with possible what if questions to try and put myself remotely in the mindset of the characters within this book. It’s a harrowing situation, that doesn’t have a simple answer, so I was really interested to she how the plot of this story was going to go and if there was going to actually be a good ending or a conclusion.
There were characters within this books that I didn’t like, for their own reasons and I found myself being biased. But the more I read, the more those characters got a chance to develop within the story. It was done really well and I liked how the author wrote this book.
khaelalevey's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
lindacc's review against another edition
3.0
How do you resolve the case of babies swapped before birth?
amothersmusings1's review against another edition
2.0
"The Swap" is Fiona Mitchell's second novel after her success with "The Maid's Room" and my first read by this author.
"Two women. Two children. But whose is whose? When two strangers, Tess and Annie, undergo IVF at an American clinic, their embryos are mixed up and each woman gives birth to the wrong child. The women only discover the devastating error three years later. Tess wants to swap the children back; Annie doesn't. As the pair wrangle, neither of them expect what unfolds"
The premise to this story really intrigued me, being a mother myself, although not an IVF user, I was interested in reading the emotions of women who have used this method to conceive. Potentially poignant and thought provoking, this story had all the hallmarks of a powerful and emotional read. However, it just didn't quite reach those levels for me and left me rather disappointed. I did relate to the frustrations of being a parent to an unruly and demanding child and think every parent has been in those shoes. The delight in finding that your IVF has been a success only to discover three years on, you were given the wrong embryo must be gut wrenching and heart breaking, after truly believing the child you were bringing up was yours genetically. I did feel these emotions the writer was trying to convey, though the characters Annie and Tess weren't easy to engage with and generally the characters as a whole, were rather flat and difficult to relate to. There were also too many exact and precise attention to details that were totally unnecessary for my enjoyment, which tended to spoil the flow of the story.
This book does leave it open for many book club discussions from child behaviour, to discipline, gender selection IVF and moral issues surrounding the main premise of switched embryos and will certainly make for potential interesting debates.
These are only my personal thoughts and opinions and not necessarily what the next reader may find.
Sadly 2 stars.
"Two women. Two children. But whose is whose? When two strangers, Tess and Annie, undergo IVF at an American clinic, their embryos are mixed up and each woman gives birth to the wrong child. The women only discover the devastating error three years later. Tess wants to swap the children back; Annie doesn't. As the pair wrangle, neither of them expect what unfolds"
The premise to this story really intrigued me, being a mother myself, although not an IVF user, I was interested in reading the emotions of women who have used this method to conceive. Potentially poignant and thought provoking, this story had all the hallmarks of a powerful and emotional read. However, it just didn't quite reach those levels for me and left me rather disappointed. I did relate to the frustrations of being a parent to an unruly and demanding child and think every parent has been in those shoes. The delight in finding that your IVF has been a success only to discover three years on, you were given the wrong embryo must be gut wrenching and heart breaking, after truly believing the child you were bringing up was yours genetically. I did feel these emotions the writer was trying to convey, though the characters Annie and Tess weren't easy to engage with and generally the characters as a whole, were rather flat and difficult to relate to. There were also too many exact and precise attention to details that were totally unnecessary for my enjoyment, which tended to spoil the flow of the story.
This book does leave it open for many book club discussions from child behaviour, to discipline, gender selection IVF and moral issues surrounding the main premise of switched embryos and will certainly make for potential interesting debates.
These are only my personal thoughts and opinions and not necessarily what the next reader may find.
Sadly 2 stars.
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