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vanessamariebooks's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This story is fast-paced, which I love, and keeps you flipping through pages to find out what's going to happen next. Read this in one day and did not want to put it down. While I'm not a huge sci-fi reader, I loved the concept of this one and the idea of being able to transplant/switch your consciousness with another and the ethical implications of this type of science. The only thing is I wish we could've gone deeper into this topic and the ethics/morality surrounding it, especially given the conversation towards the end (but I won't spoil that for anyone). I feel like the story gives us an introductory, surface-level exploration of the topic, but the ending does leave the possibility for future books, so if there are more books in the future, I hope we get to dig deeper into this topic/theme. Also, because this is a "low sci-fi" story," it's easily accessible to anyone new to the sci-fi genre or gets confused by heavy science topics.
I also appreciate the main character, Megan, and how smart and active of a character she is. So many books and movies like this have characters that are passive and/or react in dumb ways that makes the situation worse and the only reason for that is so the writers can raise the stakes and try to back the character into a difficult situation that puts them in peril, but this book shows that writers don't have to do this. You can have smart characters and have them do things that are smart and logical, but still get trapped into an impossible, no-win (seemingly) situation. Doing this makes the payoff, when they do finally get out of that situation, much more rewarding.
I also love that the romance subplot is a small part of the story and it doesn't overtake the story like a lot of YA novels tend to do. I love the natural progression of Megan and Ryan's relationship, it definitely did NOT feel like insta-love and it never got to be too much for the story. They both stayed focused on the mystery of the story and I appreciated that. This story also has some interesting twists that I didn't see coming until right before they happened. Not sure if that's just because of how fast-paced the story is, but I enjoyed the twists as well. Overall, this was a quick, fun read and I'd definitely recommend it, especially if you love fast-paced, YA sci-fi stories.
To hear more of my thoughts on this one, check out the Diversity is Lit bookclub discussion: https://www.youtube.com/live/zTjMj7izT3Y?si=Ns_HNIGbHK-HCQLZ
I also appreciate the main character, Megan, and how smart and active of a character she is. So many books and movies like this have characters that are passive and/or react in dumb ways that makes the situation worse and the only reason for that is so the writers can raise the stakes and try to back the character into a difficult situation that puts them in peril, but this book shows that writers don't have to do this. You can have smart characters and have them do things that are smart and logical, but still get trapped into an impossible, no-win (seemingly) situation. Doing this makes the payoff, when they do finally get out of that situation, much more rewarding.
I also love that the romance subplot is a small part of the story and it doesn't overtake the story like a lot of YA novels tend to do. I love the natural progression of Megan and Ryan's relationship, it definitely did NOT feel like insta-love and it never got to be too much for the story. They both stayed focused on the mystery of the story and I appreciated that. This story also has some interesting twists that I didn't see coming until right before they happened. Not sure if that's just because of how fast-paced the story is, but I enjoyed the twists as well. Overall, this was a quick, fun read and I'd definitely recommend it, especially if you love fast-paced, YA sci-fi stories.
To hear more of my thoughts on this one, check out the Diversity is Lit bookclub discussion: https://www.youtube.com/live/zTjMj7izT3Y?si=Ns_HNIGbHK-HCQLZ
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
peachmoni's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship and Dysphoria
Moderate: Child abuse, Violence, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Gun violence, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Alcohol
bookishmillennial's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
Wow, this took me on a *ride* !!!
I was hooked from the end of the first chapter until the very end of this teen fictional body-swap adventure/thriller. This is told in first-person, present tense of our main character Megan, as well as a few snippets with third-person, present tense POV of LC. This story is set mostly in Graysonville, Georgia.
This story follows Megan and LC, who have been friends for three months. LC pierces Megan's neck as a friendaversary gift, and then they attend a party where they take Molly (ecstasy). Megan wakes up disoriented and walks straight home, even though it's way past curfew, but then her parents are furious when they open the front door and ask her what she is doing there. It's at that moment when Megan realizes she sees *herself* standing on the staircase behind her parents and her world is entirely thrown off its axis. She realizes that she is inside LC's body, and LC must be inside her body. How did this happen?! This sets off a series of events with Megan desperately trying to find a way back to her body, out of LC's, and to prevent this from happening to anyone else ever again. A fake FBI agent Tess comes into the mix, adding even more uncertainty into Megan's new reality, but regardless, Megan will not give up on getting her body and her life back.
The pace moves quickly, as thrillers do, and something you must do is suspend disbelief for some of the answers Megan receives. Suspending disbelief for some parts sat fine with me (like how easily the TikTok answers came to Megan and Ryan, but also, TikTok is a fantastic crowd-sourcing resource, cry about it) because other portions of this story ring so true, such as the small ways Megan must constantly assess her safety as a young Black woman in America. As she examines different situations, such as Megan's parents calling the police on her (as LC), she resigns herself to recognizing that pleading her case of body swapping to the police is not a safe, feasible route for her. She regroups, goes to Jade's (whose body LC had swapped with previously), and thinks of what her viable options are.
There are also moments where her Blackness is most salient to others, such as an elder Black waitress at the diner where Megan meets with an older White woman named Tess; the waitress gives Megan a knowing look, as if to say "do you need help" or "are you okay?". I appreciated how Davenport nodded to the care that the Black community displays for each other, since the people who are *supposed to* protect them do nothing of the sort. Davenport cleverly and subtly added these instances of what it's like to navigate America in a Black body because that comes with just as much (if not more) uncertainty and feelings of dangers/threats as someone physically taking your body, and forcing you to be in someone else's. There is a real violence in never being believed, seen as a human worth saving, or being universally protected.
There are also real fun moments that most sci-fi/body-swap fans will appreciate, such as Jade's best friend Ryan and Megan's best friend Ava realizing the moment that Megan was telling the truth about body swapping, by spouting off intimate shared memories that *only* Megan would know. I also squealed with delight as the final reveal unfolded in the last few pages, and think readers will be so satisfied with the ending.
I highly recommend this to everyone who enjoys body-swap sci-fi tropes, and wants more young Black girls as the "final girls". Though this is not particularly a slasher book or one where people are murdered, the stakes are still just as high and I was so proud of these characters for getting their bodily autonomy back!
cw: kidnapping, infringement on bodily autonomy, gaslighting, unethical use of police role/position of authority, foster care abuse, character is unhoused and orphaned as a minor, drug use, physical violence
Wow, this took me on a *ride* !!!
I was hooked from the end of the first chapter until the very end of this teen fictional body-swap adventure/thriller. This is told in first-person, present tense of our main character Megan, as well as a few snippets with third-person, present tense POV of LC. This story is set mostly in Graysonville, Georgia.
This story follows Megan and LC, who have been friends for three months. LC pierces Megan's neck as a friendaversary gift, and then they attend a party where they take Molly (ecstasy). Megan wakes up disoriented and walks straight home, even though it's way past curfew, but then her parents are furious when they open the front door and ask her what she is doing there. It's at that moment when Megan realizes she sees *herself* standing on the staircase behind her parents and her world is entirely thrown off its axis. She realizes that she is inside LC's body, and LC must be inside her body. How did this happen?! This sets off a series of events with Megan desperately trying to find a way back to her body, out of LC's, and to prevent this from happening to anyone else ever again. A fake FBI agent Tess comes into the mix, adding even more uncertainty into Megan's new reality, but regardless, Megan will not give up on getting her body and her life back.
The pace moves quickly, as thrillers do, and something you must do is suspend disbelief for some of the answers Megan receives. Suspending disbelief for some parts sat fine with me (like how easily the TikTok answers came to Megan and Ryan, but also, TikTok is a fantastic crowd-sourcing resource, cry about it) because other portions of this story ring so true, such as the small ways Megan must constantly assess her safety as a young Black woman in America. As she examines different situations, such as Megan's parents calling the police on her (as LC), she resigns herself to recognizing that pleading her case of body swapping to the police is not a safe, feasible route for her. She regroups, goes to Jade's (whose body LC had swapped with previously), and thinks of what her viable options are.
There are also moments where her Blackness is most salient to others, such as an elder Black waitress at the diner where Megan meets with an older White woman named Tess; the waitress gives Megan a knowing look, as if to say "do you need help" or "are you okay?". I appreciated how Davenport nodded to the care that the Black community displays for each other, since the people who are *supposed to* protect them do nothing of the sort. Davenport cleverly and subtly added these instances of what it's like to navigate America in a Black body because that comes with just as much (if not more) uncertainty and feelings of dangers/threats as someone physically taking your body, and forcing you to be in someone else's. There is a real violence in never being believed, seen as a human worth saving, or being universally protected.
There are also real fun moments that most sci-fi/body-swap fans will appreciate, such as Jade's best friend Ryan and Megan's best friend Ava realizing the moment that Megan was telling the truth about body swapping, by spouting off intimate shared memories that *only* Megan would know. I also squealed with delight as the final reveal unfolded in the last few pages, and think readers will be so satisfied with the ending.
I highly recommend this to everyone who enjoys body-swap sci-fi tropes, and wants more young Black girls as the "final girls". Though this is not particularly a slasher book or one where people are murdered, the stakes are still just as high and I was so proud of these characters for getting their bodily autonomy back!
cw: kidnapping, infringement on bodily autonomy, gaslighting, unethical use of police role/position of authority, foster care abuse, character is unhoused and orphaned as a minor, drug use, physical violence
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Physical abuse, Violence, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail