The Sister Switch

January 1, 2023
It is Addie's turn with the magic bracelet in this installment of the Best Wishes series. Ten-year-old Addie Asante, a fifth grader in Columbus, Ohio, tells her tale in a letter to an unknown Lucy. Sandwiched in the middle between bossy, studious older sister Sophie, 12, and indulged little sister Camille, 5, "go-with-the-flow" Addie is used to suppressing her own desires to keep the peace with friends and family. When a mysterious package arrives with the bracelet and instructions, she puts it on at once, ignoring an enclosed warning from Becca, the previous holder of the bracelet, until it is too late. When, in an argument with Sophie, Addie wishes she weren't the middle sister, the bracelet tightens, then glows and warms, and suddenly, the sisters have switched bodies--Addie is Sophie, Sophie is Camille, and Camille is Addie. Mayhem, confusion, twists and turns, and even laugh-out-loud hilarity ensue as each sister tries to cope with the changes. Addie can text with Becca for more information and warnings (including about the strange blond woman who wants the bracelet) but must find the solution herself. Of course, there's a happy, heartwarming ending as Addie and her sisters share their feelings and come to understand each other. Now it's Lucy's turn. Addie and her family present Black in Vee's drawings; Becca is Jewish and light-skinned. Delightful, with just the right touch of magic. (Fantasy. 8-11)

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February 15, 2023
Grades 3-5 Addie Asante, a fifth-grader, is the middle child between Sophie, a high-achieving seventh-grader, and Camille, an energetic member of the pre-K class at her sisters' school. One morning, Addie opens a package containing a bracelet that she slips onto her wrist without reading the warning not to make a wish while wearing it. Fed up with her siblings, she arrives at school and wishes she wasn't in the middle between her sisters. Immediately, she transforms into Sophie, whose teacher waves her into a seventh-grade classroom. Meanwhile, Camille finds herself looking like Addie and enjoying fifth grade, while Sophie-as-Camille looks miserable in pre-K. Attractive grayscale illustrations portray the main characters within their family and at their school. Using a body switch to enlighten characters about others' viewpoints isn't new, but the writing here provides welcome humor as well as insights. And while the bracelet adds a spark of magic, Addie's first-person narrative is primarily realistic, particularly when portraying the three sisters. Book two in the Best Wishes series is engaging and fun.

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