Parent Swap

Have you ever wanted to live with another family? Have you ever been so exasperated with the parental units that you wanted to trade them in for new ones?! Well, that is the premise of PARENT SWAP by Terence Blacker. Danny Bell is very tired of his family. His mum has left and his dad sits in front of the TV everyday writing terrible songs and remembering his glory days as a rock musician. His sister is argumentative, has a boyfriend, and is never home, while his little brother is suffering from not having enough attention. The apartment is a mess and Danny is the only one who is making an effort to try to keep the family together. Then Danny gets a flyer which is advertising an organization called Parentswap. Danny decides to check it out. He goes and finds a business which will allow him to pick new parents. After a few weeks of contemplation, Danny decides to go through with the swap. After he swaps, he gets the feeling that something is not right and decides, with the help of his friend and later his family, to find out what is going on. I enjoyed this book because I know many kids who think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, but when they get there they find that their own life may be a challenge but it is their challenge. All families have problems, and even when Danny thinks that others have the perfect family, problems still arise. I liked the story but I wish I would have found out what happened with all of the main characters in the future. It kind of left things better but not complete. So check out PARENT SWAP when you are mad at your parents -- it may change your mind! Reviewed by: Marta Morrison

Five Key Facts About Danny Bell: 1) He wants to be Artemis Fowl. Well, not Artemis specifically, but he wants money, power and intrigue, and when he fantasizes about the life he wants, Danny refers to himself as Jay Daniel Bellingham. 2) He has a very dysfunctional family. His sister Kirsty has zero sense of humor. His little brother Robbie spends all his time playing computer games. Dad hasn't left the house in years, and Mum never comes home. 3) If he disappeared tomorrow, the only two people who would care are his friends Maddy and Rick. 4) One of his favorite hobbies is bird-watching. 5) He has decided to take on a new family via Parent Swap. Four Oddities About Parent Swap: 1) Every family Danny visits has hidden cameras all over. 2) He tries a few different families, but none of them quite work out. 3) Parent Swap has an honor system that they never bothered to tell Danny about. Kids who make the "wrong choices" are sent back to their original parents after a warning. 4) His liaison at Parent Swap, Rafiq, seems to be affiliated with a company called KeepItReal TV Productions, Ltd. Three Things That Danny Figures Out: 1) Parent Swap is filming his experience. 2) His life is now a reality TV show, but it's more Truman Show than "American Idol." 3) He's supposed to be the key to fixing some bad publicity that his new family got. Two People Danny Enlists in his Quest to Uncover the Truth About Parent Swap: 1) Rick 2) Maddy One Thing the Staff at Parent Swap Doesn't Know: Danny is on to them, and he's going to spin things his way. --- Reviewed by Carlie Webber

I really loved this book. It was a mix between two main genres: mystery and comedy. Blacker writes well about a boy, 13-year-old Danny Bell, whose mom left his older sister, younger brother, and ex-famous rockstar dad in a small house. He finds an advertisement for something called ParentSwap, where teenaged kids (who already have switched parents) pick new parents for kids who can't handle them. After a bad experience with his first new family, he feels there is something suspicious going on with ParentSwap. So, he switched families again, only to a rich, famous woman, Flavia de Sanchez's home. Then, everything gets better for him as he gets his friend to help him. This book is a great read for teens. I loved it so much, I couldn't put it down!