Sophomore Switch

The floodgates open as "The Hot Tub Incident" disrupts the life of California party-girl, Tasha. Being featured in the tabloids and talked about by everyone on campus, this sophomore can't leave her life fast enough. Enter Emily. As straitlaced as you can get, this Oxford girl wants to leave her behind her life, and mainly her broken heart. So the two girls swap lives, in Sophomore Switch. The horrible part? They must take the classes the other girl has already registered for. Meaning, party-girl Tasha must take the Oxford classes that find her academically challenged and try to hide her true identity in the feminist world of Oxford. While bookworm Emily takes the easy filming classes that even the mere thought of attending makes her laugh. Meanwhile, she needs to find a way to fit in with the Santa Barbara crowd--the sunny beaches, late night parties, and bikini-wearing, blonde-haired girls that she finds herself completely submerged with. The two girls begin emailing each other tips to fit in and become more like the other. With many setbacks, yet much success, this riveting tale of two sophomore girls will have readers laughing, guessing, cringing, and unable to turn the pages fast enough. Reviewed by Rose Cooper

A fun and witty read from new author Abby McDonald. This was the type of book I started reading and couldn't put down. I left it at my friend's accidentally for a few days and was gutted I couldn't read on. Whether you're reading it in America or the UK you'll probably find it aspirational as what British girl doesn't dream of living the Californian life and I'm guessing what American girl doesn't think Oxford is full of cute British guys! The story is presented from both Tasha (American in UK) and Emily (British in US) sides and swaps between the two narratives fluidly. When the girls finally overlap and meet it feels genuine and like true friendship has been formed.

Although she was known as Tasha in her hard-partying UC Santa Barbara days, Natasha is going by her full name as she arrives at Oxford University. Tasha was involved in what she likes to call "that Hot-Tub Incident," in which she made out with the wrong person, a reality TV show star, without one clue that she was being filmed. Unfortunately, the film of her capering has made it into the US national entertainment/tabloid "news", and everyone recognizes her. Thus, she has jumped at the chance to trade places with Oxford University student Emily Lewis. Natasha, though, is finding it quite challenging to cope with her new environment. For one thing, unlike her UC Santa Barbara classes (mostly centering on film appreciation), the Oxford classes she has inherited from Emily are intense and intellectual. Her Theory of Politics professor calls books about political innovation "basic reading list texts." Natasha can't believe it, but her classmates actually seem to comprehend what Professor Elliot is talking about. Natasha excels in many things (like perfecting a tan and finding the perfect bargain at sales), but she's in a bit of a quandary discussing political theory. She also feels like the outsider she is in Emily's dreary dorm room without a friend to call her own. Meanwhile, Emily tells us her story. She is also flabbergasted at finding herself in such unusual circumstances, in the middle of a group peppering their conversation with "like" and "totally" and "no way." Natasha's roommate, Morgan, can be friendly enough, but when Emily sees the way Morgan acts around her friend's boyfriend, she knows her new roommate is not exactly a trustworthy sort. Emily has escaped sorrowful memories of her ex, Sebastian, and is determined to stay in Santa Barbara. But she can't believe the low-brow courses she has inherited from Natasha, classes with names like "Teen Movies: Brat Pack and Beyond." As Natasha determines to prove herself in England by actually (gasp) studying, Emily finds herself meeting Morgan's boyfriend, Ryan, in film class when she is assigned to work on making a movie with him. The two clash, although Emily feels sorry for Ryan when she sees Morgan two-timing him. She also feels somewhat sorry for herself. After all, she is used to some peaceful solitude. Instead, she has Morgan and her pack of friends and their inane constant chatter to cope with. Meanwhile, Emily's father calls frequently to pressure Emily about optimal career paths. Natasha is finding that, despite her constant reading, she is falling behind in her studies. She is appalled to discover that her professor is planning to make her work less challenging than the other students. The lack of faith in her abilities galvanizes her further. But will she ever be able to conquer the demands of Oxford academia? When her friend, Holly, invites her to an actual ball, Natasha can't resist. After all, she practically majored in parties back in California. However, the bash isn't quite w

Tasha and Emily couldn't be more different, but each wants to escape their social nightmares. Tasha needs to hide out from the tabloid drama and Emily needs to nurse her broken heart. They swap lives: Natasha heads to Oxford and Emily heads to UC Santa Barbara. The only problem - they've each already signed up for classes. So Natasha's stuck taking feminist courses and Emily's stuck learning about film. Neither of them fit in, until they lean on each other for a bit of advice. Both girls start to dress more appropriately, Natasha with preppy clothes and Emily with fewer layers. Slowly, things start to turn around for both girls. Natasha embraces her classes and becomes determined to change people's mind about her. She joins in the rally to save the women's health center. Emily learns how to relax and let go of her control freakiness. Is the newfound happiness about to come crashing down when their responsibilities resurface? SOPHOMORE SWITCH is a great novel on several levels. It's a great tale of two girls switching lives and broadening their horizons and examining the question of feminism. The story especially delves deeply into the topic of what makes a feminist - can a girl have fun and still desire equality for women? Reviewed by: Jennifer Rummel

I found this to be a very fun and enjoyable book but also at the same time it brings issues that girls everywhere deal with, trying to be the real you but also a better version of yourself. I really liked that the story took two girls that were polar opposites and sort of brought them into a less severe version of themselves, to a middle ground. I also liked how the book shows that even if you aren't exactly like someone you can still have many things in common. I think it's very easy to strike someone off your list just because they have different interests than you, and what we really should be doing is learning from each others differences. Now for me it was much easier to relate to Emily, the uber-organized, straight laced, Oxford student. I liked seeing her come out of her shell A LOT and then stepping back a bit and taking the bits and pieces that worked for her, that's definitely something I need to do as well. I also really respected Tasha's stand against stereotypes and getting people to take her serious and not base their opinions of her on one incident (The Hot Tub Incident). And I love that the two characters end up getting to know each other, via email and phone calls, I guess that's something I didn't consider (no idea why) but it's a great part of the book! I think this book does a great job of exploring what it means to be a young person, trying to find yourself. The book was also funny with some great popular culture references. And really, who doesn't want to read a book where one of the characters goes to Borders often! There is also some romance, which is very sweet and it a great addition to the book. One thing I was rather confused about for awhile was the word "totes" and I finally looked it up and found it to mean, totally. Which made a lot more sense, I had never heard that word used for anything other than a tote bag! LOL! All in all, this was a very enjoyable and engaging book!