Sophomore Switch: A Snapshot

Sophomore Switch by Abby McDonald

 

"Take an administrative snafu, a bad breakup, and what shall heretofore be known as "The Hot-Tub Incident," and you’ve got two unprepared sophomores on a semester abroad. For American party girl Tasha, an escape to Oxford may be a chance to ditch her fame as a tabloid temptress, but wading Uggs-deep in feminist theory is not her idea of a break. Meanwhile, the British half of the exchange, studious Emily, nurses an aching heart amid the bikinis and beer pong of U.C. Santa Barbara. Soon desperation has the girls texting each other tips — on fitting in, finding love, and figuring out who they really are. With an anthropologist’s eye for detail and a true ear for teen-speak, exciting new novelist Abby McDonald has crafted a funny, fast-paced, poignant look at survival, sisterhood, and the surprising ways we discover our true selves." (from Goodreads)

The subject: two girls' experiences swapping universities and exploring different aspects of themselves.

The setting: Oxford, UK and Santa Barbara, US.

Shutter speed: slow through the first half, then picks up slightly in the latter part of the book.

What's in the background? A rather unfair portrayal of people who join feminist groups, unfortunately. The so-called feminists that Tasha comes into contact with are pretty cold and/or vicious in their treatment of her. I think this was done to make a point about hypocrisy and judging others, but the fact that all the members of the feminist group were painted this way left a bad taste in my mouth.

Zoom in on: the Emily-Ryan romance. This is what kept me reading for a good part of the story, honestly. I'm a sucker for the tension that comes with an initially-disdain-but-are-secretly-attracted-to relationship, and I definitely wanted these two to get together.

And it was enjoyable to see Emily and Tasha becoming friends. I wish they'd reached out to each other earlier on, so we could have seen more interactions between them and the progression of their friendship could have been a bit more believable. Still, it was sweet to see them starting to rely on each other for support and empathy, despite their temperaments being quite different.

Anything out of focus? I found the first part of the book pretty boring, actually, and was wondering if I might DNF. Nothing much seemed to be happening and I wasn't connecting as well with Tasha as I was with Emily, which means I was always annoyed when Emily's chapters ended and Tasha's began. Later on towards the end, Tasha's situation becomes more sympathetic and I really started to feel for her.

Ready? Say... "Swap!"

Click! 3 shooting stars. It's fairly predictable and generic, but even though it didn't wow me I was enjoying it by the end. In terms of the New Adult aspect, I thought the voices for both girls were perhaps a bit on the young side (granted, they are 19, so technically they're still teens) but this could help the book appeal to mid-to-older teen readers looking ahead to college.

Note: there is some mature content and language in this book.

This book counts towards my goals for the "New Adult" reading challenge and the Just Contemporary reading challenge.

Not That Kind of Girl: A Panoramic Review

"Natalie Sterling wants to be in control. She wants her friends to be loyal. She wants her classmates to elect her student council president. She wants to find the right guy, not the usual jerk her school has to offer. She wants a good reputation, because she believes that will lead to good things.

But life is messy, and it's very hard to be in control of it. Not when there are freshman girls running around in a pack, trying to get senior guys to sleep with them. Not when your friends have secrets they're no longer comfortable sharing. Not when the boy you once dismissed ends up being the boy you want to sleep with yourself - but only in secret, with nobody ever finding out.

Slut or saint? Winner or loser? Natalie is getting tired of these forced choices - and is now going to find a way to live life in the sometimes messy, sometimes wonderful in-between." (from Goodreads)

Not That Kind of Girl by Siobhan Vivian

My reaction: it may look fluffy from the cover, but Not That Kind of Girl tackles a lot of issues that are really important to teens. The cover makes you think "light YA contemp romance" but you know what? This book really isn't a romance at all. Rather, it's an insightful look at feminism, friendship, perceptions of others and perceptions of yourself. And it's one that I was very impressed with.

The characters are the bedrock of this novel. They walk the line between "good" and "bad" without setting themselves down on one side or the other (the exception being Mike Domski, who — let's face facts here — had "chauvinist pig" written all over him from the very beginning). The reader will root for the protagonist Natalie, but will probably not agree with everything she believes or does; I know I didn't. But it is Natalie's faults that make her all the more real, and it is her journey to discovering these flaws that this story centers on.

There are so many thematic layers to this story that it's difficult to touch on all of them in a single review. Natalie's relationships with Autumn and Spencer both explore what constitutes friendship. The perils of judging others are also touched upon, particularly in Natalie's attitude towards football captain Connor. She comes off as an academic snob in her assessment of him (spoiler, highlight to read: he's apparently good enough to make out with secretly, but not enough to date openly) which really tells more about her than it does about him. Rumours and gossip also give the reader something to chew on, as they fuel many of the plot points in the book from the first page to the last. Think your teachers don't have their own grapevine? Think again.

But without a doubt, one of the central questions raised by Not That Kind of Girl is "what is feminism?" Different characters and their responses to situations embody various ideas about what feminism is. Natalie decries objectification of women in the media and believes that women shouldn't be dressing in a slutty way to get a guy's attention. Ms. Bee stresses the importance of women focusing on career goals. Spencer, on the other hand, enjoys being sexually confident and using her sexuality to get what she wants without feeling ashamed of it. Siobhan Vivian manages to skilfully show these perspectives without forcing the reader to draw a particular conclusion. Really, the only overall message the author seems to be trying to get across is simple but very positive: it doesn't matter what others think of you if you can respect yourself and you like who you are. 

Best aspect: the accessibility of the themes discussed above. While the book isn't jam-packed with action, I read it quite quickly. The dialogue is authentic and the book doesn't take itself too seriously, the way many "issue books" do. Neither does it make light of the topics it addresses. Rather, it strikes a good balance between entertainment and food for thought. 

Occasionally I thought the message came across a bit too obviously (for example, I thought the exploration of Natalie's exposure to gossip and her reaction was glossed over too quickly). Natalie herself sounds more like an adult sometimes than a teen — indeed, she acts kind of like a mom to Autumn and Spencer in a couple of conversations, and not in a good way. While it can be annoying, though, I think that speaks more to her personality than anything else. She sees herself as more mature than others, not as prone to making foolish mistakes, and behaves accordingly. For the most part, though, Siobhan Vivian avoids being preachy in favor of broaching these issues in an accessible way.

If I could change something... I would get the parents more involved. I mean, I know YA authors like to get rid of the parents so teens are given some room to maneuver, but seriously: WHERE ARE THE PARENTS IN THIS BOOK? Spoiler: she's sneaking out every night to make out with Connor in his shed, and neither set of parents notices? I found this unrealistic, to say the least. They'd have to have blinders on to be that unobservant.

Also, I often found myself wondering what was going through Connor's head. He's not a great communicator and the reasons behind his actions aren't that clear. Guys can be very clueless, it's true, but Connor remains a mystery through much of the book and I feel like we don't get to know him as well as I would have liked.

Just one more thing I want to mention: while the book isn't plot-driven, and there aren't any jaw-dropping events, the author still demonstrates clever plotting within the storyline she creates. I loved that a couple of details we are shown in the first half (spoilers: Natalie spotting Mike leaving the science room, and Spencer pointing out the vent in the girls' bathroom) become more significant later on.

Quote: 

I liked that Connor called me by my last name. Some girls might have been insulted, because that was more how boys talked to each other, but to me, it was a compliment. And so was the word tough. I wanted to believe that he meant it. He'd said it before, that time on the football bench. But I couldn't figure out why he was telling me now, except to sweet talk me out of waking Ms. Bee. I needed to show Connor that I wasn't going to fall at his feet like the other girls at school. So I took another step forward and put my hands on my hips.

"You have no idea how tough I am," I said.

Final verdict: 4.5 shooting stars. If you're looking for a fluffy chick lit story or sweet romance, you won't find it here. What you will find is a book that teens should be picking up, tackling issues that they need to be talking about. English teachers and school librarians, take note, and stock this book on your shelves!

Note: this book contains some mature sexual content and language.

This book counts towards my goal for the Just Contemporary reading challenge.