Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Review: The Switch

Title: The Switch
Author: Beth O'Leary
Publisher: 28th April 2020 by Hachette Australia
Pages: 300 pages
How I Read It: ARC book
Genre: contemporary, womens fiction
My Rating: 4.5 cups

Synopsis:
Eileen is sick of being 79.
Leena's tired of life in her twenties.
Maybe it's time they swapped places...
When overachiever Leena Cotton is ordered to take a two-month sabbatical after blowing a big presentation at work, she escapes to her grandmother Eileen's house for some overdue rest. Eileen is newly single and about to turn eighty. She'd like a second chance at love, but her tiny Yorkshire village doesn't offer many eligible gentlemen.
Once Leena learns of Eileen's romantic predicament, she proposes a solution: a two-month swap. Eileen can live in London and look for love. Meanwhile Leena will look after everything in rural Yorkshire. But with gossiping neighbours and difficult family dynamics to navigate up north, and trendy London flatmates and online dating to contend with in the city, stepping into one another's shoes proves more difficult than either of them expected.
Leena learns that a long-distance relationship isn't as romantic as she hoped it would be, and then there is the annoyingly perfect - and distractingly handsome - school teacher, who keeps showing up to outdo her efforts to impress the local villagers. Back in London, Eileen is a huge hit with her new neighbours, but is her perfect match nearer home than she first thought?

My Thoughts

‘This ... this stupid swap ... ’ I spit it out ... ‘was meant to help, and all it’s done is make things worse. I’m done, Grandma. I’m done with all this.’

The Switch - I loved this book in so many unexpected ways! The story of  79 year old Eileen and her granddaughter Leena ‘switching’ lives for two months. I was looking for light and frivolous .... I got that and so much more with a strong emphasis on family and friends.  In the isolationist world we currently live in,  this is the near perfect book to curl up with and escape with some wholesome writing and many an endearing tale to tell. 

Whilst light in tone for the most part, there are some serious topics delved into that add real substance to this read. On the base level this is a book about family and fallouts, mixing things up in the hope of finding your place in life with a strong sense of community involvement. Where it really steps up is when themes such as loneliness, loss/grief, mental illness and domestic abuse are touched upon in really sensitive and touching ways. 

‘Never been one for worst-case scenarios,’ Jackson says. He crouches to dip his roller in the tray; his wrists are flecked with paint now, new, brighter freckles. ‘When they happen, you cope. And it’s usually one you’ve not thought of that gets you, so why worry?’

How would it be to not only switch places with someone else for a time but add to the mix the generational gap and it makes for many an amusing scenario. It’s great! Eileen may just be the winner as what is not to love with a 79 year old shaking it with the young ones in London - but its the sage advice that she brings with her that dusts the encounters with magic. In Yorkshire, Leena learning to face her grief is real and raw. Another plus to this tale is the depth in secondary characters - there are many here you will learn to love and some despise. I want to sit and eat biscuits on the Neighbourhood Watch committee! Similarly Beth accurately portrays the two distinct locales as you feel the buzz of London compared to the quirky charms of village life.

Covering a range of subjects with a cast of characters, not once does Beth confuse her readers - I was invested in each and everyone of them. You will smile and you will tear up - clever writing to lose yourself in. The message here is one of healing and hope, not only for the three generations of women, but also for their wider community of friends. Do yourself a favour and immerse yourself in this tale of fun and serious moments as they walk the path to find the missing piece in their life. Eagerly anticipate what Beth comes up with next. 

‘I take a shaky breath and go on. ‘When people talk about loss, they always say that you’ll never be the same, that it will change you, leave a hole in your life.’ My voice is choked with tears now. ‘And those things are undoubtedly true. But when you lose someone you love, you don’t lose everything they gave you. They leave something with you.’




This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

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