Author: Katy Cannon
Publication Date: 13th June 2019 by Stripes
Format: ARC via Netgalley (320 pages)
Target Audience: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary
Links: Goodreads, Amazon, Waterstones
 |
| Source |
Synopsis
WILLA
Drama queen
Fashion guru
Spontaneous
Looks like Alice
ALICE
Bookworm
Allergic to fashion
Planner
Looks like Willa
LAX Departure Lounge. Two girls board the same flight to London as complete strangers. When the plane touches down, it’s the beginning of the craziest plan ever. Can Willa and Alice really swap lives for the summer?
Things are going to get complicated...
Rating
Review
Willa and Alice are two complete strangers trying to escape their controlling parents and who happen to look almost identical. After meeting in an airport they decide to swap lives for the summer and of course mayhem ensues...I was very apprehensive going into this book as I didn't realise just how young the characters were. They're both fourteen (I'm almost 23) so I was worried that I would feel no connection to anyone and it would be one of those cringe inducing books where the characters are all frustratingly immature. Honestly it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be though. I hardly remember what I was like at fourteen but I think Katy Cannon did a great job with making both girls as realistic as possible. There were a few times when it got a little juvenile such as Alice with her crush and Willa acting like a total brat but I was probably the exact same at fourteen so I can't complain too much. The plot is very straightforward, predictable but fun.
I definitely preferred Alice to Willa. Alice was pretty much me as a fourteen year old, quiet, very organised and constantly with her nose in a book. She seemed very reasonable about the whole situation and her sections of the book were my favourite parts. Willa was a bit too spoiled and careless for me to like her, I just never really warmed up to her and that stopped me from enjoying her storyline. Alice's summer in Italy was a really great setting. The farm and village she stayed at sounded adyllic and so peaceful. I honestly wouldn't have minded if the entire book had just been about Alice and her summer rather then switching between the two.
The Parent Trap is one of my all time favourite childhood movies so I got a bit of a nostalgia kick from the similarities between the two. It didn't stop this book from being incredibly unrealistic though. The whole 'swap summers cause we're practically twins and no one will realise' is very far fetched. However, I can't completely hate it cause I know that as a fourteen year old it would've been my dream to do something like this and have an adventure in Italy for the summer. I admit I did have fun with this book, it wasn't amazing but it was a pretty cute read that would be perfect for younger readers just starting to transition to young adult.
Read if you like: The Parent Trap (obviously!), middle grade or younger characters, summer vacations and adventures.
* I received an ARC copy via Netgalley in return for my honest opinion.
No comments
Post a Comment