The Switch

✍ Scribed by Anthony Horowitz

• Publisher: Penguin;Puffin Books
• Year: 1996;2014
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 93 KB
• Category: Fiction
• ISBN: 0606106650

✦ Synopsis

From School Library Journal

Grade 5–8—A twist of fate is the premise behind this story of riches, street urchins, and criminals. Tad Spencer, 13, is used to getting what he wants from his indulgent yet inattentive parents. One day, he wakes up as Bob Snarby—poor, hungry, dirty, living in squalor—the son of carnival workers. The story is entertaining but the characterizations of Tad's parents are uneven and contradictory. Also, the level of violence, including mass murder, makes the book sound heavy, but it isn't. It's a fun, tongue-in-cheek read that will captivate children who like adventure and mystery. Tad struggles throughout to make sense of his new life and to return to his old one. The discoveries that he makes about himself and the people surrounding him allow him to realize that his old life perhaps is not what he thought it was, and he discovers that life is only as good as you make it.— Margaret Auguste, Franklin Middle School, Somerset, NJ
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From Booklist

Horowitz’s full-scale assault on the attentions of middle-grade boys continues with this tale of swapped identity. Tad Spencer, a rich kid with little to complain about, one night wishes he was someone else. When he awakes the next morning, he finds his wish has come true. Much to his dismay, though, he’s switched places with Bob Snarby, the son of two slovenly carnival workers, and soon falls into the life of an uneducated miscreant. He eventually discovers that his old family’s wealth is built on the abhorrent practices of his father’s so-called “charity,” and sets out to take down the empire. There’s a knowing wink at one point in case readers happen to be familiar with the classic film Trading Places. While Horowitz won’t be accused of subtlety in either character or plot here, like that film there are a few underhanded elements of social satire that creep in alongside the more obvious condemnation of rampant greed. Mostly, though, Horowitz’s name-brand promise of cartoonish action will attract his audience, and they’ll be mostly pleased with this foray. Grades 5-8. --Ian Chipman