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    The Swap
    The Swap
    The Swap
    Audiobook9 hours

    The Swap

    Written by Megan Shull

    Narrated by Cassandra Morris and Jesse Bernstein

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Now a Disney Channel Original Movie, Megan Shull’s smart and funny, very readable book The Swap is a great summer reading (or anytime!) choice. Will appeal to fans of R. J. Palacio and Katherine Applegate, as well as of graphic novels such as Click, Invisible Emmie, and Smile.

    With one random wish, Jack and Ellie are living life in each other’s shoes. He’s her. And she’s him.

    ELLIE assumed popular guys didn’t worry about body image, being perfect, or talking to girls, but acting like you’re cool with everything is tougher than it looks.

    JACK thought girls had it easy—no fights with bullies, no demanding dads, no power plays—but facing mean girls at sleepovers and getting grilled about your period is way harder than taking a hit to the face at sports practice.

    Now they’re dealing with each other’s middle school dramas—locker room teasing, cliques, video game battles, bra shopping, and a slew of hilariously awkward moments—until they hopefully switch back!

    Told in both Jack’s and Ellie’s voices, The Swap offers a fresh and honest take on tween friendship, all while exploring more serious themes of family, loss, empathy, and what it really means to be yourself. And as Jon Scieszka says, it’s “seriously, truly, fearlessly funny!”

    Plus don't miss Megan Shull's heartwarming Bounce—in development as a movie featuring YouTube star Jojo Siwa!

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherKatherine Tegen Books
    Release dateAug 26, 2014
    ISBN9780062346773
    Author

    Megan Shull

    Megan Shull is the award-winning author of many books for kids, including The Swap, now a Disney Channel Original Movie. Megan holds a doctorate in educational psychology from Cornell University, where she also earned her undergraduate degree. Born and raised in Ithaca, New York, Megan lives and writes in her hometown—a small college town surrounded by waterfalls, quiet, rolling hills, and secret swimming holes.

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    Reviews for The Swap

    4/5

    59 ratings12 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I am a ten year old girl and I honestly looooved that story!! I think a lot of people will enjoy that story, and it had such a good impact on me so for older people like 10 and over I think it’s a good story for you .don’t worry it has a very good ending.
    • 5/5
      This book is a favorite of mine-very entertaining and oddly inspiring.
    • 5/5
      What a great book. My whole family ended up listening to this audiobook after I played it while on a road trip. On the way home we listened to Bounce which is by the same author. I hope she writes lots of books
    • 5/5
      I have always thought this book was amazing. The movie wasn’t very good. It was different, and weird. They changed a lot of the circumstances. I love the book. I have read it a couple times. This is either the third or fourth time I have read it. Loved it! Hope you do too!




    • 1/5
      Nuance, thy name is not this book.This is the same damn “Freaky Friday” story we’ve all heard before. I was hoping that this time there would be something different because it’s a genderswap, something I didn’t get from Cycler. There are so many issues you can explore by putting a boy in a girl’s body and vice versa. Life-affirming issues like that not all guys are horndogs/killers/rough stuff and not all women are crybaby drama queens. But no, this is like a bad middle school play.The problem is the girl and boy therein are too similar. They both do sports. They both live in single-parent households. They both have friends that may/may not be good for them. The girl’s big problem is that her best friend has joined a Mean Girl Clique (TM) and EVERYTHING out of her mouth is something snide and/or passive-aggressive. Example: (while walking by) “Some people just shouldn’t wear clothes that don’t fit their figure, right?” The mean girl’s name? Sassy.And the boy is part of a hockey-playing family of four brothers (who everyone gets into Boston College). Their names are Stryker, Gunner, and Jett. And they are constantly using slang. Like not a single sentence comes out that’s not some kind of hockey jargon. I don’t think they have an English class in their middle school. Everything is “Bro got the flow chopped” and “We’re just rippin’ you, Jacko” and “I could sit here all night, quick scoping fools!” Their dad is a maniacal army captain. And he acts more like a serial killer than a strict dad.This is like an Disney Channel sitcom*–overacted, full of one-note archetypes, plotted poorly, bad hackneyed comedy, characters acting outrageously, no real stakes or pinch points, and the ending is just weird. I think if you’re going to make a “Freaky Friday” book, you’ve got to have more dynamic than just a single characteristic (i.e. age or gender). Like if the boy was a nerd and the girl was popular, there’s more to be explored. But this, I didn’t learn a damn thing from it. Like, what was it written for? To fill pages? To kill trees?*In fact, it became a Disney Channel Original Movie, so take that for what’s it worth.
    • 4/5
      4 stars - I picked this book up by chance in the library, while looking for books my son may like. I read the synopsis aloud and thought.. Hey I think I might like this!I have never read this author before and even though there is pretty much no romance in it, I was still entrapped by the story and writing. I read it in one sitting. It was funny, sensitive, and heartfelt. There was a lot of crazy slang - though as a parent of boys this age… it is very realistic... sadly. Ha ha ..and at points I could truly relate to one of the boy's mothers.In the end this is a good middle school story about bullying, finding yourself, gaining some self confidence and making new friends. I would recommend. ~Paragraphs and Petticoats~
    • 3/5
      Started out four stars bit dropped to three because of increased amount of cursing as the story progressed and the teen slang started to get on my nerves. But it was a fun premise.
    • 4/5
      A super fun, touching read. When reading the description, I immediately thought about Freaky Friday or a myriad of other body swapping stories. But I like them and like this book where Elle and Jack switch spots for a weekend. Elle's former best friend has become a rude, mean girl and has targeting Elle as her next target. Elle and Jack each learn valuable lessons and have a positive impact in each other's lives. Liked this fun, touching read. The main characters were well developed and sympathetic figures.
    • 4/5
      Ellie's life doesn't look that great to her, especially when her best friend has a new best friend and they both ridicule her. What Ellie doesn't know is that to Jack, Ellie looks like someone who has her act together. She doesn't know the guy who looks like an in-control, popular athlete is the youngest of four brothers with a widowed father who has turned drill sergeant to keep his boys in line. He doesn't know she and her mother have been struggling to appear that everything is just fine since her dad left.As school starts, when they both end up seeing the school nurse, they discover far more about each other from the inside out than either of them ever dreamed possible in Megan Shull's witty, wise and wonderful The Swap. Whoever that new school nurse is, she was able to switch things up so that Ellie is inside Jack's body and Jack is inside Ellie's.The pair quickly agree to a plan that they will have a quiet weekend and try to get back to that school nurse as soon as possible. The plan, of course, goes awry because of their families and friends. But this is where Shull pulls off the fun with wisdom just underneath. Jack, as Ellie, is pampered by a mom who loves to spoil her only child. He could even get used to this spa treatment stuff. Ellie, as Jack, glories in being in with a bunch of roughneck brothers. Jack and Ellie may be in each others' bodies, but they are still themselves.Being able to see how each other lives, Ellie and Jack also are able to take charge about the things that hurt each other the most -- Ellie's ex-best friend and Jack's distant father. As each other and acting together, they are able to accomplish things they never would have been able to do on their own. And, as they learn about the reality of each others' lives, they are not afraid to be themselves.As these are tweens, the onset of adolescence from the other gender's point of view is handled with great humor and no vulgarity. This is one of the highlights of Shull's strategy of telling the story in each of their points of view in alternating chapters.Although the ending at first felt a little too good to be true, it is actually far better than it might have been. Saying more would constitute spoilers, but let's just say sometimes, characters not only get what they deserve, they get an ending that is great for everyone.
    • 4/5
      A middle school boy and girl, both of whom are having terrible days, become magically swapped into each other's bodies. Ever since Jack's mother died his dad has been really tough on him and his brothers. And Ellie is suffering because her former best friend has become really mean to her. Both of them are unprepared for how hard the other has it. Over the course of the weekend they have to face some difficult challenges, but they also learn how to deal with their own problems. It has some pretty funny situations and the lessons learned are nicely done and not too heavy-handed.
    • 4/5
      What a fun, cute, charming read. I like that the author did a swap between a guy and a girl. It gave a nice, entertaining perspective to the difference between guys and girls. All of the moments were good but some of my favorites were when Jack had to endure bra shopping, the doctor for female issues and the sleepover and painting nails. For Ellie, I would have it say it was seeing boys in general in the form of being shirtless and learning their own lingo for talking. Each side was equally good. I could not stop reading. For Ellie I really saw a huge improvement. She grew and learned how real friends treat each other and to have a voice. For Jack there was not a lot of changes required other than maybe he got to see what type of girl he wants and that he is lucky to have his brothers. The ending was a sweet one.
    • 4/5
      What a funny book! I stayed up way too late finishing this one because I couldn’t put it down. It’s a happy book.Ellie is a stereotypical 7th grader who has little self-confidence but lots of ability. She’s devastated because her ex-best friend has become a very mean girl and bullies Ellie verbally. Elli just wants to be friends with her again although no one knows why. Jack is “The Prince” or at least that’s what a lot of girls call him because he’s gorgeous, quiet, and has a fabulous body for an 8th grader. He has a regimented home life and stays focused on his goal to play hockey for Boston College. When they both end up in the nurse’s office, they mysteriously swap places. She’s now Jack; Jack is now Ellie. I know—you’re thinking, “That has SO been DONE!” True, but Megan Shull makes this novel fun. There are some loose ends, but the laughs far outweigh the unanswered questions. Jack’s life as a girl isn’t too bad because he loves having a mom. Ellie’s mom is awesome; Jack hasn’t been around a loving parent in a while and finds her love a safe haven. Ellie finds herself surrounded by Jack’s three older brothers who speak another language to Ellie. This boy speak is confusing! They know they just have to make it through the weekend and then they’ll go find the nurse on Monday to swap back into their own bodies.This book is reviewed for ages 10+, but I really think it’s more appropriate for 8th graders even though the protagonists are 7th and 8th graders. I smile just thinking about the book because it amused me so much. I wonder if middle schoolers will find it as funny. I highly recommend this novel for anyone looking for a fun page-turner.