Review: The Switch Up - Katy Cannon

The Switch Up by Katy Cannon, published by Stripes on 13th June 2019

Synopsis:
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...

 

Review:

Katy Cannon is my go-to author for contemporary YA with a solid heart of gold. I loved her previous books 'Love, Lies and Lemon Pies' (read my review here), as well as 'Secrets, Schemes and Sewing Machines' (read my review here).

 

Katy's latest book 'The Switch Up', was high on my list of titles I was looking forward to being published this year. It is the perfect summer read for either sitting with on the beach or reading during some downtime on a city break. I devoured it in one sitting and am now desperately hoping that there will be a sequel.

 

'The Switch Up' follows in the same vein as Freaky Friday and The Parent Trap. It features two girls, Alice and Willa, who on the spur of the moment, decide that they will swap lives for the summer. Willa ends up in London and Alice in Italy, pretending to everyone around them that they are someone else. The book alternates between the two girls as they face new adventures, make new friends and ultimately learn some big lessons about themselves.

 

Alice was my favourite of the two because I seemed to identify with her more. She likes to please people, she likes to feel in control of things around her and she likes to have everything planned out. Spontaneity is not something that is normally associated with her but when she has a chance meeting with Willa at the airport, she is convinced to swap places and ends up spending the summer in Italy with Willa's Aunt Sofia and her foster children. There are lots of layers to Alice's story and I thought that Katy Cannon handled this with a deft touch. She highlights some of the stresses and insecurities that Alice has been dealing with, while also allowing her to blossom and grow in confidence.

 

Willa ends up in London with Alice's potential stepmother Margo. She meets a friend of Alice's called Hal, who helps her to hide her real identity. Willa is extremely confident and outgoing but she too has secret worries and fears, as well as family problems to face up to. I enjoyed seeing her become more aware of others around her and their feelings, as she discovers some painful truths about herself.

 

'The Switch Up' was a sparkling read which I thoroughly enjoyed. Katy's storytelling is exceptional and her books are the perfect reads for young teens. The story explores common issues such as family, identity and friendship, while also weaving in light touches of romance. While I was reading, I could almost feel the sun on my face and the sand in my toes. A superb contemporary YA that was enormous fun to read.

Blog tour: The Switch Up - Katy Cannon guest post

I am thrilled to be taking part in the blog tour for Katy Cannon's new book 'The Switch Up'. I finished reading this a few days ago and absolutely loved it. Don't forget to stop by the blog next week to read my full review. It's the perfect summer read to pack in your suitcase!

For today's blog tour stop, I have a fantastic guest post from Katy herself. It's the ultimate 'Surviving Summer: An Introvert's Guide and it's a great read that I could really identify with.

Summer is a great time for getting together with friends, going out and doing things, and making the most of the great weather. Of course, for introverts (like me) it’s also a time to start panicking about being expected to do All The Peopling All The Time.

Don’t get me wrong; I like people, I like spending time with friends, and I like getting out and doing things. I even like sunshine, as long as I have enough sunscreen on. I just find all of the above – what I call Peopling - mentally and physically exhausting, after a while.
So, over the years, I’ve come up with my own methods for keeping my summers fun and enjoyable, not overwhelming. Here they are:

1. Build In Downtime. If you know that spending a lot of time with loads of people is going to leave you exhausted, try to schedule your summer so you have breaks between big social gatherings. This might take a bit of planning, but having a day – or even a morning, afternoon or evening – to yourself between commitments with friends or family will help you re-energise and enjoy your time with others more.

2. Make Your Own Fun. You don’t have to spend your time alone moping in your room or doing homework though (well, not all of it, anyway). Try jotting down some activities that do give you more energy and make you happy. Mine include reading, getting outside in the sunshine for a walk (or more reading), listening to podcasts, going to the cinema - or a museum or exhibition - by myself, following an online yoga video, and daydreaming (which sometimes turns into napping). Whatever your list is, having it there in front of you when you get your downtime will remind you of all the fun things you can use it for.

3. Pick Your People. Even for us introverts, some people are more draining than others – and a select few can even make us feel better than or as good as being alone! So pick who you spend your summer with carefully. Okay, so you can’t choose your family, and friendship groups often include at least one person who doesn’t thrill you, but just thinking about how different people make you feel can be a starting point. Even a subtle shift towards spending more time with those people who energize you, and building in more downtime between time spent with those who don’t, can help improve your summer.

4. Set Goals and Say No. These two sort of go together. If you’re anything like me, saying ‘no’ to people who want to spend time with you can be difficult. I’ve found that what helps me is having a really good reason I can’t hang out. So, I always keep a summer goals list – maybe a handful of books I want to read, an exhibition I want to visit, a project at home, that sort of thing. Then, when I need to not be Peopling, I can say with confidence that I have something else I really need to do that day. Because I do. It’s on my list, and it matters to me – and friends will respect that. (Really good friends will also totally understand if you tell them ‘I can’t People today. Can we People tomorrow?’ incidentally.)

5. Be You – and Love It. Above all, embrace being an introvert! All it means is that you find more energy in time alone than in large groups – like a third or more of the population. Introverts tend to be more thoughtful and reflective – which can lead to being more creative, more empathetic and able to build long lasting friendships. So, love who you are, and love summer again!

Huge thanks to Katy for writing such a lovely guest post and don't forget to check out all of the other stops on the blog tour. My review will be going live on the blog on publication day (13th June).

Review: The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl - Melissa Keil

The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl by Melissa Keil, published by Stripes Publishing on 11th February 2016

Goodreads synopsis:
Alba loves her life just as it is. She loves living behind the bakery, and waking up in a cloud of sugar and cinnamon. She loves drawing comics and watching bad TV with her friends.

The only problem is she’s overlooked a few teeny details:

Like, the guy she thought long gone has unexpectedly reappeared.
And the boy who has been her best friend since forever has suddenly gone off the rails.
And even her latest comic-book creation is misbehaving.

Also, the world might be ending – which is proving to be awkward.

As Doomsday enthusiasts flock to idyllic Eden Valley, Alba’s life is thrown into chaos. Whatever happens next, it’s the end of the world as she knows it. But when it comes to figuring out her heart, Armageddon might turn out to be the least of her problems.

Review:

‘The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl’ is written by Aussie author Melissa Keil.  It’s the first of her books I’ve read but it won’t be the last!   The title alone was enough to pique my interest, although I wasn’t initially sold on the blurb.  I did have my doubts that it was going to be my kind of read but I was very pleasantly surprised.  There was a real warmth to the characters that I wasn’t expecting which drew me in and made me care about what happened to them. 

The story is set at the start of the summer and is based around the central character of Alba, a budding graphic artist and comic book fan.  She is genuinely happy with her life, which was actually refreshing to see.  She loves her home town of Eden Valley, she loves living behind her mother’s bakery, she has a great group of friends and adores her best friend Grady who she has known since childhood.  What could she possibly have to deal with?  The story focuses on what happens when you have everything you think you want and are afraid to take the next step because it might never be as perfect as it is in that moment.  Alba has to face making big decisions about her future without knowing if they are the right ones to make.  Should she stay in Eden Valley or leave and go to university?  Will Grady always be her best friend or is there more between them?  These are questions that will be familiar to most teens.  I thought that Keil did well to make these issues in the book so realistic and easy to identify with.

There is a humorous steak throughout which made me laugh and smile as I was reading.  The idea that Eden Valley is the only safe place when the end of the world comes, was somewhat strange but actually worked well with the overall themes of the story.  You don’t always know what is around the corner so you should live life to the full and enjoy every moment you have.

My absolute favourite thing about this book was the friendship between Alba and Grady.  It’s easy, it’s comfortable and it’s the kind of best-friend bond that I would have loved to have had with someone growing up.  These two practically live in each other’s pockets and have supported each other through thick and thin.  Their friendship has taken a different direction by the end of the book but this works so well and was a joy to see develop.

This is a contemporary YA novel that you won’t want to miss.  Grab it now and bump it straight to the top of your TBR pile.   

Blog tour: Secrets, Schemes and Sewing Machines - Katy Cannon

Today I'm hosting a stop on the 'Secrets, Schemes and Sewing Machines' blog tour.  Read on to see what I thought of Katy Cannon's new book.

Review:
With the Great British Sewing Bee back on UK TV screens, this book has arrived at just the right time.  Following in the footsteps of last year's 'Love, Lies and Lemon Pies' (which was one of my favourite titles of 2014), Katy Cannon's new book focuses on Grace, one of the members of Bake Club, as she deals with family issues, drama club and a love/hate relationship with new boy Connor. 

Grace wasn't my favourite character in the first book, so I was a little nervous about the thought of her getting her own story.  However, I need not have worried because I was very pleasantly surprised about her character development and the way we get to see what really makes her tick.  One of the things I like about Katy's books is that she really gets beneath the skin of a person and shows you not to have pre-conceived ideas about people because they will always end up surprising you. 

The sparks between Grace and Connor mirror those of Beatrice and Benedict in the Shakespeare production of Much Ado About Nothing that the school is putting on.  I enjoyed the way in which they don't particularly like each other at first but gradually learn more about the other person and Grace especially, steps up and proves all of her doubters wrong. 

It was brilliant getting to see the rest of the gang too.  I loved the bits with Lottie and Mac and I'm hoping that the next book might be about the ever wonderful Jasper.

In the last book, we had lots of fab recipes to follow and this time it's sewing tasks which appear at the start of each chapter.  I can sew a little bit but these made me want to pick up my sewing basket again and get started on a new project.  I think other readers will love these too and it's a nice way to encourage people to have a go. 

Sweet and wonderfully written, this is UK YA at it's very best.  Katy Cannon has made a life long fan of me!  

Blog Tour: Love, Lies and Lemon Pies - Katy Cannon

Today I'm kicking off the blog tour for Katy Cannon's fabulous new book 'Love, Lies and Lemon Pies' which is out tomorrow from Stripes Publishing.

 
Review:
This book sounded exactly like my cup of tea and proved to be a real five star read!

The story is about a group of teenagers who form an unexpected friendship when they all join the school's new Bake Club.  It centres mainly on Lottie, who, desperate to escape her problems at home, throws herself into her passion for baking - a way for her to feel close to her deceased father.  Although she tries to keep the truth about her home life secret from her teachers and her fellow students, because of her involvement in the club she makes new friendships, finds romance and gradually learns how to open up to those around her. 

I love the fact that the characters perhaps wouldn't have ordinarily have become friends but because of Bake Club they form a solid friendship through their shared love of baking.  They begin to help each other with their personal problems and their bond with each other was something that I really loved.  There are some great secondary characters in the story and I found myself wanting to know more about all of them.    

The romance between Lottie and Mac is so sweet and cute.  He's the school bad boy but underneath his tough exterior he is a caring and considerate boy.  He's misjudged by a lot of the adults in the book but with Lottie by his side he begins to turn his life around and build a new future for himself.     

What I particularly adored about this book was the way it combined my love of reading and baking.  I am a massive baking fan and I never miss an episode of the Great British Bake Off, therefore I absolutely loved the bonus addition of some wonderfully tasty recipes.  I've already made the pumpkin pie and blueberry muffins and the chocolate chip cookies* are to die for! 

Like Lottie and co, when I'm baking, I forget about everything else that I have to do and just focus on the mixing, beating, measuring and stirring.  This is captured perfectly in the pages of the story and was something I loved about the overall book which was truly as sweet and delicious as a cupcake! 

Katy Cannon's next book is out in February 2015 and will be called 'Secrets, Schemes and Sewing Machines'.  It's already top of my list of books I absolutely need to buy next year.

*To celebrate the release of the book I've made my favourite recipe.  Here's my batch of chocolate chip cookies just after they've been taken out of the oven.  This is the worst bit for me because I'm always impatient to eat one before they've cooled down.  I usually can't resist because the chocolate is still warm and gooey. 

I realised when I was making these that I'd run out of chocolate chips.  I know, disaster!  But I found a bar of milk chocolate in the cupboard which I used instead and so they have lovely, chunky bits of chocolate in.  I bet Mac would love these!

 

This is just one of the lovely recipes in the book.  I'm going to follow in Bake Club's footsteps and try making them all.  For now, I'm off to put my feet up with a plate of cookies and start reading 'Love, Lies and Lemon Pies' all over again.  

 

 

Don't forget to check out the rest of the blog tour for Katy Cannon's new book.  There are lots of great features planned for the week.