Mini Reviews: The Switch, The Places I’ve Cried in Public & Scythe

The Switch by Beth O’Leary

Beth O’Leary’s The Flatshare was a huge hit with me and so The Switch – out April 2020 – is one of my most anticipated releases. I read it during my Christmas break and it was the perfect choice – warm, uplifting and totally different to anything else I’ve read lately.

Leena is mentally and physically exhausted by work and has been ordered to take a two-month sabbatical – which she doesn’t yet see as a paid holiday! – and her grandmother Eileen is newly single and about to turn eighty. After Eileen’s husband leaves her for another, younger, woman, she’d like a second chance at love, but there aren’t many men to pick from in her tiny Yorkshire village. And so Eileen and Leena swap places.

I honestly couldn’t tell you who I loved more, Leena or Eileen. If you’d asked me before reading, I probably would’ve assumed that I’d enjoy Leena’s chapters the most – but I adored them both equally. The two women both have stuff in their lives that they need to sort out, and they certainly do it well. I couldn’t help but feel the urge to get up and change my life once I’d finished the book. I enjoyed reading about life in Hamleigh-in-Harksdale, with its close-knit community and picturesque view, and watching Eileen scamper around east London, giving online dating a shot and making friends with neighbours – something very unLondonlike. I’ve never read about – or seen on screen – a relationship where older women have sex, so I’m quite proud of Beth O’Leary for making this part of the storyline. The Switch is a book I’ll be recommending to readers of all ages this year!

The Places I’ve Cried in Public by Holly Bourne

I love it when it’s time to pick up my annual Holly Bourne! The Places I’ve Cried in Public is Holly’s most recent YA novel. Amelie’s life is turned upside down when she’s forced to move to the south of England from Sheffield, where she has friends and a boyfriend she loves. It’s here, in a new town and a new college, that she drifts away from boyfriend Archie and closer to Reese. He’s the lead singer in a band, and she’s a fantastic singer herself. But The Places I’ve Cried in Public isn’t a cute story about soulmates coming together, nor about an adorable teenage romance. It’s about how an intense relationship – full of grand romantic gestures and compliments – can turn toxic. As always, Holly portrays a realistic, honest and much-needed look at life, not just in your teens, but for anyone in relationships.

Scythe by Neal Shusterman

I finally picked this up after the trilogy was recommended to me by a few friends. I used to be a huge fan of YA science fiction, particularly the dystopian variety, but I’ve barely read any in years. Scythe sees teenagers Citra and Rowan chosen to be apprentices. The world is without hunger, disease, war. People no longer die naturally – Scythes are the only ones who end lives, and only to keep the world’s population under control. And Scythe Faraday believes Citra and Rowan are the perfect candidates.

Scythe was brutal and full of twists, and my enjoyment was only dampened by the fact that I ended up in a reading slump halfway through and it took me weeks to finish, but I hope that I read the sequels, Thunderhead and The Toll, much more quickly! Not only is the world-building well thought-out, the politics is fascinating and it’s an interesting look into the mind of a murderer – what does it mean if you truly believe you have the right to kill?

#gifted: Scythe and The Switch were obtained for free in exchange for an honest review.

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