Review: Switched by Amanda Hocking

Switched

Author: Amanda Hocking

Publication Date: July 12th, 2010

Publisher: Self-Published

Genre: YA/Fantasy/Romance/Paranormal

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Synopsis:

When Wendy Everly was six-years-old, her mother was convinced she was a monster and tried to kill her. It isn't until eleven years later that Wendy finds out her mother might've been telling the truth. With the help of Finn Holmes, Wendy finds herself in a world she never knew existed - and it's one she's not sure if she wants to be a part of.

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this book, and I really look forward to reading the second in the series 'Torn', which is due to be released on just a couple of days, February 28th, 2012.

The summary doesn't tell us to much about the story, so I'll fill you in a little bit. The story starts off telling us a little about Wendy's childhood, and namely, her 6th birthday party, at which her Mother tries to kill her whilst shouting that she is not her child and what did she do with her son? Then the story fast-forwards to eleven years later when she is 17 and in high school. She lives with her brother and her aunt and her mother lives in a home for the mentally ill. Wendy  has felt like an outcast her entire life, and has never fit in anywhere or made any real friends. Her only real friend is her brother, Matt, and they have a super close bond! Then she notices this new kid at school who seems to be constantly staring at her, and gives her the creeps, Finn Holmes, however when she confronts him about it, he acts all nonchalant, like staring at her is normal. That may be even creepier..

By this point in her life, Wendy has realized that she has an ability of sorts, she can convince people to do pretty much whatever she wants them to. But she rarely uses this on people, cause she hasn't even quite convinced herself that what she's doing is real, and that maybe she is just really persuasive. That is until Finn catches her doing it, no one has ever picked up on it before. He confronts her, and fills her in on the most life shattering information she could ever receive, her mother was right, she is not her child, her family is not her real family, Matt, the only person she has ever been close to, is not her real brother! She is a changeling, as well as something else! I don't want to say what she is, the summary doesn't give it away, and I want it to be as much as a surprise for you as it was for me. Against her wishes, and due to certain circumstances, Wendy is forced to leave the life she knows and to dive completely into this, entirely new and very strange to her, world.

There's a wonderful little forbidden love story, Wendy falls in love with the boy she once thought was so creepy, but in the new world she is to be part of, they are not allowed to be together, besides she's not even sure he feels the same way about her. I thought the love story in this book was adorable, at first he was this creep, and then she slowly starts realizing all the things about him that she comes to like and then eventually love. Love at first sight is a pretty recurrent theme in YA books, that's not really the case here, and I liked watching her love for him develop into something incredibly strong. Plus, I really loved the character Finn, he is a strong, wise beyond his years, gentle but stern when need be, loyal and honest. He is just a really great guy, and if I were Wendy, I'm sure I would fall in love with him to. Wendy might as well be his polar opposite, she's very emotional, non-committal, very dependent, just floating through life with the littlest effort kind of person. She definitely has some character flaws, but if your own mom tried to kill you when you were six, you might have some issues as well!

I found the story very well written, it flowed very nicely. It was a great, easy, interesting read. We get to see a unique take on a paranormal creature that's been perceived in a very different way in most other stories. We got some paranormal, romance, suspense, action, all the good ingredients for good book. I look forward to reading more of Hocking's work! I definitely recommend this book :).

Also, there is a small story in the back, that shows us parts of the story from a different point of view, I thought that was a great addition and added a new and interesting view on certain events also, it was a great little teaser for the next book.