Sophie Reads YA: Stripes

2022 Beat the Backlist challenge

ARC Review: The Switch Up: L.A. Exchange (The Switch Up #2) by Katy Cannon

11:00

The Switch Up: L.A. Exchange
Series: The Switch Up #2
Author: Katy Cannon
Published June 25th 2020 by Stripes Publishing

Goodreads Synopsis
WILLA
Film director
LA insider
Impulsive
Looks like Alice

ALICE
Eco warrior
LA tourist
Cautious
Looks like Willa

Alice can't wait to visit Willa in LA – home of Hollywood, where dreams come true. Their plan is to explore the city and see the sights, but then Willa gets the opportunity to work on the film project of her dreams and she can’t say no! The only problem is she is absolutely 100% supposed to be taking part in a beach clean-up. Which, now she thinks of it, sounds pretty perfect for Alice... Can the girls really swap lives again? Cue plotting, outfit swapping and award-winning performances. But everyone knows that real life is nothing like the movies…

The second instalment in THE SWITCH UP series and the perfect read for fans of GEEK GIRL and SUPER AWKWARD.
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

After being caught pulling the switch up last summer, Willa and Alice have become the best of friends. With Willa now living in LA, and Alice in London, they haven't seen each other for 9 months, but the Easter holidays is just around the corner, and Alice is headed for California to spend her break with Willa. But when Willa gets into trouble at school, and is forced to 'volunteer' at a local beach clean up charity, as well as being invited to help with a film shoot, she's spread too thin. How can she do both of these, and spend time with Alice? Can they pull off another switch, or have they learnt from the past?

This book was a quicker read that the first one, but at the same time, I think I got a little more annoyed at parts. I loved that Alice and Willa have stayed in touch, and are now really close friends, but really, have they learnt nothing? They knew that they had hurt people - namely Luca and Hal, and their parents - by the lies in the summer, so why could they think that to have Alice take Willa's place at the beach clean up, getting to know and grow close to Jake, without it causing some pain? I did like how it was all resolved though, and I think I'd probably read a sequel - I want to know what happens with Alice's dad's wedding. If you liked book 1, you'd probably enjoy this one.

Dates Read:
January 2, 2022

Rating
3 Stars

2022 Beat the Backlist challenge

ARC Review: The Switch Up (The Switch Up #1) by Katy Cannon

10:00

The Switch Up
Series: The Switch Up #1
Author: Katy Cannon
Published June 13th 2019 by Stripes Publishing

Goodreads Synopsis
WILLA
Drama queen
Fashion guru
Spontaneous
Looks like Alice

ALICE
Bookworm
Allergic to fashion
Planner
Looks like Willa

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...

The first in a fun new series, this summer read is The Parent Trap meets Freaky Friday and is perfect for fans of GEEK GIRL and SUPER AWKWARD.
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

Two girls bound for London from LAX decide to pull off the biggest prank ever. Willa Andrews and Alice Wright have never met before, but when they are put together in the Unaccompanied Minors lounge, abandoned by the parents for the summer and sent to stay with people they've never met, they hatch a plan. For the three weeks they are going to be away from home, they'll swap lives, and be the other person. Alice wished she could stay with her father in Australia, rather than being shipped off to London to stay with his 'friend' (girlfriend), and Willa wants more than anything to be in London, at her acting course, rather than on a farm in Italy. It sounds like the perfect plan, and somehow, they pull it off. But the longer they spend with the people they meet, the harder it is to lie and keep up the facade. And what will happen when the truth, inevitably, comes out?

This is a book that I've tried to read about three times now, and every other time I only managed to get about a third of the way through before moving on to something else. However, I decided to start 2022 focusing on old ARCs, and persevered through The Switch Up, and it's sequel, quite quickly. This was an okay book. It's definitely one focused on more of the younger side of YA, and I reckon kids in years 7-9 would love it. Out of the two characters, Alice was my favourite. I think she has a similar personality to what I had as a teen, whereas Willa was too much of an extrovert and very dramatic for my liking. I did feel really sorry for them, feeling abandoned by their parents for the summer, when they were going through changing and challenging times in their lives. I enjoyed the book, but I think the amount of lying to others and lack of planning annoyed me a little too much, so I only gave this book 3 stars. If you enjoyed The Parent Trap or Freaky Friday, this is probably a book for you.

Dates Read:
January 1-2, 2022

Rating
3 Stars

2021 New Release challenge

ARC Review: Radha & Jai's Recipe for Romance by Nisha Sharma

10:00

Radha & Jai's Recipe for Romance
Series: None
Author: Nisha Sharma
Published July 22nd 2021 by Stripes Publishing

Goodreads Synopsis
Radha is on the verge of becoming one of the greatest Kathak dancers in the world . . . until a family betrayal costs her the biggest competition of her life. Now, she has left her Chicago home behind to follow her stage mom to New Jersey. At the Princeton Academy of the Arts, Radha is determined to leave performing in her past, and reinvent herself from scratch.

Jai is captain of the Bollywood Beats dance team, ranked first in his class, and an overachiever with no college plans. Tight family funds means medical school is a pipe dream, which is why he wants to make the most out of high school. When Radha enters his life, he realizes she's the exact ingredient he needs for a show-stopping senior year.

With careful choreography, both Radha and Jai will need to face their fears (and their families) if they want a taste of a happily ever after.
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.

Radha has always loved dancing, and is one of the greatest Kathak dancers there is. But when she is on the verge of becoming international champion, she discovers her mother has been having an affair, and with a judge no less. Now, she has lost her dance joy, and her anxiety is through the roof. Moving from Chicago to New Jersey for a new opportunity, she agrees with her mother to join the dance track at the Princeton Academy of the Arts, in return for funding for her college in the future. But Radha still can't face performing on stage, and when participation in the Winter Showcase is a requirement for graduation, she finally agrees to Jai's requests for help with his Bollywood Beats dance team, but as the choreographer, not a performer. Jai needs to win the Showcase, and the Regional Championships that follow, in order to have any hope of going to Columbia to study medicine. However, he still feels guilty over his wish to leave, as his family need his help in their store, after his father was injured in a traffic accident when Jai was a child. Can they both find their happiness and plan for the future, while coming to terms with their growing feelings for each other?

This book blew me away. I wasn't expecting to be so hooked, but I started reading it one night, and next thing I know, over 100 pages had passed. Radha and Jai felt like real people, not characters in a book. They both had hopes and wishes for the future, and like any other 17 year old, they were at a stage in life where big decisions have to be made. Radha lost all her confidence and control when the truth about her mother was revealed in January, and even now, months later, she still is coming to terms with it, and the panic attacks and anxiety which have become common for her. Slowly, while making friends with Jai, and the rest of the Bollywood Beats team, she is finding her dance joy again, and learning to cook via video chat with her father. Honestly, I really disliked her mother, but appreciated the effort her father was putting in to get to know Radha, even across the many miles between them. For Jai, he feels guilty dreaming about going to college to study medicine, following in his Nana Veera's footsteps, when his family need him working in the store to keep it going, and so they can start a new store too. However, it is his dream, and no matter how much he argues he's happy staying home, all though around him, including the director of the programme at school, his honourary aunt, want what's best for him, and that's going to Columbia. There were some moments in the book where I felt like some communication could've solved later angst - especially around who would be dancing in the Winter Showcase performance, but all in all, this was a really good book.

Dates Read:
August 13-15, 2021

Rating
4 Stars