Young Socialite Switches Places with Amish Girl to Escape “Why does everything have to be so complicated?” Madison
“I’m sick of it…I can’t take it anymore…”
Anna Fisher was bored. But she knew better than to say that out loud – especially when everyone was busy with farming and fixing and all the additional chores that came with springtime.
Spring break has arrived. It’s her senior year, and Madison VanBuren is fed up with her surroundings and the pressures of life. Stressed out over choosing an Ivy League school that will please her parents, their marital problems, and her boyfriend's pressure, Madison
Meanwhile, eighteen-year-old Anna Fisher wants to escape the so-called simple life--which for her consists of caring for younger siblings, sewing, cooking, and gardening--and she's well aware that her future will simply be more of the same with a man she doesn't love.
Madison and Anna stumble into each other in a small town. Realizing their looks are uncannily similar, they both think their lives are boring. Thinking the grass is greener on the other side, they make a decision that will transform them forever and switch lives for one week.
Readers will love this funny and provocative tale of switching places from bestselling author Melody Carlson. As they get a glimpse and understanding of these two very different worlds. They may find themselves happy to be just who they are, and where they are.
Melody Carlson is the award-winning author of over two hundred books, several of them Christmas novellas from Revell, including her much-loved and bestselling books, Christmas at Harrington’s and The Christmas Bus. She also writes many teen books, including Just Another Girl, Anything but Normal, the Diary of a Teenage Girl series, the TrueColors series, and the Carter House Girls series. Melody was nominated for a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award in the inspirational market for her books, including the Diary of a Teenage Girl series and several books which are being considered for TV movies. She and her husband serve on the Young Life adult committee in central Oregon
Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, offers practical books that bring the Christian faith to everyday life. They publish resources from a variety of well-known brands and authors, including their partnership with MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) and Hungry Planet.
My review:
Double Take was a nice escape for me. It's not very deep, but still a bit insightful. The tension was also pretty low-key compared to other YA books Carlson has written for Revell. I found it fairly believable the way it was set up and for me it was interesting to read about the differences in the way they lived their lives. The characters struggled to act the part of the other person, and given the culture shock alone, I could see why this would be hard. I liked how they did the right thing when some people started figuring out that all wasn't what it seemed. Having them insist on lying wouldn't have fit this story or these characters.
The issue with the men in their lives was quite entertaining. I especially enjoyed it when the rich girl from Manhattan saw the buff Amish man working outside and decided maybe roughing it for a week wasn't so bad. And all over some impressive abs and pecs. Hehehe. I found Anna's continual confusion over things that weren't available in the Amish community-- so they were new to her--fun to read as well. She didn't have a judgmental attitude so much as simply wondering what the appeal was. Giving each other a chance to experience the other's life for a week grew them both in their personal lives and in their faith. That was probably the most rewarding part of the book.
I would have liked to have seen more attraction and tension between the characters and others (like former friends and boyfriends,) but that may not have worked in this story given the short amount of time they had switched places. There were some subtle points made about the way people acted that contradicted their faith...well done! And the poor little rich girl theme wasn't overly dramatized even though it seemed like it would be in the very beginning. This was a great beach-type read. Not too deep, but still easy to read and very entertaining.
Double Take was published by Revell and released in June 2011. A copy of this book was provided to me by Revell for the purpose of reviewing the novel for this tour. The opinion expressed is entirely my own.
1 comment:
I am so sick of all the Amish fiction....this one sounds at least like a different type of story!!! We didn't trade places with an Amish girl, but one time we spent the night at our friends house (Amish) and they dressed us up Amish and we went to church with them. We wanted to see how many people knew who we were! It was fun!
It gave us all great memories. I never realized so many people fell asleep in church. Anyhow, my sister did not park her hair in the middle and almost got in trouble as they did not know that she was not Amish.
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