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BYE FOR NOW by Kathleen Churchyard

BYE FOR NOW

A Wishers Story

From the Wishers series, volume 1

by Kathleen Churchyard

Pub Date: Aug. 23rd, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-60684-190-7
Publisher: Egmont USA

Freaky Friday meets multiple transfigured 11-year-old girls, British style.

When loser Robin of Concord, N.C., wishes on her 11th birthday to be somebody else, she wakes up as Fiona Walker of London, England, the daughter of contemporary actors—body-switched! At first, it’s all cultural goofs—of accents, terminology and manners—but then Robin/Fiona finds other transmigrated girls around the world on Facebook: They also made the same wish on their 11th birthdays. The twist is that the two girls don’t just switch bodies, Robin is in Fiona’s, but Fiona is another girl’s across the country, and so on. Can Robin/Fiona orchestrate a grand reversal for them all? Robin/Fiona finds herself starring in a professional production of Peter Pan and spending hours on the computer in chat rooms and on Facebook. The caps-lock key is used liberally for both emphasis and such initialisms as OMG, and electronic messages are set in a different typeface (with lots of uppercase words there, too). References to Lindsay Lohan, Dame Judi Dench, Prince William and Kate Middleton (pre-wedding, evidently) feel more than a little like pandering and will date this book instantly. Convoluted, overly convenient and terribly contrived, even preteens obsessed with electronic communication will be confused and not wishing for a sequel (which the conclusion indicates).

If wishes were horses, this would be a My Little Pony

. (Fantasy. 8-12)