THE HOUSE SWAP

A tender story of two girls navigating complicated family lives.

Allie, with her red hair and fair, freckled skin, is the overlooked middle child of a family living in Oxfordshire. Blond-haired, blue-eyed Sage is an only child living near the ocean outside Los Angeles. Their families have decided to swap houses for their vacation, but Allie’s dog’s illness delays her family's departure, allowing the girls to meet in person. Although their personalities are polar opposites, they text and FaceTime, confiding in each other about their situations: Allie feels overshadowed by both her talented older brother and her exuberant 6-year-old sister. Her pain is palpable as her anger toward her siblings grows, and she resents Mum and Dad’s hands-off parenting style. Sage believes her parents are heading for divorce, and she is terrified of this possibility and determined to figure out what is going on in their marriage. The chapters alternate between the two girls’ first-person perspectives; both fear that voicing their worries out loud might make them real. Having the support of a new friend provides Allie and Sage with the courage to act on their problems, teaching them that talking about hard things is better than keeping everything bottled up. A captivating connection to World War II code-breaking at Bletchley Park mirrors the theme of the importance of finding out the truth. This novel provides two poignant storylines that illustrate the value of learning to have hard conversations.

A gentle look at emotional growth.