Gr 3—6—Things aren't going well for Robin. Her sister infected the family with head lice, her grandmother sent her a very uncool birthday present, and, for the third year in a row, she failed to medal in a swim meet. A girl from school posted the head lice scandal on Facebook, where she refers to Robin as the GUO—Great Unlucky One. And to make it all worse, Robin is tired of being short and ordinary. So when it comes time for her to blow out the candles on her birthday cake, she closes her eyes and wishes she were someone else. She awakes in London, England, in the body of 11-year-old Fiona. This girl is everything Robin yearns to be: tall, beautiful, and popular, with an exciting life. She learns that there is a worldwide network of 11-year-old girls who all want to be somebody else. Each one swaps lives with another girl who made the same wish at the same time. Wishers can reclaim their real lives, but only while they are 11. At 12, the magic is lost and they are stuck in their new lives forever. Though enamored with many aspects of Fiona's life, Robin ultimately grows homesick and must figure out a way to return home. This indulgence will be appealing to the tween crowd, allowing them to vicariously experience their own secret desires. The writing includes an abundance of text speak and contemporary references, which readers will find engaging. There are also a number of unobtrusively delivered positive messages here. As the girls gain confidence in their capabilities, they come to learn that the grass is not always greener elsewhere.—Debbie Lewis, Alachua County Library District, FL
On her disastrous eleventh birthday, Robin wishes herself somewhere--anywhere--else. She wakes up in the body of an eleven-year-old actress in London. Turns out Robin is hardly alone: there's a whole "Wisher Network" of kids who find themselves in the same (meaning other peoples') shoes. Awkward prose bogs down this lighthearted fantasy.
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