Reviews

Star Switch by Alesha Dixon

oz617's review against another edition

2.0

I’m sure this is a fun read for a kid who’s not encountered body swap stories – it’s a bit cliché, but that’s only an issue if you’re an adult who’s been around long enough to notice such things. I wasn’t especially comfortable with the parenting exhibited here (some acknowledgement of how neglectful both girls’ parents are would be nice). It wouldn’t be a problem if the narrative wasn’t About that, but since the whole point of the story is the girls learning what bits of their lives they do and don’t appreciate, their ending gratefulness to borderline abusive parents felt out of place.

There were a few moments in the book where I questioned the authorship, and whether I’d misinterpreted the front cover. Like when Ruby (who, judging by the legs on the front cover, is Black) describes washing her “frizzy” hair in less than five minutes. It’s a little thing, but similar little things kept cropping up, so I wasn’t surprised when a Google search revealed a white ghostwriter. It’s not a massive deal, but I do feel bad for any Black kids picking this book out based on the cover and listed author, and not seeing the representation they’d expected.

misshobbs_y5's review

lighthearted

4.5

jillccox's review against another edition

5.0

I read this with my 9 year old and 12 year old and we loved it. It had life lessons, but wasn’t preachy. Very entertaining!

bibliotherapy_bookshelf's review

lighthearted medium-paced

4.25

My girls loved it!  It had a good message.