Reviews

If I Were You by Leslie Margolis

yapha's review

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4.0

Katie & Melody have been best friends forever. Until the summer between sixth and seventh grade, that is. It's the last day of summer and they aren't speaking to each other. As they go through the tunnel home from the beach, they each (independently) wish that they could start the summer over, but as each other. And they do! At first Katie (in Melody's body) thinks the whole thing is dream. Slowly but surely Melody, who has always believed in the magic of the tunnel, convinces her that this is real. Now Katie gets to feel what it is really like to live in Melody's perfect body and her perfect house with the perfect boyfriend. And Melody is thrilled to be living in Katie's chaotic house filled with Katie's twin four year old step brothers. But the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, and while things seem amazing at first, each girls learns that the other's life is not as wonderful as it seems from the outside. A fun summer read for grades 4-7.

dayrim_25's review against another edition

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2.0

I read this a couple years ago and can't remember much about it but I know it took me a long time to get through because I didn't like reading back then.....I can't believe I didn't like reading now it's pretty much all I do lol.

lindalou's review

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3.0

Basically it's Freaky Friday but with best friends. Two girls are sent back in time to redo their summer vacation in each other's bodies.

theartolater's review

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2.0

There's no dearth of Freaky Friday-style stories out there these days, and If I Were You is, well, one of them. The story of two friends who swap places and relive their summer before middle school, this book is a trope-filled tale with nothing there to really set it apart combined with some uncomfortable relationships and situations for what are 11 and 12 year olds.

When I told my wife about this, she sarcastically shouted "I bet they learned some valuable lessons," and that's about the extent of it. It's a cluebat in prose form, and really isn't nearly as good as so many other stories in a similar vein. Skip it.

wistyallgood's review

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4.0

This was too adorable! First of all, it absolutely reeked of summer. Such a great way to start off the season. I've never been a fan of the summer, but this book was all about appreciating what you've got and possibilities and it was just really nice!

The girls themselves were young and annoying, so that was accurate. I love a good Freaky Friday-type story, so this was just a really nice read!

astoldbyridha's review

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3.0

Menceritakan dua orang sahabat berumur 12 tahun : Katie dan Melody yang punya harapan untuk bisa bertukar tubuh. Katie iri sama kehidupan Melody yang selalu dipuja orang krn kecantikannya, rumah mewah bak istana, ibu gaul sosialita yang perhatian dan yang paling penting : orangtua Melodi tidak bercerai.

Di sisi lain, Melodi juga sangat iri dengan Katie yg pintar dan selalu jadi bintang kelas, punya saudara (tiri) kembar berusia 4 tahun yang super cute, Ryan dan Reese. Punya rumah yang selalu penuh kehangatan, punya ayah (yang walaupun ayah tiri) yang selalu care dan enak diajak ngobrol.

Suatu hari, di akhir musim panas, di dalam bus menuju Malibu Beach mereka berdua berhasil body switch dan musim panas terulang lagi dari awal.

Tapiiiii apa yang selama ini mereka pikirkan tentang 'kehidupan sempurna' yang dimiliki orang lain, ternyata tidak seindah yang terlihat.
Katie jadi sadar kalau hidup sebagai Melodi itu gak enak!! Sering digodain cowok2 krn cantik, harus nemenin mamanya shopping beronde-ronde tiap hari, harus ikut mamanya exercise, makanannya diatur biar gak gendut, rumahnya yg walaupun luas ternyata luar biasa sepi krn semua orang sibuk, gak ada yang namanya makan malam bersama di meja makan sambil diselingi canda tawa.

On the other side, Melodi juga jengah harus hidup sebagai Katie yang cuman dianggap orang2 sebagai sidekick-nya Melody. Tiap hari disuruh babysit Ryan dan Reese yang exhausting bangetttt and of corz for free, gak punya banyak uang untuk beli ini dan itu, tiap Sabtu wajib bangun jam 6 pagi buat hiking bareng.

Pokoknya mereka jadi sadar kalau ternyata kehidupan mereka yang dulu itu udah yang terbaik!!

Aku suka novel ini karena relate bangetttt, kita juga pasti sering gitu, pengen jadi kyk si ini atau si ituu soalnya hidupnya kyk enak banget. Aku pernah baca quote yang bunyinya kurang lebih 'kita selalu merasa hidup org lain lebih segala2nya krn kita bandingin RESULT-nya dia dengan BEHIND THE SCENE-nya kita'.

Ini bacaan yang light tapi value yang dikasih sama penulis penting banget menurutku dan bisa jadi media untuk berefleksi kalau ternyata kita terlalu sibuk menuntut Tuhan utk ngasih apa2 yang kita gak punya sampe2 kita lupa bersyukur untuk apa yang udah Tuhan kasih sampai detik ini.
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