If I Were You by Leslie Margolis (review)

Melody and Katie, both twelve, were best friends until they had an end-of-summer fight about Kevin, the boy Katie likes but who likes Melody instead. Now a magic wish has swapped the girls into each other’s bodies and given them the summer back to do over. Melody revels in being in Katie’s warm and unpretentious family and in taking care of Katie’s little twin brothers, while Katie, at least initially, enjoys being a budding beauty, Melody’s mother’s shopping pal, and Kevin’s secret girlfriend. The “walk in somebody else’s shoes” device, here enhanced with the girls’ alternating narration, is a familiar but engaging one, and the book offers some valid insight into the fact that friends can take each other for granted. Additionally, there’s thoughtful exploration of the way Melody’s growing body unpleasantly makes her an object for public scrutiny. However, the book strongly plays favorites in the exchange: Melody’s appearance-focused mother and cold family are superficial clichés, while Katie is an interesting but ultimately unsympathetic bossy brat. Though Melody does learn to be a little less self-effacing, the resolution disappointingly leaves the nice girl stuck back in the unpleasant home, suggesting Katie’s deeper understanding was more important than Melody’s actual life. Nonetheless, the preteen travails may speak to readers, and the concept will appeal to fans of Freaky Friday and its legion of successors.