Trading Places (review)

Fifth-grade twins Todd and Amy know their roles: Todd is the clever and organized one who takes life in stride, while Amy is the disorganized and sensitive poet. Roles don't seem to mean much at home, though, since the twins' father is now hanging unshaven around the house all day after losing his engineer position, while their mother has taken a job at the local craft store to make ends meet. Roles at school start to deteriorate as well when the class has to make products to sell: Todd, who always works alone, can't think of anything in the face of the illness of the elderly and beloved family dog; Amy gets squeezed out of her friendship triumvirate and ends up involuntarily partnered with the class crybaby, Violet. What could be a fairly standard drama of family and friendship strain is lifted into a subtle exploration of an unusual theme by Mills' insight and nuance, presented with her usual unobtrusively thoughtful writing. Sharp readers will note it's not just Amy and Todd (who pitches the status quo on its ear by accidentally winning the poetry contest over his sister) or their parents whose roles change, since everybody gets a chance at some redefinition: Todd's friend becomes a philanthropic success rather than a lovable klutz, Violet becomes Amy's friend rather than the crybaby, the class know-it-all finds some humility. There's also an interwoven message about failure and its survivability, with both sibs finding new projects after unsuccessful starts, and their father finding a new kind of success when his old kind stops working. Readers will appreciate the easygoing read and may want to consider the possibilities of stepping beyond the boundaries of their own usual roles.