by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness)
Wow. I can't describe to you how much I enjoyed Beth O'Leary's The Switch. It was the perfect book for me at the most perfect time. If you can--listen to this (more on this later). I listened to this book through libro.fm's ALC program. (Quick sidebar: We love libro.fm, because they give back to independent bookstores. We love that! We are also in the process of getting a promo code so our listeners can try out libro.fm! Stay tuned!)
This book centers around Leena, a twenty-something workaholic and her eighty year old grandmother, Eileen. Told by these two women in alternating chapters, The Switch tells the story of family, grief, and finding the way back to each other after a tragic event. This is also a story about two strong women rediscovering themselves when they decide to switch places for a couple of months (Eileen goes to London and lives in Leena's apartment with her flatmates, while Leena goes to Yorkshire to live in Eileen's home.) with a cast of charming secondary characters to cheer them on. I laughed out loud reading this book AND I shed a few tears. It is just so darn charming and sweet.
You will be doing yourself a disservice if you do not listen to this on audio. The production quality is amazing and the two women who narrate are phenomenal. They bring to life these characters. Each day when I listened, I felt like I spent some time with friends. The narrators, Alison Steadman and Daisy-Edgar Jones just totally embody Leena and Eileen. Is it coming through how much I LOVE this audiobook?
A couple of more thoughts before I close this review. The Switch does have some love connections for those romantics (me!) who love some romance in a book, but what I love about the love stories is that they are told in the context of these women redefining who they are and rediscovering themselves, and those love stories working within that context. The relationships do not define them. And I love that. I also love the way that the author writes Eileen. I love that Eileen is this vibrant, eighty year old woman who desires companionship. love, and (gasp!) sex. It is awesome to see this representation.
So in conclusion, grab this book on audio and listen immediately!
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