Switched by Amanda Hocking

Wendy Everling’s mother tried to kill her when she was six years old.  Her mother was adamant that Wendy was not her child and that her son had been taken.  Wendy's mother was sent to a psychiatric hospital and she’s been there ever since.  Wendy lives with her aunt and her brother and really works at trying to fit in with others.  She doesn’t like to wear shoes, she eats weird stuff and she hates going to school.  Other than that, she likes her life.

When a boy begins to stare at her at school, she confronts him.  His name is Finn and after she spends some time with him, she decides she really likes him.  That is,  until he is a complete jerk to her at the school dance.  Hurting, she curls up in her bed at home and cries, but she isn’t too shocked to see Finn at her bedroom window in the middle of the night with an apology.  That isn’t all he has – he also tells her who she really is, a Trylle.


Trylle are trolls and he informs Wendy that she is a changeling, switched at birth and it’s now time for her to come home.  Wendy has the power of persuasion, but Finn tells her that she will become even more powerful if she is where she belongs.  At first, she rebels until she realizes that her brother and aunt could be in danger if she stays.  So she follows Finn to whence she came and from there,  meets her real mother and is informed she is a princess.

However, there is another band of trolls that would have Wendy.  They crave her power and will stop at nothing to attain her.  But how many humans and trolls must die to protect her? Wendy yearns for the comfort of her real home but desires to learn about her powers.  She also desires Finn but is promptly informed that Trackers cannot have a relationship with royalty.  If she bends the law, she could jeopardize everything.  Will she listen to her heart or what she knows is right?
SWITCHED draws the reader in from the very first page as Wendy’s mom tries to kill her.  I empathized with her attempts to fit in, being told that was unwanted at birth and then finding out she was switched. Her real mom is really cold, which made my heart ache for her.  The romance blossoming between Finn and Wendy blossoms slowly, and I hope their relationship can find a turning point in the next installment.  A new take on young adult paranormal, I couldn’t put this one down. I can’t wait for the next in the series, TORN, due out in April. Simply magical!