Sister Switch - Beth Garrod

'We can't truly walk a mile in another's shoes until we've tried wearing their socks.'

Erin and Lily are sisters but are complete opposites of each other and constantly bickering.  When a disastrous hair day leads the girls to find a hair dresser in a hurry, they stumble upon The Hairy Godmother tucked under one of the railway arches in town.  Venturing in, they meet Agatha who is incredibly cool.  Whilst tending to their hair, Agatha notices the way the girls are with each other but soon seems to have them both fangirling over her and, in no time, they leave the small salon with perfect hair and a vow to return soon.  All seems well with the world, until they wake up the next morning and discover that somehow, they have switched bodies!  They have no choice but to live each other's lives whilst trying to hunt down Agatha for help; however, this is easier said than done (in both respects): the girls lead very different lives and have very different interests, and Agatha seems to have vanished!  But for how long can they keep this a secret from everyone else, and can they find Agatha before it's too late?

Having a younger sister, this book really appealed to me and, whilst reading it, I couldn't help but imagine how we would have survived in each other's bodies and living each other's lives if this had ever happened to us!  Like Erin and lily, we were very different to each other when we were young!  In the book, Lily, the younger sibling, loves to blog and has a huge following, but in reality, seems to always get things wrong; her dream is to gain a place on TheNicReport, an online magazine run by a girl at school Lily hugely admires.  Erin, however, is smart, full of confidence, trusted by their parents and never seems to be in trouble.  She loves to act and is the captain of the school quiz team.  There's never a hair out of place and she always seems to know what to say.  Erin has her heart set on going to Chinyere Okaford's Drama Academy and is due to play the lead role in Titania in the school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.  I think that Lily somewhat lives in her sister's shadow which is quite possibly why they argue so much.  They don't seem to be able to see eye-to-eye and are incredibly focussed on their own lives.  So can the time in each other's bodies help them to see life from their siblings perspective?

Sister Switch is a hilariously funny book full of incidents that will make you laugh out loud.  From Lily trying desperately to avoid having to kiss Erin's boyfriend, to Erin's discussion about dry ice, it's definitely a book that will brighten your day; however, there are also a host of powerful messages subtly woven into the story: learning how to appreciate family and differences; embracing who you are, not to mention a host of lessons in friendship.  Due for release on the 22nd July, Sister Switch is a must-read this summer.