Review: Beswitched by Kate Saunders

Beswitched by Kate Saunders.

Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: December 2011
List Price: $16.99
ISBN-13: 9780385740753

Review: Spoiled. Selfish. That's how a lot of people are these days, that is until everything is taken away from them and the life they had once known is now gone, leaving them in a completely different life. You might even say that they were transported back to the past, as is the case of Beswitched by Kate Sanders. Flora Fox is a spoiled, young girl who thinks everything is about her. So when her parents send her away to a boarding school, she is furious. She is sure they are just trying to ruin her life. Even though Penrice Hall is any child's dream school with swimming pools and no homework, Flora's set on not going. She eventually finds that this is a battle she can't win. She reluctantly goes to Penrice, packing all the necessities of a girl from the 21st century. But on the train, she is suddenly tired. She closes her eyes and is unexpectedly approached by three ghostly figures. When she awakens she finds herself in ridiculous clothes and sees that all her technology is gone. As it turns out, Flora has traded places with a 1935 girl who is now living the life of glamour back where Flora should be. As Flora tries to fit in at her new school, St. Winifred's, she meets new friends, Pete, Dulcie, and Pogo, and finds out that they are the ones who brought her here. Together, they must find a way to get Flora back home, before she forgets everything about the future.

Beswitched was an amazing book! I couldn't put it down. It took me a while to read, but that was because I kept rereading all the chapters over and over again. I'm so glad I get to keep it. I'll most likely read it again. Beswitched was really interesting and made me think about what life would be like without the things we take for granted now like iPods and computers, and even showers and tooth paste! No one that I know could survive without all of the things Flora did not have. She was a very unpredictable character. I could never tell exactly what she was going to do next, which made the story brilliant and adventurous. Beswitched is a very creative book and I'm going to try to get everyone I know to read it. It's different from most books because it pulls you into the story and it doesn't let you go.

Review written by Abigail (6th grade student).

We would like to thank Random House for providing a copy of Beswitched for this review.

Have you read Beswitched? How would you rate it?