Review: Terrific Romance
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 8, 2012
I love a book with a good plot and great characters, and that's just what I found in Heather Justesen's The Switch. There're several storylines going on that give the plot some great twists and turns, and even make the reader question--really question--whether or not Danny will end up with main character Tia or with his best friend Laura, and when Laura comes back from the dead things just get stickier.Justesen gives a great look into the life of an EMT. I felt like I was really there, a part of the team, which can be scary when a fire wants to claim a life or when danger lurks in the form of an abusive civilian. I enjoyed Danny's character so much that he felt real, like I could go down to the station today and find him there, mopping out the back of an ambulance, or serving up ice cream on pancakes.Tia's character feels real, too, but hers is one hurt by the loss of a husband to war, and she has a lot to contend with functioning as a single working mom, not to mention dealing with an over-controlling mother. Justesen doesn't play around; she writes emotion as it really is. Because of that, the reader sees a harsher side of Tia, which contributes to her arc of change, and which lets her grow into the trusting, beautiful woman she becomes by the end of the book.The Switch is a wonderful novel about bringing families together, while not holding back on problems. The reader will learn that problems are what make families interesting.