Adama liked that the girl was shy in her own life, but not when she was living in other peoples' bodies.

The book is about a girl who wishes she had a different life with different parents. The next day, she wakes up in a different body. Each morning she wakes up in a different body. She ends up liking a boy (even thought the first time she sees him she’s in a boy’s body).

Bounce is a chapter book for children 10 and older. But, honestly I would say it should be gauged to an older age group. Some of the content is a little mature and I feel like this is one that could be a controversy if in a classroom. I would recommend this book to a child that is mature for their age and may be going through some hardships of their own. As a parent I might recommend reading this book yourself first before you decide if it is appropriate for your child. This book does have a good basis to it, but could be confusing for some children how she keeps switching families. I believe the lesson from this book is it is important to stay strong and brave, also to make the best out of the life you have. And to remember it can be scary to be brave at first, but you have to take control of your own life. ( )

Be careful what you wish for! Frannie struggles with an older brother that ignores her, an older sister that hates her and parents that are checked out. When she wishes for a new family, her life begins an adventure she never thought possible. Travel along as Frannie gets "bounced" into many different lives. Will she ever get back home? You will have to read it to find out! ( )

I think it is auspicious that the first book I read in 2017 turned out to be fabulous. I had read Megan Shull's "The Swap" and enjoyed it, but admittedly was surprised to see her tackling the idea of being in someone else's life yet again in Bounce. However, I found Bounce to be a much more serious and deeper story than The Swap. Bounce is told with such exquisite detail and raw honesty that I really felt Frankie was living those lives. It's the kind of book that will stay with me long after I've closed the pages. There's a great lesson to be learned from The Bounce without it being preachy, and although NOT at all the same, it kind of had a Dickens Christmas Carol feel to it for me. I also love that Frannie's actual life didn't magically become perfect when she returned to it and that she didn't crumble. It's been a while since I read a book that I loved, and I'm excited that the first book of 2017 was a winner. Yay!

Narrated by Caitlin Davies. Twelve-year-old Frannie lacks confidence and self-esteem. Her emotionally abusive family is no help. Frannie is petrified when her parents announce they are leaving on a Caribbean trip over Christmas, leaving Frannie and her teenaged brother and sister behind. She feels even more helpless when her siblings host a huge, destructive Christmas Eve party for their friends over her objections. When Frannie wishes she had a different family, she finds herself in a fantasy sequence celebrating four Christmases in a row, each as a different person in a new family. Each provides Frannie with the love, affection and attention she has craved. Her self-confidence grows with each situation and when Frannie "returns" to her old family, she has learned that though they haven't changed, she has. Learning to care about herself has given her the tools she needs to feel good about herself. I didn't quite buy the parents just taking off and leaving the kids behind at Christmas and it seemed incredulous that the parents were so down on Frannie. Also, the fantasy mom Cass was unbelievably saccharine in her love. But I enjoyed Davies' performance of the anxious Frannie who grows stronger, and that of the assorted characters in the fantasy sequences. ( )