The Art of the Swap

November 15, 2017
A century apart, two preteens magically swap places and tackle an unsolved mystery: the theft of a painting by impressionist Mary Cassatt from a Newport, Rhode Island, mansion.For Maggie, niece of the coal tycoon who built The Elms, it's 1905. Twenty-first-century Hannah lives at The Elms, now a museum, with her caretaker father. She's fascinated by the Gilded Age and the mystery of how Maggie's portrait was stolen before it could be unveiled. When each suffers a fall, they discover they've switched bodies and can talk to each other through the mirror. Hannah, who knows the house and its history, seizes this chance to investigate the art heist. Learning of her portrait's theft--due to occur that night--Maggie wants to help. While Hannah recruits Jonah, the kitchen boy who'll be accused of the theft, Maggie studies Hannah's iPhone and tries to learn soccer on the fly. Narrating alternate chapters, the girls discover that finding the culprit fails to return each to her time. First-person, present-tense narration works against the historical setting, and Hannah's loud voice, crammed with pop-culture references to the Kardashians, hashtags, and port-a-potties, overwhelms any Gilded Age ambiance. Played for laughs, the 1905 denizens' perplexity at her jargon soon palls. Though less tiresome, Maggie's no more believable. Physical descriptions of characters are few, and race is never mentioned, but characters appear white, like The Elms' historical occupants, Maggie's family. Girl power and women's progress toward equality are celebrated mainly in internal narration.The disappointing triumph of superficial style over substance. (authors' notes, bibliography) (Fantasy. 9-12)

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February 1, 2018

Gr 4-6-Hannah is the daughter of the caretaker at The Elms, a historic mansion turned museum in Newport, RI. She is fascinated with an unsolved mystery involving the heist of a portrait of Margaret Dunlap painted by famed artist Mary Cassatt at the turn of the 20th century. Margaret "Maggie" Dunlap, on the other hand, is a well-mannered girl from a wealthy family living in The Elms in the year 1905. When the two inadvertently swap places via a magic mirror, Hannah is determined to solve the mystery of the stolen painting while Maggie has trouble adjusting to life in the 21st century. But Hannah and Maggie soon realize that solving the mystery will change history-and keep them trapped in the wrong time periods-and have to find another way to save the painting. Written in first person present tense, the chapters alternate between Hannah and Maggie; each of the girls has her own strong, distinct voice. While some of the slang and pop culture references feel forced and clunky, portions of the novel border on didactic, and the magic behind the mirror is never fully explained, the characters are likable and the writing is brisk, making for a quick and entertaining read despite the novel's more than 300-page length. VERDICT Despite its flaws, this middle grade novel with a time-traveling twist will appeal to those who enjoy history, light fantasy, mysteries, or stories featuring strong female characters.-Laura J. Giunta, Garden City Public Library, NY

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