The Swap

April 6, 2020
Lonely, awkward high school senior Low Morrison, one of the leads in this convincing tale of obsession and celebrity worship from Harding (The Arrangement), becomes enchanted with her school’s new pottery teacher, the charismatic, beautiful Freya Light, who has recently moved to Hawking, an island in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, a former hockey player who accidentally paralyzed an opponent during a game. The sports scandal also ended Freya’s career as an Instagram influencer, which she’s desperate to regain. Flattered by Low’s adoration, Freya shares her dark secrets with Low, who believes they have a “soul connection.” Low becomes uncontrollably jealous when Freya gets close to Jamie Vincent, who just moved to the island with her husband, Brian, to heal emotionally after an adoption scam. Following a night of “magic mushrooms,” Freya suggests swapping partners with the Vincents, which has unexpected consequences. In this intense character study, the veneer of each person cracks, and Freya’s propensity for violence erupts. Fans of psychological thrillers will be satisfied. Agent: Joseph Veltre, Gersh Agency.

April 15, 2020
Who could have known that swapping spouses for one night could cause so much trouble? High school senior Swallow "Low" Morrison has always been too tall, too intense, too strange. It doesn't help that her parents are polyamorous, which, despite their Pacific Northwest island's reputation as a haven for recreational spouse swapping, is still considered beyond the pale. After Low gets a glimpse of the ethereally beautiful Freya Light, she doesn't hesitate to sign up for Freya's pottery classes at her home studio. Before long, Freya is crossing boundaries with Low and shares a few of her darkest secrets. Freya and her husband, Max, a former professional hockey player, moved to the isolated Hawking to get away from a scandal that ruined Max's career and tanked Freya's status as a social media influencer. Low's fascination with Freya quickly blooms into obsession, but Freya's close friendship with Jamie Vincent, a local shop owner, threatens Low's claim her. One night, Jamie and her husband, Brian, join Freya and Max for a night of magic mushrooms and steamy partner swapping. Jamie and Brian, whose relationship is already strained by their inability to conceive a child, are consumed by guilt, but Jamie isn't about to let that night ruin her friendship with Freya. Unfortunately, Low witnessed all that night's action from right outside Freya's glass encased home, and she won't hesitate to use it to her advantage. Of course, the fallout from that night, and Low's simmering emotions, inevitably crescendos to a shocking point of no return. The narrative shuffles among all the major players except Freya, which adds to her aura of aloof perfection. As events spiral out of control, Harding's deft handling of her characters makes it easy to believe that Jamie and Low could fall under the spell of someone like Freya, whose cool beauty hides dark multitudes, and nearly everyone in this passion play becomes delightfully unhinged in the end. Shamelessly soapy and dangerously addictive.

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June 1, 2020
Escaping the harsh spotlight of public opinion, Freya and her husband, Max, a retired professional hockey player, move to an island in the Pacific Northwest. High-school senior Low Morrison has felt like an outsider for the longest time, but she has an instant connection to the charismatic Freya, becoming the only student in her pottery studio. At first the friendship appears mutually beneficial, and both shared sensitive, potentially damaging, information about their lives, but in truth only one is committed to not causing harm. Harding (The Arrangement, 2019) conjures a dark, inescapable feeling of intimidation on this remote island astir with gossip and lies. With a small cast, even the secondary characters have important parts to play, and readers will find suspense in the attempt to understand the complex bonds among them. Harding's dark tale will please readers who enjoy delving into the details of a character's personality and motivations, considering how past and present choices shape the future, and how private actions in a relationship are different from public displays.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)