Switcharound

October 25, 1985
Rating another A+ for the latest in an unbroken list of superb novels, Lowry regales us with the second adventures of Caroline and J. P. Tate, who won readers' hearts in The One Hundredth Thing About Caroline. "We're in a nightmare,'' says J. P. ``Wrong,'' says his sister. ``We're in Des Moines.'' Their father Herb sends for his son and daughter, nine years after the divorce from their mother, and they arrive from New York with plans to get even for banishment to the boonies. It's even worse than the siblings had imagined. J. P., the electronics genius, is compelled to coach a little kids' sandlot team, ``Taters' Chips,'' sponsored by their father's store. Caroline's fate is being sidetracked from boning up on paleontology in preparation for her future career. She has to take care of her step-sisters, infant twins, and pathetic David (Poochie), a six-year-old loser on the baseball team. The tender, funny story moves rapidly to an auspicious event where the title proves to have more than one meaning. Caroline's last letter to her mother goes, ``Now that everything is switched around, J. P. and I actually like Des Moines quite a bit.''

February 1, 1986
Gr 4-6 -Caroline Tate and her brother rarely agree on anything, but when their father asks them to spend the summer in Des Moines, they suddenly sound like the "Mormon Tabernacle Choir." Leaving New York means that Caroline won't have the Museum of Natural History, and J. P.'s summer computer project will have to be postponed. It also means that J. P. will have to play baseball and they'll both have to put up with their father's three kids, Poochie and twin baby girls. The summer starts out badly: Caroline takes care of the messy twins, while J. P. is expected to coach Poochie's baseball team of clumsy six year olds, the Tater Chips. Both plan revenge, but a surprising revelation concerning their father and the opportunity for Caroline and J. P. to use their own special talents reverses the situation. Everyone gains a new perspective, and all ends well. Readers will recognize the feuding siblings from Lowry's One Hundredth Thing About Caroline (Houghton, 1983), although this may be enjoyed independently. Again, Lowry has created realistic, likable characters in plausible, humorous situations. Lowry retains her ear for dialogue; the conversations are snappy and often funny (as is the entire text). Lowry fans will not be disappointed with the Switcharound. Maria B. Salvadore, District of Columbia Public Library