I once saw a movie by the title of Its A Boy Girl Thing, the minute I saw it I was completely infatuated by it. By the female character’s infatuation with classical literary writers like Shakespeare and the male lead being so annoying yet so good at the same time. In this movie, these two characters switch bodies after touching a statue of a deity and though it all ends in a romantic happily ever after for this movie which is kind of different to this book.. Where I End And You Begin, though completely different to the movie I to this day adore, it still gave me a similar vibe. Although Wynnona and Ezra also switch bodies for some inexplicable trick of the universe reason that has essentially bonded them at a young age without their knowing.. their bond is a friendly one. Through both character’s ups and downs, their friendship grows so much throughout the book that it was exceedingly heartwarming to read. The fact that there wasn’t just hilarity infused into this story but a slight romance based on acceptance with their best friends.. it was just perfect.

Where I End & You Begin, written by Preston Norton, is a fun, quirky young adult book delving into that monumental question that all teens ask themselves…Where do I fit in? I did not know what to expect from this book, and if I am honest, I was pleasantly surprised.

This title was not a good fit for my audience. The beginning was slow, the references to 80's and 90's pop culture will be missed by my middle schoolers. I did not find myself invested in the main characters enough to care how their stories ended.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Disney Book Group for the ARC!*

The reason I requested this book is because I, as an anxious human, enjoy reading about people who feel similar to me. That said, this was one of those books where I almost felt annoyed by the characters at times. I think there was more editing that could've happened to this book to make it all flow together better, but overall, I appreciated the development that happened to the characters throughout!

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I love retellings of Shakespeare and this is why I was so excited to get a hold of this book. My first introduction into retelling of Shakespeare was "She's the Man" so it's only fitting that this was also about the Twelfth Night.

I loved this book!!! The characters had a lot of depth and were complex which kept me engaged in the story. The depth of the characters also played well into the body-swapping of the characters.

Overall, this was a great book about finding your identity. .

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ezra has been in love with Imogen for as long as he can remember so on the day of the solar eclipse he and his best friend Holden decide it's the day for Ezra to ask her to prom. After breaking into the school where Imogen was supposed to be with her best friend Wynona -- who just so happens to have it out for Ezra. During the eclipse, Erza and Wynona switch bodies for a second and thus begins the major events of the novel.

This was such a great book! The characters were so realistic -- even with the body swapping, the relationships (romantic and platonic friendship) were so engaging, and the storyline was so different from anything else I've ever read that I couldn't put this book down.

I loved this read. Contemporary stuff is not usually my favorite thing - I am definitely more of a fantasy person. So, when I started reading this, I was not sure if it was going to be my jam. However, I am really happy that I gave it a chance.

Ezra has been obsessed with Imogen since he can remember. When his own nervousness isn't getting in the way of talking to Imogen, her brash best friend Wynonna's torment creates an even tougher barrier. On the day of a total eclipse, Ezra, with the help of his best friend Holden, is ready to take the risk and ask Imogen to prom. However, the eclipse affects them in an unexpected way and Ezra and Wynonna wake up in each other's bodies. This starts a series of wild misadventures, precarious alliances, and a whole lot of character growth. Oh and some Shakespeare gets thrown in there too.

I haven't read a lot of body-swapping stories, but I definitely felt that this was a refreshing take on it. The focus was not so much on the difference between Ezra and Wynonna as male vs. female, but more about the difference between two people. There was an emphasis on how you will ultimately never really know someone and their innermost thoughts and experiences. The closest you can get is through "putting yourself in their shoes"... or bodies in this case. I also really appreciated the use of Twelfth Night to illustrate the fluidity of gender. I felt that the exposure the characters were getting through Twelfth Night helped them accept each other in a deeper way, as who they were, not what they were expected to be as boys or girls. I did feel that there were a few moments when the author was explaining major plot points of Twelfth Night that slowed the pace of the story. However, I have read the play, so that may not be an issue for a reader who is unaware of that background.

I really grew to care about the characters and their relationships - with their families, with each other, and with themselves. Ezra and Wynonna had some strong assumptions about each other but grew to realize that they were not so different. They both had some major insecurities and sadness that they did not share with the people around them, but they were also both capable of strength and love. It was wonderful seeing them grow individually and to see their own relationship develop into something few people get to experience, a true and unconditional friendship.

Great read, I hope to pick up the author's other book soon and look forward to seeing what else they release in the future. May have to break my fantasy preferences for more. :)

Thank you to Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an (admittedly late) review.

Wow, I really was not expecting to like this book as much as I did. At first the book gave off a very John Green-esque vibe, and I was worried it would be kind of pretentious or cliche-filled, but it was so unexpectedly enjoyable. The writing was very distinctive, and very pop-culture-y, which was probably the biggest downside for me, not because I didn't like the references, but because those kind of references (especially ones that reference really modern media) tend to get kind of dated, but that's more the problem of whoever is reading this book in five years. I ended up really loving the comedic voice, and admittedly the characters did sound like real teenagers, especially since they never stopped cursing!

I loved the queer themes running through the book, which were inevitable given the nature of the body-swapping and the whole Twelfth Night subplot. I don't know whether I'd call the story LGBT representation or not, but there's definitely themes of not feeling certain about labels of sexuality and gender. I thought it was worked out fairly well, no one was outright queer, but they didn't really try to label it, as they are teenagers who are still working it out.

Overall, this was an endearing, unexpectedly hilarious read with a lot of heart to it.

This was a fun story. The characters were energetic and each had distinctive personalities that added to the story - both the main characters and the side characters. There were a few moments that dragged a bit, but for the most part, I was enjoyably entertained.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with this ARC of Where I End and You Begin by Preston Norton.

Ezra is a regular HS with a huge long time crush on Imogen, who doesn't seem to have any idea. But there is a huge obstacle in his way of getting to know Imogen, her best friend Wynonna, who has a massive chip on her shoulder, and is constantly looking for a fight.

But things get really "Freaky Friday" when in the middle of a big argument Ezra and Wynonna swap bodies. Suddenly tall, lanky Ezra is in Wynonna's petite frame and looking at himself, who is Wynonna, or Wynezra, as he calls her.

Never knowing why or when they're going to swap, they adapt to each other's new lives and gain compassion for each other's difficulties. And even through knowing their deepest secrets, they're able to help each other find love.

This was VERY YA, so it took my grumpy "mom-brain" a second to get into that mode of teenage thought and behavior, but once I did I really enjoyed it. I know I would have loved it as a teen. I liked all the gender fluidity and the concept of simply loving the person. It would actually be a great book club pick. My only real complaint is how long it was. I really felt like it was going to go on forever when it didn't really need to.

Where I End and You Begin is an interesting book. The idea of getting to swap bodies with someone of a different sex who is nothing like you would be absolutely amazing! Ezra really wants to ask Imogen to the prom, but working up the nerve to do it has been impossible. It doesn't help that her best friend Wynonna does her best to block Ezra from getting close to Imogen. But when the unthinkable happens and they get to repeatedly swap bodies, they both learn a ton about each other, but also themselves. I really enjoyed this book, and the idea was definitely unique!

Great book! Full of nuance and intelligent exploration of issues like friendship, attraction, love, gender. Not cut-and-dried, full of positivity -- definitely recommended.

Freaky Friday body-swap stories aren't unique, but I do have a soft spot for them. Last year I read and enjoyed Preston Norton's Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe and while that book was a hot mess of every issue and 90s reference plus the kitchen sink, it was also compulsively readable and hilarious (there's a Sermon Showdown. I'm still in love with that).

So, when I got this book, I was looking forward to it. It's big, yeah, but it's a super fast read. The over-the-top writing style and a zillion references were toned down here so now the writing was amusing without being eye-rolly. The gender-fluidity and romantic flexibility was a little too kumbaya and unbelievable, but in a book about magical body-swapping, I mostly gave it a shrug and a pass.

I guess maybe that's Preston Norton's thing. These books are zany and unbelievable (the real-life parts) and they have way too many "issues" packed into them with all the subtlety of an after-school special, but they have heart and witty banter. I feel happy and amused (and bemused) when I read them.

Plus, body swapping. All of the tropes of body swapping are here, and I love body swapping tropes.

Bottom line: I liked this book, even though none of it is my typical type of book. It made me happy, I enjoyed the time I spent read it, and I'm looking forward to reading Preston Norton's next book.

I found the book somewhat interesting but could not get into it and wasn’t able to connect with the characters

A book that doesn’t shy away from current subjects that have always existed and been deemed wrong or shameful for far too long. Story is written in a real to life way that is direct and to the point. Identity and the move to understand beyond the binary and enjoy the grey is a beautiful place to explore, especially in YA novels like this!

The one thing that intrigued me about this book was the body swapping. I also enjoyed the movie Freaky Friday with Lindsay Lohan and the new one that was recently out on Disney also 17 again with Zac Efron. I did read another book like that called Body Swap by Sylvia McNicoll. My review for that I gave it 3 stars. If you liked this book, then I think that you will like that one also.
This book follows a guy named Ezra who is shy. He is fascinated with a girl named Imogen, one night there is a total solar eclipse and something weird happens to Ezra and Imogen’s best friend Wynona. When they wake up there in one another’s bodies. one of the things that I did like was they would continuously swap bodies with one another not just the once. Over the course of them swapping bodies Ezra learns that Wynona has had a crush on his best friend Holden. The funny thing about this is they have been enemies for the longest time and due to the solar eclipse, they must come together and figure out how there going to get back into there own bodies.
I did enjoy this book. it had his hilarious moments which anyone would have if they were in someone else’s body.
One of the things that I did love about this book was that you get the perspective of latterly walking in someone else’s shoes which I think is needed in todays world for so many reasons.

I enjoyed this story which is a body-swap Freaky Friday sort of story. The pros are definitely the way that it creates empathy between genders, explores love outside of and irregardless of gender preference, and generally deals with some sort of heavy topics of trauma and challenging families.

The cons, in my opinion, are language, and there are times where I debated whether the very frank conversations about certain aspects of sexuality were a boon to the story or a distraction from. I'm not one to usually criticise language, and I'm aware that teens use language, but there were times I felt as if it distracted from the story and the characters and wasn't strictly necessary.

Because of the above I would be most likely to recommend this book to 16 and up, probably, and selectively to young people under that age range.

I really enjoyed some parts of this book. The exploration of familiar Shakespeare tropes and body swapping stories. The fluidity of identity and the rejection of simple definitions. Gender and sexuality and explored openly and without fear. The goal is self-understanding.
I did find parts of it, especially the relationships, over simplified. Sure there is an element of unrequited love and a loss of friendship. BUt that's temporary, easily resolved.

I haven't read a body switch book in a while and this one is excellent and very different. I really enjoyed reading this book and its characters. The writing style and pace is just perfection. I think other readers will really enjoy this book as much as I did. Though it is a bit different, it is fantastic!

Enjoyed this more than I thought I would, despite never having watched She's the Man (a Nickelodeon version of Just One of the Guys, I'm thinking) and not caring much for Twelfth Night. What hooked me was the writing. While I've yet to meet a teen as woke enough to narrate like an Ezra Slevin -- which could be a John Cusack character of yore, though I picture Ezra much skinnier and sting bean-ier -- I went with the flow. This includes the cop out on the Wynnona Jones character being "complicated" because of childhood trauma and dyslexia. Ergo, this turns her into an emotional (Fantastic Four) Thing all the time and she's always shouting out "It's clobberin' time!" and goes on the attack warpath <-- me paraphrasing. As it's Pride Month, I'm down with the message of fluidity and had a fun time getting through the e-arc from NetGalley. Kudos to the author. I'll look up what else he's written and may take it for a spin.