I was thoroughly entertained by this book. The title is so appropriate because the two characters in question are like two pieces that fit together, they are the parts that they didn’t even know were missing. This book is full of heart, humor, vulnerability, and spirit. You root for all the characters. It was never boring!

The writing style was very immature and irritating. I only made it about 2 chapters in before I had to give up. Ezra did not sound like a male voice at all, let alone a teenage. Unfortunately, though I liked the premise of a switching bodies book, I couldn't read any more.

YA is a genre that is either a big hit or a big miss with me. Often they are a bit to cutesy or too angsty, and I wind up disappointed. But this book far exceeded my expectations, and it was a huge hit. It was fun and a bit quirky and maybe even a bit cute (but not annoyingly so). Mostly it was just a terrifically imaginative story, and I will definitely be looking for more from Norton in the future.

My Rating:  stars 4 ★★★★ out of ★★★★★ stars (4/5)

I requested Where I End and You Begin by Preston North solely because the description got me immediately. Except, I don't really know what I was expecting. I just know it wasn't this. This book was so interesting, quirky and hilarious while also tackling things like depression and finding yourself when you have no idea who you are. 

While mimicking Twelfth Night and Freaky Friday at the same time, it deals with the main character, Ezra, being completely confused about his identity. Not only is Ezra lost, but he also is dealing with his mental health and his situation in which he never sleeps. I think this book could've felt much heavier than it was but since it was still able to be humorous, it became a much lighter read.

I loved the author's writing style because he gave his characters SO much personality. It was so fun reading Ezra's constant thoughts even if they weren't the happiest sometimes. I especially found it unique whenever the book finally hits the play. I think this type of writing is almost lyrical in sense that it's so quotable. I highlighted so many lines on my kindle and it sucks I can't share them all!

The only problem I had with this book was the mention of Johnny Depp's abuse case. As of now, Johnny Depp has laid out endless evidence about how he was abused by his ex wife. I understand that while the author was writing this, he might've felt the need to mention that since Ezra was a huge Johnny Depp fan. I just don't think it fit well within fiction. It disconnected me a bit but I still enjoyed the book nonetheless.

Overall, I would recommend this to anyone looking for a hilarious yet meaningful read like Me, Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews. Their writing is reminiscent of each other! Also, if anyone's looking for a book about identity exploration, this book covered is so well.

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.

Where I End & You Begin, is the first book I have read by this author, and although I did like his style I felt at times, he did go off on tangents that were not essential to the plot. Unfortunately, this had me skimming a little bit. That is not to say that the plot wasn't good. It was fun and original, hitting all the young adult boxes, first love, rejection, family drama, sexually exploration, and also touching on some challenging teenage issues. Mix in body swapping and it made for a fun, unpredictable read.

There was a ton of pop culture references, which made the story relevant and fun. What I do not like in my "fun books" is any bashing of any political party. If I want to read about politics I will look for that type of book. I felt the down-putting did nothing for the story, other than forwarding one side of a political agenda. That is a big NO, NO for me!

The four main characters, Ezar and Holden, who are best friends and Imogen and Wynonna who are also best friends, are delightful and engaging and I just loved them. These characters were not the "popular kids" in fact they were delightfully unpopular, shy, nerdy, obnoxious, sweet and comical. I think that Norton nailed the teenage mind pretty darn close to perfection. I liked that Norton had these young adults evolving throughout the book. Saying that I would have liked a bit more character development of Imogen and Holden.

Overall I enjoyed this book, and I would recommend it. One plus for me is the setting, and I live very close to Carbondale, Illinois. Also, I did have the opportunity to participate with students from my area school ( I am a substitute teacher) during the particular eclipse that was hi-lighted in this book. Happy reading!

***I kindly received this galley by way of NetGalley/publisher/author. I was not contacted, asked, or required to leave a review. I received no compensation, financial or otherwise. I have voluntarily read this book, and this review is my honest opinion .***

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC in exchange for honest review.

Sometimes, you just need a really cute read that makes you laugh and think at the same time. This YA book fit for me.
2 pairs of best friends, crushes, body switching, Shakespeare...what's not to love? A play on Twelfth Night and the movie "She's The Man", readers get to explore the depths of Ezra and Wynona - all from Ezra's point of view. This is what happens when you enter someone else's body in a flash.

Friendship is explored, Family is explored, Sexuality is explored - love in all kinds of ways is tested. Norton was clever with this story. I'm not a fan of series, but I wouldn't mind reading more about these characters.

For ages 14+, not recommended for middle schoolers and younger.

This was the weirdest mashup of Freaky Friday and The Twelfth Night in the history of mashups and I think it’s best just to go into it knowing that and nothing else about the plot. This probably would have just been a run-of-the-mill 3 star read for me if it weren’t for the sheer entertainment and humor that had me laughing out loud quite frequently. And when I say laugh out loud, I don’t just mean a chuckle; I was hysterically laughing more than once. It was fast moving, entertaining, and an easy read. My only problem was about 75% of the way through, I found it difficult to discern between the characters in switched bodies once all hell broke loose and people knew.

I . . . liked it? Given that it’s a body swap comedy, I expected this book to be wacky. But after reading Norton’s previous novel, I should have expected extra wacky. He does tend to take things to the nth degree, it seems to me.

The body swapping is nominally tied to the occurrence of solar eclipses, but deeper reasons lay behind it having to do with past interactions between the two point-of-view characters, Ezra and Wynonna. Like most body swap stories, the swapping is often played for laughs, but lessons are of course learned in the course of the action.

The other important element of the plot is a production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night that Ezra, Wynonna, and their friends participate in. The play’s themes of love, disguise and deception, and gender and sexual identity are all also explored as part of the body swap storyline.

The thing that kept me from wholeheartedly embracing the book is that Wynnona and Ezra can both be incredibly annoying. Wynnona is abrasive and sometimes downright mean, particularly to Ezra. And, yeah, a big part of that is self-protection, but not all of it. Ezra is a much nicer person, but he’s incredibly insecure. Normally I am drawn to insecure characters, but he was almost too much, even for me. Both Ezra and Wynonna do change and grow over the course of the book, but it takes a while to get there.

In the end, though, I really did like what I think is the overall message of the story, which is essentially to value yourself as a person. As Ezra puts it, “The important thing is you”—the essential you, beyond the perceptions of others or the labels people put on themselves or each other. I think that’s a message that bears repeating.

So, I would recommend this book, but it might not be for everyone.

A copy of this book was provided through NetGalley for review; all opinions expressed are my own.

Where I End and You Begin is an amazing novel. It manages to tackle so many teenage topics with compassion and humor. I managed to learn some Shakespeare in the process also. Ezra and Wynonna had more to deal with in their lives than most kids but they managed to figure out that all you need is one good friend.

I loved this book. The humor in it had me laughing out loud from the first page! The message was also a great one for today's society. I want to read this book over and over again!

Y’all, this book was absolutely delightful. I love books that are quirky and funny, but also have a really good, heartfelt message.

It’s obviously not an original idea – there are several Freaky Friday movies after all. I really enjoyed how they took two people who were so different, who completely hated each other, and put them in this situation. Most notably: one is a boy and one is a girl. The body swapping doesn’t happen just one brief time. It happens over and over for MONTHS. That means, you guessed it, Ezra has to figure out what a period is and Wynonna has to figure out what to do with a penis. That also doesn’t take into account the fact that they are both best friends with the other one’s crush, so there is a lot of awkwardness as they have to try and act like everything is completely normal.

Ezra is a really sweet character. Shy and a little goofy, being stuck in Wynonna’s body forces him to break out of his shell a little bit. It was easy for him to hate Wynonna, but living her life makes him realize that she is the way she is for a reason. Her family life is not great and her attitude has been a way to put up walls to protect herself from hurt. I also really enjoyed Ezra’s mixed-up attempts to patch things up with Wynonna and her estranged father.

In the end they all manage to end up friends: Ezra, Wynonna, Imogen and Holden, as well as perform in the Shakespeare play Twelfth Night as part of a detention punishment at school. It’s also particularly amusing when Ezra and Wynonna switch right before the performance starts: after learning the lines of the other person all school year. Shenanigans!

The big takeaway from this book though is, to borrow a turn of phrase, that you never really know a person until you walk in their shoes. Ezra began the school year thinking that Wynonna was terrible, and vice versa. They ended the year as friends after fully realizing why they were the way they were, and that maybe they should have just given each other a chance the first time. The reason that the body swapping started was very poignant and well done.

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All quotes are from the uncorrected proof and may not be included in the finished product.

"Whaddaya say, Wynonna Jones. Are you 'down to clown'?" "I've been known to dabble in a little tomfoolery."

So, first off, this book was hilarious. It had me laughing on page one and I never really stopped. The humor was a great companion to everything else that was going on in this story because it certainly had its heavy moments.

The characters were wildly enjoyable, especially Holden, and I loved watching the relationships between everyone grow and expand.

This story also had an element of mystery to it. There were incidents that happened previously to the story and during the story that took a bit to understand their relevance to what was happening to Wynonna and Ezra in the present. It was fun watching those events unraveling and fold into the storyline.

I feel like a lot of times body swapping stories focus mostly on creating a bridge between two characters who dislike or otherwise misunderstand each other, and creates a space where they come to respect and acknowledge each other. This story certainly did that, but it also did so much more. Wynonna and Ezra both have a bit of their own self-hatred and are drowning in their own lives and traumas, and through being each other, they learn to love themselves by loving and caring for each other. It creates a beautiful type of symmetry and really made the story that much more enjoyable and heartfelt.

"There was something about caring for someone - genuinely caring for them - that made you forget yourself."

There was also a lot of heartbreak in this story, but I feel like it was handled gracefully and honestly. The raw emotion that was captured made me think back on when I was in high school and how that felt; it really resonated. And then, of course, there were great moments of comic relief:

"'You heard me!' Wynezra screamed. 'I wish the blood curse upon you and your stolen va-jim-jam!'"

There were also amazing representations with regards to sexuality. I loved how gender-fluid the tone was and how (for the most part) being gay wasn't even questioned or treated as abnormal.

"I think we're more complicated than a single word: gay, straight, boy, girl, whatever."

The only critiques I had for this book are the lengthy recaps of the Shakespeare play the characters were involved in. It just really didn't hold my interest and they were quite long. And the immense use of pop culture references. I don't really like or follow pop culture, to begin with, but I can usually deal with a few references here and there, in this book they were everywhere and it got a bit tiresome. It came off more as if the author was trying to be more relatable than they really were, but other than that, I thought this book was fantastic!

Hands down one of my top books for 2019. This book explored gender and sexuality in a way that I haven't ever seen before. It was unique with stunning characters and a fantastic story. I would recommend this to almost anyone.

Ezra suffers from insomnia, anxiety, a years-long crush on the statuesque Imogen, and the eternal enmity of her Amazonian bestie, Wynonna. Then, during a solar eclipse, Ezra and Wynonna begin to swap bodies uncontrollably. Instead of the expected mutually assured destruction, they end up cooperating to get each other prom dates, since Wynonna is secretly enamored of Ezra best friend, Holden. Also, all four teens must perform in their school play, Twelfth Night. Their wacky gender-bending antics alternate with serious family drama neither can solve without the other's help. Unexpectedly touching and insightful for a Freaky Friday homage.

2.5 stars

This story started strong. I enjoyed getting to know the main characters, Ezra and Wynonna, and their best friends, Holden and Imogen. I was able to get a very clear picture of their dynamics with one another as well as get some insight into what was to come with some Freaky Friday antics.

As we get the lay of the land and start to get more into the book, things start to get a bit bumpy. The characters are involved in the Shakespeare play Twelfth Night, which is wonderful. What isn’t wonderful is the author’s urge to recap the play multiple times throughout this story. Pages and pages and pages of telling the reader what the play is about, as well as numerous scenes and quotes from the play. He also did this, to a lesser erxtent, with the movie She’s the Man (which is a modern day movie version of Twelfth Night); it’s obvious he’s trying to make a point. He’s steering the reader to the parallels, I get it. But it comes across as VERY heavy-handed and, quite honestly, made the book so much longer than it needed (or wanted) to be.

There are many things I thoroughly enjoyed about this story. The learning issues Wynonna has that, in real life, are often very misunderstood. Imogen’s confusion about who she is and what her romantic feelings really mean. Willow’s spiral into some terrible decision making as a cry for attention and help. It’s all marvelous. Sometimes the execution is on point, but there are far too many times it is not and the story gets bogged down and snarled up. It’s almost as if the author tried to pack the story with too many social issues so none of the issues got the treatment they really deserve.

I don’t want you to think this is a bad book…it’s not. It’s just a bit all over the place. Tightened up and less about 100 pages and it would be getting a much higher rating from me.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I had a love-hate relationship with this book from the start. YA fiction is at the top of my list for the best quality of writing. The idea of body swapping was an intriguing idea to me.

Ezra Slevin and Wynonna Jones swapped bodies during the eclipse in the hallway of their Carbondale, IL high school. Ezra was weird and awkward as are most teenage boys are at that age. He was this math genius but dumb in other ways. When he and Wynonna began swapping bodies, it was hilarious when they had to navigate breasts and hard appendages. Too funny. What I disliked was when Ezra referred to Wynonna as Wynnezra. Ugh

Can I just say that Wynonna Jones was a serious badass with a side of teenage angst She had a right to be angry due to family trauma. When Ezra and Wynonna decided to help each other get their crushes it was cute and we as the readers knew this was going to go sideways but we wanted to where these shenanigans would take us. The best friends, Imogen and Holden were just complex enough and added to the story just enough to make me want to care about them.

The whole body swapping thing started to go on too long for me. I was expecting Wynonna and Ezra to figure out the reason behind the swapping and how to swap it. Also when the two started swapping for longer periods they began to develop genuine love and empathy for each other. I was just as confused when Holden and Imogen began falling for the swapped teens. It was turning into a teen soap opera. There were some laugh out loud scenes and I feel like the book ended on somewhat of a cliffhanger. Overall, Where I End and You Begin is worth reading.

Where I End & You Begin by Preston Norton is a unique and fun YA contemporary body swap novel - think Twelfth Night meets Freaky Friday. For the most part, this novel really delivered for me. The cast of characters was complex and quite engaging, but Ezra himself was easily my favorite and the easiest to relate to for me. No matter what the exploration of identity is fascinating. Plus, I have to admit I totally enjoyed all of the pop culture references. I only have two gripes: there are several passages that could have been trimmed down and I hoped for a better conclusion to to certain plot elements. Overall, I highly recommend this novel if you enjoyed Norton's style in Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe and She's the Man. I'm definitely looking forward to more from Preston Norton in the future.

For the first few chapters, I had serious issues with the writing style, it felt almost as if the author was trying to hard. There were sooo many pop culture references and personally, I was starting to get annoyed with it. I also thought that the writing was a little awkward, but after pushing through a few more chapters, I learned to appreciate it. When I passed the ¼ marl, I found myself intrigued by where the story was going, and it was very worth it. It was great to see the characters grow and for the relationships in this book to blossom into something very sweet. All in all, I think that anyone who enjoys a little 'Freaky Friday' magic and loads of pop culture references would definitely enjoy the book.

Welcome to this book review,
disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

First of all let me give you some trigger warnings:
- Death of a parent
- alcoholism
- sexual exploitation/revenge porn of a minor

Now that this is out of the way, here is what I think of this book.
This book was surprisingly (despite the trigger warnings) really enjoyable, I had a really nice time reading it.
The characters were interesting , three dimensional and fun to learn more about.
While the story is nice and heartwarming but also sad and manages to move you, it has some flaws that really came to destroy a lot my enjoyment of the book.
First, WAY too many pop culture reference, I am all in for a couple hints or instances where they are a part of the characters development/interests or , but this was too much. I felt like most of the book was referring to pop culture and stars and anything that remotely has to do with the 21st century modern times. Also, it felt as if the author managed to write the story having in mind someone from 2007-08, but in a bad way.
On the other hand, I really loved how the sexualities and gender fluidity were explored in this book, I loved how the main focus of this book was family and friendships rather than romance who became an extra rather than something vital to the story.
Overall good book, and if you look past the overuse of pop references, which could've and should've been cut a bit from the story, is an easily fast nice read when you feel like reading a book but don't have anything specific in mind.
Bookarina
2.85/5 stars

"My obsession for Imogen ran deep. It all started in elementary school during our fourth-grade production of Romeo and Juliet. Nine-year-old me was convinced: If I just nailed this performance, Imogen and I would be together. I know, right? Whatever that's supposed to mean to a fourth grader. Jesus. Naturally, I botched it all up."

Ezra forgot his lines by having an out-of-body experience like he was watching from the audience. Seven years later he is still obsessed with Imogen and wants to ask her to the prom with the help of his best friend Holden. However, there is one problem. Imogen's best friend Wynonna.

Ezra and Wynonna are caught in a Freaky Friday kind of situation where they start swapping bodies meaning Ezra sees everything through Wynonna's body and vice versa. It's an entertaining look at a teenage girl experiencing morning wood and a teenage boy experiencing a girl's period. The reason for the body swapping is an original and unique plot twist.

The characters are likable and entertaining and I laughed out loud at some of the predicaments Ezra and Wynonna get into. There are a lot of serious side stories going on in this novel which include family relationships, bullying, and most importantly, finding one's identity.

An enjoyable and intriguing look at coming of age from a different perspective. A book young adults can relate to.

Thank you to Mr. Norton, Disney Book Group and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to review this book with no expectations of a positive review given.