Mom review: I really enjoyed this book and at times couldn’t put it down. Lindsay’s and Annabeth’s worlds are starkly different. Most of Annabeth’s world is scary and brutal. Her story is truly sad. The book describes the abuses Annabeth suffers carefully-not in too much detail but enough to understand what’s happening. Some of these topics and intense and may be too much for a younger teen or sensitive person. I enjoyed reading how Lindsay’s character and strength grow as she looks past stereotypes and sees goodness.

This was an interesting book. At the beginning, I wasn't impressed with the characters, Lindsey was a little flat and had little sympathy for others. She was kind of unlikable at points. As the story progressed though, I grew to care about her and the situation. The ending was a little too pat, but overall a good book.

The main character, Lindsey, is a high school senior who is about to graduate. Unfortunately, she dies on the soccer field and when she awakes, she is in the body of a 14-year-old sex trafficking victim. The story deals with how Lindsey adjusts to being in a different body and how her new body is in danger from two men who want to kill the body that she is in. This book would be a great classroom novel for the high school level. Topics that could be discussed would be death, paranormal, sex trafficking, and peer relationships. It was easy to read and very interesting. I think students would enjoy reading this book.

Not Myself Today follows Lindsey after she wakes up after collapsing in another body, the body of a 14 year old sex-trafficking victim who has people after her.

This was an awkward and weird read and not the read that I expected it to be. The main character is really annoying and hard to like, her anger and fear is understandable because of her situation but her judgement and thoughts about Annabeth really made me dislike her, she was so unsympathetic and rude without any reason. She made constant comments - most of the side characters did to be honest about Annabeth and no one saw her as a real person, they just saw what she did and then all of a sudden at the end there is a speech about sex-trafficking and yet most of these characters never changed their feelings about Annabeth, it did not make sense. Honestly, none of the characters were likeable except Annabeth’s best friend who was treated badly by Lindsey.

The plot of the book was weird, like yes there is this entire body swapping plotline but the rest of the book is meant to be realistic and yet it was not. There was a lot of action – characters chasing the main character and it was not believable at all, so much is happening, and she always escapes and nothing is done about the criminals. The writing style of the book was not for me, I was bored for most of the book, especially the ending.

Also, the romance took such a weird direction. Justin is 14 but in the same grade as Lindsey but I found his dialogue really awkward and unsuited for his character – yes, he is smart but he is still 14 years old and not an adult. I did not like his character; he had this sense of entitlement which was creepy and possessive over Annabeth and I hated the entire romance because of their age difference.

1/5

I enjoy body swapping movies and books. I was drawn to this one because it added the element of a well-to-do 18-year old star athlete who's life is about to begin with a 14-year old sex trafficking victim. I have read other books about victims, and what can happen to them when they are rescued. I wanted to see how this one turned out.

From the start, we meet Lindsey Anderson - soccer star! She's playing the biggest game of her high school career, and is heading off to college on scholarship. During the game, she kicks the game winning goal! And then she drops dead and wakes up in the body of Annabeth Shepard, a 14-year old sex trafficking victim. Annabeth was trying to escape with her friend when she was caught by her pimp.

Lindsey cannot accept this new body she was given. She tries to convince everyone she sees who she really is, while trying to stay safe from a murderous pimp chasing her. I couldn't stop turning the pages to see what happened next - would anyone believe her? Would she be stuck in Annabeth's body forever? Would she survive the night?

I did enjoy this story and could not put it down once I got to the end. I had to see how everything would turn out. The book was left a little open, possibly for a sequel? I would be curious to see what happens next!

Releasing September 24, 2020

⚠️Content warning⚠️

Oof. This book hits some hard subjects. This includes: child molestation, drug abuse, underage sex, sex trafficking, prostitution, and I’m really hoping I’m not missing any. Basically anything regarding drugs and sex in a 14 year old.

Summary thanks to NetGalley:

“High school soccer star Lindsey Anderson was at the top of her game with graduation approaching and a full-ride soccer scholarship offer in her hand. Then she dropped dead on the soccer field, only to wake up in the body of a teenage sex-trafficking victim. No one believes who she really is. Not even her dad. Chased by her new body’s drug-dealing pimp and rabid parapsychologists out to dissect her, Lindsey searches to get her body and her life back before graduation day. Can her BFF and the high school nerdy boy she detests help save her life?”

Review:

This is a tough book. Lots of very big and important concerns being talked about very openly. Which is great, but be warned if you want to read.

The story took a bit to get going (because body swapping isn’t easy to explain when you have no idea what’s going on), but all of a sudden it took OFF. From that moment it was non-stop action until that last act where the loose ends were being tied up.

Plot-wise the book was great. Character-wise I’m torn. I want to like Lindsey, but there are some… closed-minded things she says that makes it rough. And the way it is written makes me think it isn’t a character flaw but the author’s opinions translating to paper. There are only a few comments, but it bothered me enough that I needed to mention it.

The only other thing that bothered me was the end where it pushed so much info about sex trafficking and drug use on to the reader. Obviously important things. However, it didn’t fit the character. I would have preferred it being in a section post-book. There it would still give the info to readers but wouldn’t make Lindsey break character.

Overall, a decent read. Glad I did. Wondering if there’s going to be a sequel because there was a cliffhanger ending.

Not Myself Today

Not Myself Today by Muriel Ellis Pritchett

Wow this book was so captivating! I couldn’t hardly put it down!!! I can’t wait for book two!!! This author did so fantastic writing a book for such younger audience!!

5 stars!!!

Not Myself Today has a thrilling description and I was excited to lose myself in the story. I really wanted to like it but couldn’t get past the writing. Too many “holy craps” and exclamation points for my liking—I realized that after the first five chapters.

I hate to leave negative reviews so I’d like to point out that many readers seemed to appreciate the story, and because of the description, I do plan to try again at a later time, just in case it was my mood that threw me off.

Thank you for the advanced reader copy and best of luck to the author!

This is a quirky YA novel about an 18-year old soccer star who dies after scoring the winning goal in the state championship game and dies. There is a great deal of heart and humor in this novel that deals with drug addiction and the sex trafficking trade. It is definitely worth reading. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to be an early reader.

Interesting idea where the popular soccer star scores the winning goal the state championships final and then suddenly wakes up in the hospital. In the body of a teenage girl who is stuck in the sex traffic industry and a dangerous situation all together.
The pro's were an interesting idea in the body switching, putting some light on the very serious subject of sex trafficking and their victims and the action packed scenes in this book.

Personally the writing style was a little too popular for me, I get that it's written for a certain audience but this was actually the first YA book I've read in a while where the dialogue seemed off to me. Granted, I am not really in the right age bracket, but still. The romance subplot wasn't necessary for me, it felt weirdly forced as if it needed to be in their and the pairing wasn't optimal.

Aside from all that it is really not a bad book, but I wouldn't recommend it to people outside of the YA age group who do like to read this genre.

*** An ARC was provided by Netgalley in exchange for a honest review. ***

I absolutely loved this book.
I stayed up late to read it until it was finished.
I really loved the characters and found my heart bleeding throughout the story.
I was very invested in the journey of the characters and found it very informative and touched on some very risky topics.
A lovely read.

I couldn’t stop reading this and finished it in one day! The story was very captivating and I loved it. I liked how it dealt with issues like sex trafficking and grief. I would definitely recommend reading this book. 4 out of 5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was drawn in by the cover because this is obviously a person with some angst going on in her life. But when I read the synopsis I knew I had to give it a shot. I love the premise behind the story and you never know, right? Lindsey Anderson dies on the soccer field shortly after making the winning goal. But then something happens and she blacks out...or she thinks she did anyway. But when she wakes up in the hospital, her hands and her face do not belong to her...people keep calling her Annabeth and this crazy girl keeps coming in and saying they are best friends. Lindsey herself was a very popular girl but the body she wakes up in belongs to a 14 year old drug addict who also happens to be a victim of sex trafficking. Turns out she tried to steal from her pimp and he ended up beating her so bad she briefly died in the hospital...and during that time, Lindsey somehow moved into another body...weird, I know, but it was a fast paced and easy to read page turner... All I can say is that I enjoyed it and if anyone ever comes up to me and says they are someone I used to know in another body but can back it up, I am totally going to believe them. :)

Not Myself Today is a book that should be in every high school library. Despite the supernatural elements it touches on and covers subjects that are very relevant to society today.

Not Myself Today is a unique and interesting story that discusses sex trafficking. Not Myself Today is emotional and thrilling with a lot of action. Not Myself Today is like a mix of a thriller and Freaky Friday.

Lindsey Anderson dies on the soccer field shortly before graduating from high school. Lindsey then wakes up in the body of Annabeth Shepard, a fourteen year old sex trafficking victim. Lindsey is dealing with the withdrawal of Annabeth’s body while trying to convince someone that she is actually Lindsey. Will anyone believe Lindsey? Annabeth was in the hospital because her pimp beat her up and is still going after her. Lindsey has to try to figure out what Annabeth’s pimp is looking for and figure out what to do with her life in her new body.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed Not Myself Today. I was pulled in from the beginning. The book discusses an important issue, sex trafficking. Sex trafficking is not the main plot of the story, so it is brought up in a way that is not overwhelming but enough to get the point across how serious of an issue it is in the United States.

Not Myself Today has character building with Lindsey’s family and friends and the people in Annabeth’s life. It also has a lot of action trying to get away from Annabeth’s pimp. There is a thriller aspect of trying to find out what Annabeth took from her pimp and where it is.

Thank you NetGalley and Black Rose Writing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of Not Myself Today in exchange for an honest review.

Not Myself Today takes the 'body switching' story to a whole new, darker, level. Popular high school senior'it girl' Lindsey wakes up in the body of a 14 year old sex victim and has to navigate a world entirely new to her.

Conceptually interesting, a lot of the characterizations in this just didn't hit their mark for me, particularly Annabeth's (the body Lindsey's in) best friend Neeley who just read like an underdeveloped stock character despite being the only actual trafficking victim in the cast. The same goes for the love interest in this. The age gap between Lindsey and Annabeth made it weird since he was suitable for Annabeth's age, but definitely not for Lindsey who he originally had the crush on. I don't understand why the 'love story' was even needed because it was so underdeveloped.

This was an interesting twist on the body swapping theme, with the main character waking up in the body of a sex trafficking victim. That definitely took the concept in a dark direction. This book is not a lighthearted tale of mixed up identities, but rather a suspenseful tale that deals with drug dealers and prostitution. That's not to say there weren't some less-serious moments, but overall this is a pretty dark book. I do have a couple of criticisms/comments. First, the dialogue seemed a bit awkward between Neely and Annabeth/Lindsay, particularly in the beginning. I understand that Neeley was a necessary plot tool to explain Annabeth's history, but it came across a bit off to me. I also wish that there had been a little more explanation to how the body swapping occurred. I'm guessing (hoping) that there is going to be a sequel. Overall, I thought this was a good book, and one that I'd consider ordering for my HS library.