REVIEW: "The Seven Day Switch" by Kelly Harms
At the end of each day, all I want to do is curl up with a book in one hand and a glass of wine in the other — as the title of this blog would more than clearly imply.
Yet, this week, I did not end my working days in this fashion. Instead, I headed down to my basement — a space that is in the process of being fully finished (as a result of a recent move).
Once below ground, I crawled into a "hidden room”, a playroom cleverly built under the stairs with only enough headroom for short and limber children, not full-height and fully-out-of-shape adults.
My purpose for visiting this space that was so clearly not built for me was simple: to paint the wall in advance of laying new carpeting. I had decided — probably in a vodka- or wine-induced haze — that it would be a glorious idea to abandon the idea of a single color and opt instead for a primary color scheme, systematically painting the walls that make up the space in red and yellow and blue.
My husband initially scoffed at this idea. But I, my logic probably numbed by whatever intoxicator I was consuming when I too hastily drafted the plan, insisted that it's what I should do. Were I to go with a less elaborate color scheme, my two sons would suffer irrevocable damage. They would probably, I likely imagined, end up in therapy or something equally complex and costly.
Given my husband's reluctance to even accept this plan, I knew that it would be my sole burden to paint this space. And so, despite the fact that I am nowhere near as good at cutting in as my forced-into-indentured-servitude-at-a-young-age husband is, I committed to the task.
And I struggled.
And I sweat.
And I, when the task became too arduous, probably even wet my pants a little.
But now this room is gloriously primarily hued — a feature my children will almost undoubtedly not appreciate.
My muscles still aching from this recent effort, I am fully clear on how much work it takes to be a modern, pinterest-having mamma. As were the dual protagonists in The Seven Day Switch, a mom-centric women's fiction release by Kelly Harms.
There is inarguably no right way to be a good mom. And no two moms illustrate this fact more clearly than Wendy and Celeste, the two diametrically different mothers at the center of this novel.
Wendy is a working mom who, despite having a literal Ph.D. in productivity, cannot find enough hours in the day to do all she feels she needs to. It is probably because she feels so constantly overwhelmed that Celeste annoys her so acutely.
A stay-at-home mom, Celeste is the type of social-media-perfect mom whose themed snacks and immaculate house make all other well-meaning mothers feel wholly inadequate. Despite the fact that Celeste has a lot to be proud of, she can’t quite make herself feel that she is doing enough. Compounding this lack of self-worth is the fact that the neighborhood moms, influenced, no doubt, by Wendy, are less than accepting of relative new-comer, Celeste.
But that doesn’t stop Celeste from trying — again, and again, and again — to earn a place in the local mommy group. From taxiing the children of mothers whose work schedules prevent them from being able to drive their own kids to practices to bringing overly complex concoctions to neighborhood potlucks, Celeste is willing to do just about anything.
As luck would have it, it’s one of these complex concoctions — specifically a pink sangria — that serves as the catalyst for a learning experience neither of these mothers asked for.
After a contentious picnic at which they both consumed perhaps a bit more alcohol than they should have, both Celeste and Wendy wake up to a shock. In a Freaky Friday-esque twist, they have switched bodies.
Now, these two women who yesterday couldn’t even stand to be in each other's presence, have to live their lives as the other person for...well… who knows how long.
While they start off just trying to survive this inconvenient swap, they both quickly come to learn that all of the assumptions they made about each other were incredibly false and that, truly, there is more to unite them than to divide them.
Oftentimes, motherhood can feel like a full-contact sport. This is especially true of working motherhood — which, admittedly, is the only type of motherhood I know.
If you’re giving your all at work, you’re not doing enough at home. And if you try to be more present for your kids, you’re suddenly not meeting expectations at the office. This is the persistent internal conflict that Kelly Harms captured beautifully in this book, which will speak to the hearts and guilty consciences of mothers.
This novel was about two seemingly divergent women who were both working in dissimilar ways to accomplish the same goal: build happy lives for their children.
A key strength of this novel was Harms’ characterization. Though about as opposite as you could get, the two women central to this novel were both robust, round, relatable characters. And because the success of this novel — which is, essentially, a character study of these two women — depends upon the strength of these characters, her strength in this area significantly impacted the overall quality of the book.
The humor within this novel was also on-point. Readers — particularly mothers — will likely find themselves chuckling out loud at the comedic asides — no doubt earning sideways glances from their spouses who in turn wonder if that’s the second glass of wine, or the third.
The one factor that might give readers pause is the predictability of the story line. This novel is, at its core, a typical body-swap tale.
*Spoiler Alert*
Protagonists swap bodies.
Protagonists push through their misconceptions they have about each other — and, in doing so, learn to love themselves more.
Protagonists switch back.
If you are someone who will be bothered by this predictability, then this might not be the novel for you.
*Spoilers End*
Despite this predictability, though, the strength of the characters and the unexpected charm and humor pepper throughout this novel made it an easy and enjoyable read.
It earns 4 out of 5 cocktails.
Are you a fan of body-swap stories or movies? My favorite rendition of the body-swap genre is 17 Again — but that might have more to do with Zac Efron than with the actual quality of the movie 🤷. Tell me what you think of the genre in general — or this book in particular — in the comments, below.
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*I was provided a gifted copy of this title by the publisher*
