This week, I will be reviewing the teen fiction novel The Cell Phone Swap, written by Lindsey Summers (@donotmicrowave). The Cell Phone Swap was one of the first stories I’ve ever read on Wattpad, and I have to say that it set a pretty high standard for all other books I would read after this one. In fact, this story was so popular, it is now getting published under the name Textrovert! As of right now, the release date is May 2, 2017, and you can pre-order it now on Barnes and Noble and Amazon’s respective websites.

The Cell Phone Swap is about two teens from rival high schools. The story starts out with the protagonist, Keeley Brewer, a senior at Edgewood High School, having some fun with her best friend, Nicky, at the local fair the week before school starts again. When Keeley and Nicky get in line for the Ferris Wheel, Keeley realizes she left her phone at a food stand the girls were at minutes before. Keeley runs back to the stand and grabs what she thinks is her phone, but as she realizes the next morning, the phone she grabbed actually belongs to a stranger. Somehow, both Keeley and the strangers left their phones at the food stand, and grabbed the wrong one when they went to retrieve their devices.

Keeley realizes she has the wrong phone when the stranger calls her. After an awkward conversation of explaining the mix-up, the stranger reveals that his name is Talon. In addition, Talon was on his way to football camp for a week; thus, the two would have to wait seven whole days before switching phones back. Because of Talon’s constant egotistical comments and innuendos made over the phone, Keeley cannot wait for his week at camp to be over.

Because they are unable to switch phones back, Keeley and Talon spend the next week interacting with each other by relaying text messages and missed voice mails back and forth. As she gets to know him more, Keeley realizes that there is more to Talon than his arrogant comments and exhausting jokes. But when identities are revealed and the truth comes out, what will happen to Keeley and Talon’s “friendship?”

Before The Cell Phone Swap, I had not read a book like this one before. The story description found on Wattpad did not draw me in immediately. I read this book after it was recommended to me by a fellow Wattpad user. I am very happy that I gave this book a chance because it took a different approach to the typical, cliché “boy meets girl” story. One of my favorite parts about this book was the pace. I often read books that have pacing issues, where they either move too quickly or too slowly, and sometimes even a little bit of both. Lindsey Summers paced this book wonderfully. I never felt like the events taking place were rushed, and I never noticed any filler chapters that did not really have a purpose to the book.

I would recommend The Cell Phone Swap to the reader looking for a modern take on friendship. Even though the two are polar opposites, I admire the way Keeley and Talon were able to put aside their differences just to make their week with each other’s phones easier. They are a primary example of finding friends in the most unlikely situation.  

Another book I read on Wattpad with a similar plot was the short story Late Night Conversations by @JasminAMiller. If you like The Cell Phone Swap, I would definitely check out Late Night Conversations! For my next review, I will be writing about the coming-of-age novel Recreating Kasey Taylor by @knightsrachel. Be sure to come back to EMC in mid-April to check it out!