Disclaimer: do not judge this book by its cover. After reading other reviews, I saw that the cartoon design was misleading, this is not a light romance but more of a poignant drama. With that in mind, I actually enjoyed this novel. 

The Book Swap was emotional and frustrating at times, dealing with very real topics like grief, loss, mental illness, bullying, growing up and finding purpose in life. Told from two POVs, childhood friends Erin and James unknowingly exchange annotated books through a little library. 

At first I thought Erin wasn’t very likable but I understood her struggle with grieving her best friend Bonnie, kind of adrift in life and hoping to live just like her friend wished her to. When she loses her cherished copy of To Kill a Mockingbird by leaving it in the library, it started this interesting story of reading between the lines. There are many great book references throughout, and I really liked how Erin and James could express their emotions in the margins of these books. This helped them finally see the good things they can accomplish whether in their jobs or with family. 

There are a lot of emotional experiences packed into this book and I felt the characters went through a lot to finally accept themselves in the end. Erin’s strained relationship with her mother, as well as James’ obligation to help his father with his mentally ill mother. There are a few secondary characters like Erin’s sister Georgia or James’ friend Joel, that added great interactions and sounding boards for our protagonists. Not to be forgotten, the flashbacks and scenes with Bonnie for both characters added an extra layer of interest and affection for me. 

I recommend this to fans of literary fiction and maybe The Perks of Being a Wallflower. 

Thank you to Graydon House for the review copy. 

Title: The Book Swap
Author: Tessa Bickers
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️