Tuesday, December 05, 2006



Gender Blender

by Blake Nelson

This recycled plot is almost as old as Jodie Foster. (Actually, it's probably as old as the oldest mythology and folklore, I'm just trying to be funny.)

Anyway, it's more or less Freaky Friday meets Brady Bunch in Hawaii, with a cursed Native American artifact and Tom and Emma — sixth-graders, neighbors, pre-puberty best friends — switching bodies and learning lessons about the other gender. It seemed really derivative to me, but it might not come off that way for Generation Z-ers who aren't up on the classics. Also, there's some almost-local appeal because it takes place in Seattle.

In conclusion, it's almost worth reading just for the scenes when Emma-in-Tom's-body wakes up with morning wood, and when she threatens to pee on older boys who are trying to invade the tree house.


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