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WORK TITLE: Now You See Her
WORK NOTES: co-author with Lisa Stropki
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: https://www.lisaleightonlaurastropki.com/
CITY: Cleveland
STATE: OH
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY:
Sister of Laura Stropki.
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Married.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Novelist.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Lisa Leighton and Laura Stropki are sisters based in Cleveland, Ohio, who write paranormal young adult thriller novels together, the kind of books they would have stayed up all night reading. Their first novel, the 2018, Now You See Her, centers on body switching and teenage anxiety. Seventeen-year-old high school senior and tennis player Amelia Fischer is jealous of the perfect life of Sophie Graham, with her long-term, handsome boyfriend and her beautiful house. After losing a tennis match to Sophie, Amelia sulks home, driving in the rain, when she blows a tire. A man approaches her, not offering to help but instead trying to abduct her. Breaking free, Amelia falls into traffic and is hit by a car. She wakes up in Sophie’s body while hers is in a coma in the hospital. As she tries to find the strange man and return to her own body, she learns that her mother’s secret past has something to do with this. Amelia pretends to be Sophie, struggles to maintain her own identity, and hopes her sister Mae will believe her and help her. Meanwhile, Amelia learns that not everything is right in Sophie’s seemingly perfect life.
Although the plot takes some time to build, the book “asks interesting questions about identity and memory, and a clever twist in the last act will shock readers,” according to a reviewer in Publishers Weekly. Writing in Kirkus Reviews, a contributor commented: “Starting with a tantalizing premise, the plot idles for a long stretch before wowing the reader with an accelerated pace and ingenious solution.” Despite too much teen angst and repetition in the book, Amelia’s character is wry and funny, and “the differences between the two girls are portrayed without pitting two archetypes against each other,” said Booklist writer Beth McIntyre.
As body swap plots go, Jen Reyland reported on the Jen Reyland website that this book was not up to the standard of Buffy and Faith’s swap in Buffy the Vampire Hunter, saying that having one character in a coma limited the story. Reyland added: “I’d have liked more insight into the characters, and I think it would have been fun to see them interact with each other.” Toni V. Sweeney reflected online at New York Journal of Books: “Now You See Her is a fast-moving, exciting, sometimes near-harrowing story of one of man’s basic fears, that of the denial of one’s true identity by those he loves. Authors Leighton and Stropki have taken this premise and written a truly unique story.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, May 1, 2018, Beth McIntyre, review of Now You See Her, p. 77.
Booklist, May 1, 2018, Beth McIntyre, review of Now You See Her, p. 77.
Publishers Weekly, April 30, 2018, review of Now You See Her, p. 62.
ONLINE
Jen Ryland, https://www.jenryland.com/ (April 26, 2018 ), Jen Reyland, review of Now You See Her.
New York Journal of Books, https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/ (July 1, 2018), Toni V. Sweeney, review of Now You See Her.
Lisa Leighton and Laura Stropki are sisters who live in Cleveland, Ohio. They have two husbands, five children and two dogs that are technically half brothers.
The sisters grew up fighting over terrible clothes and sharing Harlequin romance novels and Christopher Pike mysteries.
Represented by the fabulous Rebecca Podos of the Rees Agency, their goal is to write the kind of books they would have stayed up all night reading without killing each other. So far so good.
Now You See Her
Publishers Weekly. 265.18 (Apr. 30, 2018): p62+.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Now You See Her
Lisa Leighton and Laura Stropki. HarperCollins/Tegen, $17.99 (320p) ISBN 978-0-06-242863-9
After losing a tennis match with popular Sophie Graham, 17-year-old Amelia Fischer drives home in the rain. A blown tire leaves her stranded, and when a man stops, he knows her name. She quickly realizes, though, that he's not there to help, and after he tries to grab her, she throws herself into traffic. When she wakes up in the hospital, she's in Sophie's body, while her own lies in a coma in critical condition. Amelia is terrified, but she is also determined to find out why the switch happened and how she can get back to her own body. Sifting through Sophie's life, Amelia, who narrates, realizes that all is not perfect in Sophie's privileged world, and she resolves to find the man who confronted her on that dark road. The delightfully snarky Amelia and her struggle to not lose herself in Sophie's life rings true, as does her eventual realization that stepping outside her own life might be an opportunity. The plot takes some time to build, but it finds its stride in the second half. Leighton and Stropki's compelling debut asks interesting questions about identity and memory, and a clever twist in the last act will shock readers. Ages 13-up. Agent: Rebecca Podos, Rees Literary Agency. (June)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Now You See Her." Publishers Weekly, 30 Apr. 2018, p. 62+. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A537852334/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=4aed0f01. Accessed 7 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A537852334
Leighton, Lisa: NOW YOU SEE HER
Kirkus Reviews. (Apr. 1, 2018):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Leighton, Lisa NOW YOU SEE HER Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins (Young Adult Fiction) $17.99 6, 26 ISBN: 978-0-06-242863-9
A teenage tennis player wakes up after an attack and finds she's in the body of her chief rival...or is she?
After losing a hard-fought match against golden girl Sophie Graham, whose life she follows on social media with great envy, Amelia Fischer remains second singles on her high school tennis team. When Amelia's car breaks down on her way home, the stranger who at first seems to be offering help attacks her. Amelia passes out, waking up in the hospital where everyone is calling her "Sophie." Looking in a mirror, she sees Sophie Graham's face staring back at her. Amelia later sees her own body in a coma in another part of the hospital. Her confusion and distress continue when she returns to school, but Amelia learns to keep cool and bide her time as she struggles to unravel this mystery. Unnervingly, Amelia's memories of her own life are fading: If she can just talk to her sister Mae, who is also her closest friend, she knows she can figure out what happened. But Mae's resentment of Sophie is so extreme that Amelia can't reason with her. The unraveling of this mystery involves exposing some of Sophie's secrets and finding the man who attacked Amelia. All major characters are white.
Starting with a tantalizing premise, the plot idles for a long stretch before wowing the reader with an accelerated pace and ingenious solution. (Thriller. 14-18)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Leighton, Lisa: NOW YOU SEE HER." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Apr. 2018. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A532700361/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=f7214bb8. Accessed 7 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A532700361
Source: Booklist
Date: May 1, 2018
By: McIntyre, Beth. Booklist. 5/1/2018, Vol. 114 Issue 17, p77-77. 1/6p. , Database: MasterFILE Premier
N o w You See H er.
By Lisa Leighton and Laura S tro p k i.
June 2 0 1 8 .320p . HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen, $ 1 7 .9 9
(9 7 8 0 0 6 2 4 2 8 6 3 9 ); e-book, $ 1 7 .9 9 (9 7 8 0 0 6 2 4 2 8 6 5 3 ).
Gr. 8 -1 1 .
After a lifetime of moving from town to
town on a moment’s notice, Amelia finds
it easier to play the prickly loner. Her tennis
rival, Sophie Graham, is everything she’s not—
rich, popular, and polished to a shine. After a
frightening encounter with a man who tries to
abduct her, Amelia gets in a terrible accident
and wakes up in Sophie Graham’s body, as her
own lies in a coma. Thrown into Sophie’s life,
which is not as perfect as Instagram led her to
believe, Amelia must figure out who was trying
to hurt her and why, and how she can get
back to her own body. Family secrets, twists
and turns, well-placed clues, and the fading of
Amelia’s memories as Sophie’s take over keep
the tension high. Amelia’s voice is wry and funny,
and the differences between the two girls
are portrayed without pitting two archetypes
against each other. A bit of angsty repetition is
easily overlooked in this satisfying nod to Lois
Duncan and Christopher Pike thrillers of the
past. — Beth McIntyre
Review of Now You See Her
April 26, 2018 By Jen Ryland 16 Comments
Every since I read Freaky Friday (and saw the Lindsay Lohan – Jamie Lee Curtis movie) I have loved body-switch books. I thought this one could have swapped out a few plot elements for a better story.
Find out more in my review of Now You See Her!
Now You See Her by Lisa Leighton and Laura
To be published on June 5, 2018 by Katherine Tegan Books
Synopsis from Goodreads: Amelia has always felt like a happy life is just out of reach. Having moved every few years with her mom and sister, she’s always had a hard time making and keeping friends. Sophie has a perfectly curated, Instagram-ready life, from her first singles wins to her cute, long-term boyfriend to the beautiful, landscaped home where she lives with her parents. But then one night changes everything. When Amelia’s car breaks down on the side of the road in a rainstorm, a man she thinks is a Good Samaritan pulls over to help her. When he tries to abduct her instead, she escapes into oncoming traffic. In one inexplicable moment, Amelia and Sophie switch bodies. Amelia wakes up in Sophie’s body. Amelia’s body is in a coma. Now Amelia needs to find a way to switch back into her own life—but before that, she must retrace her steps to unravel the mystery of the accident, her attempted abduction, and how it’s all tied to her mother’s secret past.
My take: Two girls – one privileged, the other the child of a struggling single mother – face off on the tennis court. After the match, there’s an accident, the two girls swap bodies, and one ends up in a coma. The remaining girl, in the wrong body, has to solve the mystery of what happened and how to get them switched back.
Now You See Her had a premise I can’t get enough of, but I can’t say this is one of my favorite body-swap stories. It definitely had its moments, but I think it could have been even better.
I think the fact that one character was in coma really limited the story and limited my ability to understand both characters. I’d have loved to see Sophie live in Amelia’s world. (Remember the episode when Buffy and Faith switched bodies?? That had to be one of my favorite body switches of all time. I felt that seeing Buffy and Faith in each other’s bodies really worked the premise to its fullest.)
There’s a mystery underlying the story, and I also thought that was … okay.
I think my enjoyment of this was mostly explained by my love of body swap books. I’d have liked more insight into the characters, and I think it would have been fun to see them interact with each other, rather than one girl lying in a hospital bed for most of the story.
Still, if you are like me and adore this premise, you might want to check it out.
Author(s):
Lisa Leighton
Release Date:
June 26, 2018
Publisher/Imprint:
Katherine Tegen Books
Pages:
320
Buy on Amazon
Reviewed by:
Toni V. Sweeney
“a fast-moving, exciting, sometimes near-harrowing story of one of man’s basic fears, that of the denial of one’s true identity by those he loves.”
“I’m not sure why I started hating Sophie Graham. Maybe because there’s always been a version of her wherever we lived.”
In a way, Sophie Graham is a bit of a bête noir to Amelia Fischer. Sophie is the Beautiful Person, the girl who has everything. She is the best, does the best, has the best, while Amelia is the girl with the single parent family, living on the edge of poverty, always moving to where the job market is better for someone who’s a hospice worker.
Amelia knows everything there is to know about Sophie, so much so she could be Sophie’s best friend, if Sophie acknowledged she was alive, that is.
What happens is the final blow. Amelia has always been good at tennis. It’s her single claim to fame, but in this, their final match, she loses to Sophie, and this time, Amelia feels as if she’s lost everything. She’s just learned that her mother is moving again, and the triumph she take with her is now lost. Once again, the Golden Girl gets the glory.
It’s on the way home after that last match that the nightmare begins. In a pouring rainstorm, Amelia’s car breaks down. Someone stops to help, a stranger—but he knows Amelia’s name. Then he’s pulling her out of the car and she’s fighting to get away, and she runs directly into the path of an oncoming car—driven by Sophia Graham.
When Amelia awakens, she’s in a hospital, but she knows immediately something is wrong because there are two people beside her bed, saying they are her mother and father. Amelia knows her father died when she was a baby. When she gets a closer look at the people, she even more shocked because they are Sophie’s parents, and . . .
. . . she is now Sophie.
“This isn’t happening. I’m dreaming. I slap at my cheeks and the woman is up and screaming at the nurse to get help but I can’t hear the sound because I’m pinching at my arms which I’ve always thought seemed like a stupid way to see if you’re dreaming but there’s nothing else to do.”
Somehow, in that moment of the collision, the two girls exchanged bodies. Now Sophie lies in a coma, imprisoned in Amelia’s body and Amelia possesses Sophie’s, but no one will believe her.
Forcing herself to pretend, Amelia uses all her acquired knowledge of her rival, living with Sophie’s parents, going about Sophie’s usual routine, while she tries to find a way to get back into her real self. Along the way, she’ll discover Sophia’s picture-perfect life is far from perfect, that there’s a deep, dark mystery tying the two girls together, and uncovering it will change not only Amelia’s life but also Sophie’s forever.
There have been many stories of personality switches: one person, through accident or magic, changes bodies with someone else. Usually, these are played for comedic effect—the switched being placed in embarrassing situations because of his lack of knowledge that the other person possesses. Now You See Her plays that plot in deadly seriousness. Sophie is dying, and Amelia realizes she has only a short time to get herself back where she belongs before she’s trapped forever in her friend’s body.
Showing unusual ingenuity, she begins to unravel the mystery of Sophie’s life, discovering the secret connection between the two and how and why she has this love/hate affinity for her so-called rival.
With a sense of urgency easily conveyed to the reader, Amelia fights against her “new” family, who believes she’s suffering some kind of extended post-traumatic episode resulting from the accident, as well as her “real” family who thinks she’s simply harassing them. She gains some supporters among Sophie’s friends, as well as a would-be boyfriend, rallying to help, though they also agree she isn’t acting as they think Sophie should.
This story encompasses that nightmare scenario of being trapped in a situation where no one believes what you say and every action is attributed to shock or the onset of an emotional illness, where the truth is brushed aside as mere hysteria.
Now You See Her is a fast-moving, exciting, sometimes near-harrowing story of one of man’s basic fears, that of the denial of one’s true identity by those he loves. Authors Leighton and Stropki have taken this premise and written a truly unique story.
Toni V. Sweeney is the author of The Adventures of Sinbad and The Kan Ingan Archives series and also writes under the pseudonym Icy Snow Blackstone.