The Exchange

The Exchange
By Graham Joyce
Viking, 2oo8. 241 pgs. Young adult fiction.

Sneaking into an elderly lady's house one night, Caz is saddled with a strange bracelet she's unable to remove that endows her with peculiar powers. As everything in her life starts heading downhill after the incident, Caz frantically tries to discover the secret to removing the bracelet and its accompanying curse.

A rather gritty piece of work, The Exchange was a fast read with a very intriguing plot. Caz is a likable character with spunk and personality, keeping the reader engaged in her story, along with the desire to discover the bracelet's secret. One drawback to the story is the constant reference to more adult material paired with scattered objectionable language. Nonetheless, it was an interesting story.

CW