Spider Stampede S.W.I.T.C.H

By: Ali Sparkes
Publisher: Darby Creek Publishing
Publication Date: January 2013
ISBN: 978-1467707121
Reviewed by: Deb Fowler
Review Date: February 8, 2013

“Don’t just sit there! Get it OFF!” For twins, Danny and Josh Phillips couldn’t be more different. Honestly, a little spider sent Danny into orbit. It was pretty funny to see him flailing around over a little bug, but that’s just the way he was. Josh, on the other hand, was a “bug geek.” After the spider was caught and tossed over the hedge things calmed down. Sorta. A couple of busy boys and a dog named Piddle weren’t very quiet and it wasn’t long before they could hear crazy Miss Potts yelling on the other side of the fence. “Will you all shut up!”

Josh apologized to her, but when he peeked through the fence he saw her looking for something. What was Petty Potts looking for? Pretty soon the twins would be looking for something themselves. Piddle had somehow vanished when he jumped into the compost pile and slipped under the fence. When they sneaked into Miss Potts’s lab, they found much more than they bargained for. Piddle was in her shed, but it was no ordinary shed. It smelled kind of funny, like something at school. There was some “odd machinery and a kind of glass booth glowing green.” Josh and Danny escaped, but took something most unusual with them.

They got some smelly yellow goop on their legs. When they went to wash it off in their tub, things began to whirl around them and they ended up in a very strange predicament. Everything seemed to grow bigger and bigger. Soon the tub was the size of a basketball court. Talk about freaky! Danny saw a monstrous spider on him and started to scream, asking Josh to get rid of it. “I can’t get it off you, you dingbat.” Josh exclaimed, “It is you!” The Phillips twins had really done it this time ... Miss Potts had turned them into spiders! Waaaaaah!

Josh and Danny Phillips find themselves in big time trouble when they cross Miss Potts. Of course what they didn’t know was that their crazy neighbor had been developing a secret formula, the Serum Which Initiates Total Cellular Hijack (S.W.I.T.C.H.). Young readers, especially reluctant ones, will love the eight-year-old twins’ accidental adventure and encounter with mad scientist, Miss Petty Potts. The touch of sci fi was perfect and tension was high when they met up with giant rats and critters who threatened to have them for lunch. If you’ve got a youngster who likes double trouble blended with wacky sci fi, this is one series to consider!

Quill says: These fun, energetic twins are double trouble in the new adventure series, S.W.I.T.C.H, a series to watch out for!